“I will write your obituary. Here lies Ethan, who never knew when to stop asking tactless questions.”
“So you slept with Eric. And the earth didn’t move.”
“I never said the earth didn’t move.”
“Your expression said it. Was that why you broke up?”
“No!” She picked up his glass, intending to refill it. Why were they even talking about this? “He didn’t want a relationship. He wanted the sex part.”
“I can understand that.”
“I’m sure you can.”
“No, I mean I understand him wanting to have sex with you. Any man would.”
She almost dropped the glass. “Stop saying things like that.”
“Why?”
“Because it makes me uncomfortable.”
“Isn’t that what Challenge Harriet is all about? I’m pushing you out of your comfort zone. You’re welcome.”
“I’m supposed to be grateful you’re embarrassing me?”
“No. You’re supposed to answer my questions until you’re not embarrassed. It’s okay to talk about sex. It’s okay for women to love sex.”
“I don’t love sex.” The words came out before she could stop them and she saw his eyes darken.
She wanted to snatch the words back because this was a conversation she definitely didn’t want to have.
“So the earth really didn’t move.”
Not even a faint tremor, but she didn’t want to admit that to him.
It seemed she didn’t have to because he nodded. “Interesting. So who did make the earth move?”
“What’s this sudden interest in sexual seismic activity? I really don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
“You’re shy, so whoever is with you would need to take their time and gain your confidence before going any further. I’m guessing Eric and Charlton both jumped on you like dogs in heat.”
That was exactly how it had happened.
“What happened with your wife?” If he could ask personal questions, so could she. “What went wrong?”
“She married me.” He slumped back against the pillows and let his eyes close.
“Oh no, you don’t get off that easily, buster.” Harriet folded her arms. “If you embarrass me, then I can embarrass you.”
“I’m not embarrassed. I don’t particularly like talking about my marriage, that’s all. No man wants to confront his failures.”
“She must have contributed too. A relationship is never one-sided, even a bad one.” And she’d been in a few bad ones.
“All right, let’s talk about my ex-wife. I deserve it, I guess. What do you want to know?”
“Where did you meet?”
“She’s a journalist. She was doing a series on real life in the ER. She interviewed me and then decided I was good on camera and she wanted to make the whole series about me.”