Page 43 of Native Hawk
She drew her brows together and closed the door behind her. “Something is wrong?”
He stopped pacing and hooked his thumbs into the top of his trousers.
“I want to make one thing clear, Cat,” he said. He seemed to struggle with the words, so he resumed pacing. “See, I’m not the marryin’ type. I’ve never been the marryin’ type. I’m more of a love ’em and leave ’em kind o’ man. It’s ’cause o’ my profession as a gambler, you see. I’ve got to keep movin’, like a rollin’ stone. I don’t have time for a…a wife and a bunch o’ kids.” He stopped and sighed. “So I don’t want you to get your hopes up, thinkin’ I’m gonna sweep you off your feet, ’cause that’s just not me. I’m a freewheelin’ tumbleweed. I can’t be tied down.” He stopped with his arms crossed. “I just think you should know that.”
At first, Catalina didn’t know whether to be flattered that he was even thinking about marrying her or insulted that he’d already decided against it. She settled on annoyed.
Hiding the sting of rejection, she said offhandedly, “Who said anything about marriage? I never said I wanted to be married.”
“Don’t you?”
“Maybe one day…in the future.”
“Right.” He chewed on his lip for a moment. “How far in the future?”
What did it matter? He obviously did not want to marry her.
“Who can say?” she told him. “Next week, next month, next year.”
“Nextweek?”
