Page 27 of The Hard Hitter

“We’ll see,” he says, giving me a mischievous wink.

“Yeah, we will.” I take in his sexy grin. “Never have I ever watched a scary movie.”

He shakes his head. “Sam, you have a lot of living to do.” He salutes me with the glass and takes a drink.

“What’s your favorite?” I ask him.

“It’s a toss-up between The Shining and Jeepers Creepers. I watch them every Halloween.”

“I watch Hocus Pocus.”

He slants a look my way. “Isn’t that a kids’ movie?”

“No,” I say defiantly. “And now I’m going to make you watch it with me.”

“Only if you watch my favorites with me.”

“Probably not going to happen. Your turn.”

“Mmm, let’s see. Never have I ever been engaged.”

I take a sip, and note he’s veering into the personal here. “Quinn told you?” I ask.

“Nope. Just had a feeling some douche bag really hurt you.”

I think about that for a long moment, and he goes silent waiting for me to elaborate. “You’re right about two things. He did hurt me, and he was a douche bag.”

“Want me to fight him?”

I laugh at that and shake my head. “To be honest, Zander. I’m glad I found out what kind of guy he was before we married.” I exhale and think about that. In the end, it was a blessing. I was finding it harder and harder to keep my wants suppressed. Did I really want to be in a marriage where I couldn’t be myself?

“What happened?” he asks.

“Let’s just put it this way, when it comes to relationships, I’m a screwup. I end up ruining everything.”

“You screwed up your engagement?” he asked, surprised by that.

“Something like that.” I grab the bottle and put another splash into our glasses.

“Do you still love him?”

“No. I’m not sure I ever did. We worked at the same clinic, had the same interests, and I guess we fit as a couple in the outside world. But we didn’t fit everywhere,” I say, and then go quiet. Zander does not need to know about my past bedroom experiences.

“I see,” he says and nods, and I get the sense that he can see right through me, and knows exactly what I’m talking about.

“Never have I ever had such amazing sex,” I blurt out without thinking it through.

I toy with my glass, and wait for him to take a drink. This guy has a reputation, he’s been with numerous women who are a lot hotter than me, no doubt. I’m what one would classify as the girl next door, not a drop-dead gorgeous knockout.

He sets his glass on the nightstand, and a little thrill goes through me as the blue in his eyes changes from a sunny afternoon sky, to a thunderstorm brewing nearby. The chemistry between us is insane, really, and not something I’ve ever experienced before. But eventually that fades, as it will with us, and I’m sure come the end of our month, we’ll have gotten this out of our systems.

“Never have I ever sent a naked picture of myself to someone,” he says.

I laugh, and don’t take a drink. “Well, we’ll be changing that.”

“You’re right, we will.” He quickly takes his phone from his back pocket and hands it to me. “Put your contact information in.”

I do it quickly and hand his phone back.

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