Easy Kisses (The Boudreaux Series Book 4) - Kristen Proby Page 0,41

it.”

She sits at a plate and waits patiently while I dish the food, giving her more than she thinks she wants.

“How was your day?” I ask and settle in to eat. The hot bread is delicious, as are the pasta and red sauce.

“It went well. We were busy, so that’s always good.” She spoons up some spaghetti and closes her eyes with a sigh of delight. “This is just so good.”

“Watching you eat is like watching someone have sex,” I reply and run through baseball stats in my head.

“It is not,” she says with a laugh. “I just like food.”

“Almost as much as sex,” I agree and offer her some bread. “So work went well. How is your family?”

“Curious.” She butters her bread and licks her finger. “I’ve now heard from all of the siblings. They’re curious to know more about you, and to hear how I’m doing.”

“That sounds normal enough.” I reach over and tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear. “They love you and I’m a stranger.”

“I get it,” she says with a shrug. “And I’ve never been one to bring men around.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t think any of them have ever met anyone I’ve dated. Certainly not the boys. Actually, now that I think about it, Van and Gabby met Ryan once.”

The mention of another man’s name sets my teeth on edge, but I keep my cool as she continues talking. This is what I’ve been waiting for: Charly relaxed and telling me more about herself.

“But I just don’t date seriously. Ryan and I had a mutually satisfying arrangement for the better part of ten years, but it wasn’t serious.”

“You had a friends with benefits for ten years?” I ask, completely thrown. She’s amazing. Who would be satisfied with that?

“Yeah. Well, no. It’s complicated.”

“I have nothing but time,” I remind her.

“We met in college. The sex was always great, and I thought we were friends too. Not long ago, I discovered that he doesn’t even really like me all that much. It was just sex for him, and I’m done.” She shakes her head and takes another bite of food. “He’s called a few times, but not in a while now. I hope he finally believed me last time when I said don’t call me again. Being an adult and entering into a mutually respectful physical relationship is one thing, but when there’s no affection there at all, well, that’s a problem for me.”

“And other than Ryan, there haven’t been any serious relationships.”

“No.” She shakes her head again and shrugs. “I’m busy with the shop and my family.”

“So you’re saying you don’t have time for a relationship?”

“No, I’m saying that I don’t have time to go and seek one out. Dating isn’t easy. You know this; you deal with it every day.”

“I do. I get it.” I nod and can’t help but feel a bit sorry for her. She’s never been in love, or had her heart broken. She’s never had a relationship.

That’s about to change, and she doesn’t even know it yet.

“You know, I was mad at myself when I was in Montana.”

This brings me out of my reverie and catches my attention.

“How so?”

“I was just so pissed that I let Ryan use me for sex for all of those years. Granted, it was mutual, and it was exclusive. If either of us wanted to see other people, our physical relationship stopped. We were honest about that, and I believe he told me the truth.”

“Okay, that sounds reasonable.”

“But I was blind too, because I honestly believed he was my friend. And then we had the day in Montana when you drove home that we need to know our worth, and not settle for anything less than we deserve.”

“You deserve so much, Charly.”

“I know.” She nods and pushes her empty plate away. She ate every bite. “My dad reminded all of us frequently that we deserved a person who loved us the way he loved our mom.”

“You do.”

“And I just convinced myself that Ryan was good enough until something better came along. It wasn’t really fair to either of us.”

“And how do you feel now?”

“I’m not angry, and I’ve broken it off completely with him, so there are no more games.”

“So now that you know that you were participating in unhealthy behavior, you’ve taken steps to correct it, and you’ve purged the toxic relationship from your life.”

“God, you’re good at this,” she says with a laugh. “Yes, I would say all of that is