Page 77 of Let It Breathe
Reese folded her hands in her lap and frowned down at them. “Actually, I am pretty dull. It’s my family that generates drama.”
Wally touched the back of her hand. “I definitely don’t think you’re dull.”
“Thanks, but trust me, I’m very dull. So dull I reread the same romance novels over and over again.”
“Nothing wrong with liking a good story.”
“So dull I’ve worn my hair the same since middle school.”
“I like your hair.”
“So dull the last serious relationship I had was my ex-husband.”
Wally fell quiet a moment. “I didn’t know you’d been married.”
Reese nodded and looked down at her lap. “I thought I’d slip that in there while we were being jovial.”
“Good plan,” he said. “I don’t mind. I’m just surprised, that’s all. Did it end badly?”
“No, we’re still good friends.” She settled back in the seat, feeling a little warmer now that she was out of the rain and basking in the comfort of the car heater. “That was the problem, really. The friendship was terrific, so we thought the marriage thing would just come naturally. Turned out we’re lousy spouses.”
“How so?”
Reese looked out the window, trying to come up with the words to describe what had gone wrong between her and Eric. “It wasn’t anything dramatic like adultery or abuse. I think we just mixed up the kind of love you have for a friend with the kind of love you should feel for the person you spend your life with.”
“Interesting,” Wally said. “You always hear people talking about the importance of marrying your best friend.”
“That’s just it,” Reese said. “He’s still one of my best friends. But there has to be more than that. Passion. Affection. The desire to have each other’s back no matter what. That soul-deep connection that seems to come naturally for so many happily married couples.”
Her tone had turned wistful, and Reese kicked herself for going so far down that path on a first date. Not that there was any way of turning it into a normal first date at this point.
“I’m sorry,” Wally said. “About your divorce, I mean.”
“It’s fine,” she said, shaking her head. “He’s remarried to a great woman, so everything worked out okay.”
“Not everything. You’re still single.”
Reese frowned. “Why does everyone always assume that’s a bad thing? Maybe I like being single.”
“Do you?”
She thought about that a second. “I’m not sure. I’ve thought so for a long time, but maybe I’m just kidding myself. Marriage was so much harder than I thought it would be. I’m not looking to try again anytime soon. Maybe ever.”
“Really? You’ve given up on marriage?”
Reese shrugged. “I don’t know. I know it can be good. Lord knows my parents are still disgustingly in love. I just don’t think I’m cut out for it.”
“Maybe you just haven’t met the right person.”
“Maybe I’m just not the right person myself.”
Wally arced a turn down the gravel road leading toward the vineyard. “Kind of a weighty conversation for a first date, huh?”
“Yeah, sorry. Maybe we should save abortion and physician-assisted suicide for the second date?”
He grinned. “Are you offering a second date?”
Reese felt her face grow warm again, and she was thankful for the car’s dim interior. “If you’re interested, sure. If nothing else, it’ll give me a chance to prove that stoned alpacas, confrontations with my grandfather’s jealous lover, and trips to the police station aren’t part of my everyday routine.”
