Page 16 of Operation Annulment
I shake my head. “Just you.”
“Good girl,” he says, stroking the inside of my wrist with his thumb. “Tell me about yourself, Katy girl?”
“W-what do you want to know?” I ask, distracted by the petting.
The corner of his mouth curves into a wide grin. “Everything. Like, off the top of my head, what makes you laugh? What makes you cry? What are you afraid of? Do you have a favorite color? Do you see yourself staying in Lubbock, or do you dream of moving somewhere else someday? Do you like getting dressed up and going out on dates with guys who ask too many questions, or are you wishing you stayed home?”
“Oh, I definitely wish I stayed home,” I say, smiling so hard my cheeks ache. “That’s a pretty impressive list. You really threw that together off the top of your head?”
“Completely off the cuff. Now, tell me something I don’t know about you.”
“Um, my favorite movie isDie Hard,” I reply, choosing the least invasive question from his list.
Nate lets out a low whistle and leans back into his chair, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “Surprising me already, Katy girl. I did not peg you as an action movie connoisseur.”
“What’s yours?”
“The Notebook, obviously,” he says with a straight face. “All that angst and longing really does it for me.”
“Liar,” I say through giggles, unable to recall the last time I felt this carefree. “Tell me.”
“Just Friendswith Ryan Reynolds,” he admits as our food arrives. After assuring our server everything looks perfect, he cuts into his steak and asks, “So, what do you do for work?”
I scrunch up my nose. “Therapist. I counsel people for a living, find out what makes them tick.”
He smirks. “There it is. I’ve been sitting here trying to find the connection between my ex-wife and how it could possibly relate to my relationship with my mother. Were you a fan of Freud, babe? Afraid I’ve got an Oedipus Complex? No, I bet you’re more of a Karen Horney follower. I ended up divorced because of Womb Envy, yeah?”
Holy cow. The man knows his psychology.
Not only is he gorgeous, but he’s smart as well.
And I am going to fall head over heels in love with him…
seven
COMMANDMENT #8: THOU SHALT NOT DINE AND DITCH
Nate
This woman is going to be the death of me.
Nothing about tonight has gone as planned. The plan was to keep it casual and get to know her. But one look at her in that fucking dress, and suddenly I’m confessing things about my marriage that I’ve never told anybody.
When she began peppering me with questions about my parents, I naturally assumed she was unhinged. The pretty ones almost always are.
Finding out she’s a therapist should have come as a relief. Instead, it left me with a hard-on that even Freud himself would side-eye.
“What about you? Wait, no. Let me guess.” She taps a finger against her mouth with a mischievous smile, and my slacks grow even tighter.
What are you doing to me, Katy girl?
“You work as a tattoo artist. You loved art as a boy, but your father wanted you to follow in his footsteps and take over the vineyard. You turned to tattooing to rebel while still following your dream.”
Damn. If the whole counseling thing doesn’t pan out, she’ll make a killing writing fiction.
“So close,” I respond with a mock wince right as she takes a drink. “I have conflict with my father because I’m secretly in love with my mother.”
She promptly chokes on the water. “You did that on purpose,” she rasps between coughs. “Also, you might consider seeing one of my colleagues.”
