Page 72 of 7 Days and 7 Nights

“And I even told her why I don't want to get married. I mean, after my wife walked out on me when my life and my career were in the toilet, I said never again.”

“Do you think JoBeth is like your ex-wife?”

“No.”

“Can you see her treating you that way? Walking out, leaving you to fend for yourself?”

“Hell, no. She nursed her parents, both of them, for almost two years, and I’ve never met a meaner, less appreciative couple.”

“Dawg, don’t you see? You’ve tarred JoBeth with your ex-wife’s brush. Your fear of being hurt again is causing you to lose the woman you love. Are you going to let that happen?”

Matt listened to the urgency in Olivia’s voice as she tried to make Dawg grasp her point. For the first time, Matt realized her words could apply just as easily to him. Dawg had at least had a wife. He’d never let anyone in after Adam died. Not even Olivia had been allowed, though she’d made the biggest dent in his heart.

He glanced over and noted the surprised look on Olivia’s face and wondered if her advice to Dawg held special meaning for her, too. The unwelcome bout of introspection left him feeling decidedly grumpy. And like a bear with his paw stuck in an unfamiliar honey jar, he couldn’t quite figure out how to shake it off.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Olivia hadn’t seen the vote tally yet, but she’d been in the business long enough to know her Saturday night stint as the host of Guy Talk had been a resounding success. Matt’s listeners had been incredibly responsive, and there’d been a ton of them. She only hoped her own audience hadn’t deserted her after her birthday slide under the table and the alleged bout of food poisoning that followed.

Olivia yawned. Finishing one show at 2:00 AM and starting another at 9:00 AM wasn’t something she’d want to do on a regular basis. She could understand why Matt was not a morning person.

Her stomach growled. She’d forfeited breakfast in favor of sleep, and she definitely needed some fuel. This morning’s show had been her last of the survivor series—thank you, God—and it had gone well enough. The topic, temptation and how and when to avoid it, had seemed particularly appropriate to a Sunday morning crowd. And she’d needed to hear the message herself.

She was sitting at the counter waiting for a fresh pot of coffee to finish brewing when Matt appeared. Once again he had on considerably fewer clothes than she deemed acceptable or wise, and she bristled at his total disregard for her wishes. With effort, she kept her gaze averted from his bare chest and somehow managed not to swivel on her barstool to catch the back view as he passed her on his way to the refrigerator.

“Morning.” He sounded surprisingly cheerful for someone who had to be trailing badly in both votes and donations.

With only twenty-four hours left in captivity, Olivia decided she could afford to be magnanimous. “Good morning. Sleep well?"

“I did.”

Her gaze dipped down below his neck and got stuck in his chest hairs. Gravity being what it was, it took a massive act of will to keep her gaze from straying to the waistband of those damn gym shorts. Or past what lay under them to the muscled thighs below.

Better to focus on Matt’s annoying habits rather than his physical attributes. Luckily there were plenty to choose from. Like the way he was leaning against the open refrigerator door with the carton of orange juice raised to his lips.

“You just waking up?” she asked.

He lowered the carton, shook it to see if there was anything left, and took one final swallow before putting the empty carton back in the fridge. “Nope. I’ve been up since nine. Didn’t want to miss your show.” He smiled. “I didn’t realize you were planning to give a sermon.”

“A sermon?”

“Well, you did cover quite a lot of biblical ground—temptation, the wages of sin. I just kept waiting for the prerecorded amen’s. Who was the sermon for, sweetheart—your poor listeners or yourself?”

“You… you sanctimonious…”

“Hey. I’m not the one who spent three hours harping on the pitfalls of purely physical relationships. But I am probably the only listener who had any idea what you were ranting about.”

“Oh, really?”

“Really.” Matt advanced to the counter.

On the bright side, she no longer felt even remotely tempted to look at Matt Ransom’s chest.

Lowering his voice as he glanced at the boom mic he added, “I think you can’t stand being out of control for a second, Olivia. You are horrified that you can’t control how your body reacts to mine. And it galls you that you want more of what we had the other night.”

Olivia gasped in outrage but kept her voice low. “Is that right?”

“That’s right. I don’t need a Ph.D. to recognize lust when I see it. You’re just upset that it’s me you want. I’m not exactly thrilled about the fact that my body seems so intent on yours either, but you don’t see me wasting a show beating myself up about it.”

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