Page 10 of Rules of Engagement
"Really. I can be clumsy. It's a fact."
He smiled again and her stomach did a somersault.
"Sure it wasn't the shock of what I said?"
"Men say that, then they do what they want anyway."
As fast as he'd caught her and saved her from the fall, Carter released her to keep the elevator doors from closing behind him. She watched as he swiped her purse up off the elevator floor and handed it over before he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"You obviously haven't met the right man."
The right man? Meaning him?
Any woman in her right mind would steer clear of someone like Carter, if for no other reason than the fact women would beconstantlythrowing themselves at him and eventually… Well, what were the odds he'd always say no? "I'm a realist," she said dryly.
"You believe everyone cheats?"
"I don't want to argue with you." Her entire body ached with fatigue, and her cool bedsheets called her name.
"We're not arguing. We're discussing. So tell me. Haveyouever cheated in a relationship?"
"What? No!" She glanced up at him and found him looking curiously… relieved?
"No?"
"No," she repeated, lifting her chin. "Absolutely not."
"Well, neither have I, sweetheart. When I'm with someone, I'm theirs. Which," he added, "proves your theory wrong."
She was still stumbling over the thought of him being… well, hers. "Fine. Maybe noteveryonecheats.But the odds? Not good. Because maybe they haven't because they haven't been together long enough, or they haven't had the opportunity… but they want to."
"That's a little dark."
"Yeah, well, I've planned many a vow renewal ceremony for couples trying to repair a marriage after cheating. And that's just the ones who get caught. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who've cheated and managed to get away with it."
"Okay, then."
Uh-huh. Pretty Boy wasn't loading up the charm now. Not after that rant. Score one for the cynic! "See? I win." A laugh bubbled out of her before she shrugged, unapologetic. "Marsali says I'm jaded."
"Marsali seems to be right in your case. But I'd hardly call that a win. I think you just haven't met the right guy. Becausethat guywould never give you reason to doubt your relationship."
"Doesn't matter at this point. I'm done. Done, done, done."
Carter stared down at her with an expression she couldn't quite pinpoint, and she looked away and busied herself by opening her bag to try to find her key card.
"Need some help?"
She dug around inside the abyss with no luck. After waiting patiently for several long moments, Carter held out his hand in a silent offer to take a look. She normally wouldn't hand her bag to a stranger, but her head was starting to pound from the champagne and hunger, and she felt exhaustion creeping into the very depths of her soul.
The topic of conversation sucked, too, because she knew she was a little bitterandjaded, but if anyone had walked in her shoes, they would be, too. She saw the best and worst of the couples who hired her, as well as their families and friends.
She let Carter have the carry-all that served as her purse, and after a poking around several seconds, he produced the lost key card still inside the paper case with her room number. Thank goodness she didn't have to try to remember it. "Yay," she said softly, cheering in her relief, because the last thing she wanted was to have to go back to the lobby to the front desk and get another.
Carter smiled that sexy smile of his that had no doubt lured many a woman to do bad,badthings, but before he gave her back the bag, he pulled something else from the depths and held up one of her business cards. She watched as he tucked it into his pocket. "What are you doing?"
"Getting your number."
"Why?"
