a hollow laugh burst from her chest and she shook her head. “That’s it?”
“Pretty much,” he said with a heavy sigh.
She lifted her gaze back to his, and could see there was so much more behind those simple words that he wasn’t saying—things he wasn’t willing to give voice to—and there was no way in hell she was going down that road again. If she ever ended up in another relationship, it would have to be with someone who could actually talk to her. She didn’t have the freaking time or patience to have to pick through and decipher every single thing a man said or didn’t say. And, damn it, she shouldn’t have to.
Moving to her feet, she was ready to call it quits on the awkward-as-hell conversation and finally go inside—which was what she should have done in the first place—when he shocked the hell out of her by swiftly saying, “I want another chance.”
“What?” If there’d been a mirror in front of her, Karin was pretty sure she would be able to watch all the blood draining out of her face, while her eyes went wide from the shock.
“Fuck,” he growled, shoving one of his big, masculine hands back through his wet hair in a clear sign of frustration. “I didn’t mean to just blurt it out like that, but you look ready to bolt.”
“I am ready to bolt.” She blinked a few times as she stared into his guarded gaze, unable to believe this was actually happening. “What the hell, Paul? Is this some kind of sick joke?”
He clenched his jaw so hard that she could see the muscle there pulsing beneath his tanned skin, his nostrils flaring as he pulled in a harsh, ragged breath. “I know I fucked up. Badly. But that’s not going to happen again.”
She narrowed her eyes on him, so angry her voice was actually shaking as she said, “Damned straight it’s not. Because I’d have to be fucking crazy to agree to go out with you again. And I am one hundred percent sane, you giant jackass!”
A less confident man would have probably turned tail and run by then, but Paul just sucked in another deep breath and kept his gorgeous blue eyes locked tight with hers. “Just because I screwed up once doesn’t mean that I’ll do it again.”
“You screwed up twice, Paul. First by not having the balls to call me and cancel the date, and then by showing up with another woman before even talking to me. Both actions wreak of you being a self-centered prick.” She pulled in a deep, unsteady breath, then slowly let it out, her voice softer as she said, “No matter how you look at it, you’re not a safe bet.”
He started to argue, but she cut him off. “And before you say anything else, yes, I have to be safe. It’s not just me that I have to think about when it comes to what I do and who I spend my time with. My son is the biggest, most important part of my life.”
He looked genuinely shaken. “Christ. I would never do anything to hurt that little boy.”
“Not intentionally. I believe that. But he doesn’t need another man in his life who just walks away without a backward glance.”
Pain flashed through his shadowed gaze, the creases at the corners of his eyes deepening as he searched her expression. “Fuck, Rin. Is that really what you think of me?”
She shook her head again, her voice roughened by too many raw, painful emotions as she said, “One date, Paul. You walked away before we even had one date.”
His quiet response was thick with regret. “And you’re never going to let me forget it, are you?”
Setting her glass down on the small table that stood between the rattan chairs, she crossed her arms over her chest and looked him right in the eye. “Are you ready to talk to me and tell me what happened?”
Wariness filled his expression. “What do you mean?”
She lifted her chin, determined to say what needed to be said, even though the entire conversation was awkward and painful as hell. God, just being near the guy hurt. “Clearly, there was something that caused you to do a complete one-eighty on me,” she told him, surprised by how calm she sounded. “I deserve to know what it was.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it, the look falling over his face so shuttered, she felt like a door had just been