Page 23 of Square Deal

He chuckled. “Call me crazy, but I didn’t think Miss Hard-ass of Happily Ever Afters would have a one-night stand with her best friend’s best man.”

“You think I’m a prude,” I stated.

He shook his head. “No, you’re a romantic. Nothing wrong with that. Just means you’re not willing to really live because you’re trying to avoid getting your heart broken.”

Well, damn, Isaac Lawson. Look at you—thinking with your brain and not your cock.

I hummed something indifferent and went back to watching the television. I didn’t particularly appreciate being called out like that in my own home. Especially when I very well could have left him stranded in the middle of a hurricane.

“Answer one thing for me.”

I raised a precisely plucked eyebrow and stared a hole into theTV. “You can ask, but we’ll see if I decide to grace your ornery ass with an answer.”

He stifled a laugh. I could feel his eyes on me as he looked down. The low neckline of my nightgown was probably giving him a great view, but I didn’t care.

One, I was as flat as a surfboard.Itty-bitty titty committee, party of one. And two, he had already seen me naked.

He cleared his throat and asked, “WhyThe Office?”

“Why not?” I began. “I mean, Pam says it in the finale episode. It’s about finding beauty in ordinary things. Knowing that at any moment, I could meet my soulmate. Look at Jim and Pam: they were just working next to each other and fell in love without the pretense and all the bells and whistles that come with dating these days.”

“So, you’re planning your entire life around the one completely organic moment you meet Mr. Right. How are you going to know it’s him if you don’t ever date around? Love isn’t like the movies, Hell Yes Ma’am.”

Ignoring that stupid nickname, I shrugged. “When you know, you know. I mean, look at Maddie and Luca.”

“Maddie hated Luca,” he corrected.

I rolled my eyes. “Maddiethoughtshe hated Luca. But before he ‘fessed up to who he actually was, it was love at first sight.”

“Do you always have to get the last word in?”

“Only when I’m right.”

“So always?”

“Pretty much.”

“Where do you think you’re gonna meet your perfect match?”

I looked up at Isaac, and he seemed just as surprised that he said that as I was.

Quickly, he added, “If your perfect match is even out there. I mean, uh, does anyone actually haveone personthat is their other missing half?”

“I’m not half of a person, Isaac. I’m whole as-is. I just want the person that complements me. Peanut butter and chocolate are perfectly good on their own, but put them together in a Reese’s cup, and they’re a hell of a lot better together.”

“So, where are you gonna find him?”

I looked up at him. “What’s with the third degree?”

He cracked a smile. “What? I can’t make conversation?”

“Interesting line of conversation from someone who is so afraid of commitment that he doesn’t fuck the same girl twice.”

“Harsh words from someone who spends her time planning everyone else’s fairytale endings instead of making her own happen.”

I curled my lip, baring my teeth. “Go fuck a cactus.” I slammed my bottle on the nightstand and added, “You have a lot of nerve, you know that?”

“Yeah, well, having nerves of steel has gotten me pretty damn far in life. What do you have to show for waiting around for the universe to drop your perfect man on your front door with a ring in hand, huh? You’re Maddie’s age, right? Hell, being single at thirty in southern years means you’re well on your way to dying alone.” He clicked his tongue with an insultingtsk-tsk.“Tick-tock, Princess.”

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