Fatal Attraction (Dark Desires 4)

“Well, I don’t mean to pry, but…”

He smiled. “But you will.”

I bumped him with my shoulder. “It’s just that, well, according to Google…”

“Ah, according to Google,” he said, shaking his head. “My favorite words. I miss the good old days before Google wasn’t around to track my life or provide fodder for the tabloids.”

“Sorry, I’ll shut up,” I said.

“No, no, finish your thought, Katie O’Hara,” he said. “You’ve opened the can of worms. We might as well fish with them.”

“You sound like my father.”

He gave me a sideways grin. “That’s something my old man says.”

“Ah, all Irish dads must pull from the same cliché pile,” I said.

“Anyway, go ahead. According to Google…”

“According to Google, you and Cassandra Leone were engaged once,” I said.

“On that point at least, Google is correct,” he said, the cup poised at his lip. “We were engaged. Once. A long time ago.”

“What happened?”

“Google didn’t tell you that?”

“Google was somewhat vague on that point,” I said.

He shrugged with his eyes. “Let’s just say that Cassandra is not the marrying kind,” he said. “She prefers to play the field rather than commit to one specific team.”

I stared at him, trying to catch any hint that he wasn’t being honest with me. He seemed sincere. I said, “So, you wanted to get married, but she didn’t?”

“Something like that,” he said. He glanced over and shrugged. “Do you find that too hard to believe? That the man would want the commitment while the woman wanted to remain free? Not all men are afraid of commitment, you know. And not all women are looking for Mr. Right.”

“Let’s just say that it’s been my experience that it works the other way around,” I said. “Usually, it’s the woman wanting a ring and the man wanting to play the field.”

“Yep, usually, but not in this case,” he said seriously.

“So, what happened?”

“We had dated for a couple of years. My parents loved her. Her parents loved me. We moved in together. We got along very well. So, one day I proposed, and she accepted.”

“And then?”

“And then her feet turned into solid blocks of ice.”

“So, she backed out of the engagement?”

He nodded with the cup at his lips. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand and looked up at the moon. “Without warning, she gave me back my ring. She said she would rather be honest with me up front rather than do something stupid later. She was simply not the monogamous kind. She loved sex. And she loved men. Plural. She didn’t think it was in her to love just one man.”

“Wow,” I said quietly. “That’s just… wow.”

“Yes, that is just wow.” He poured himself another cup of hot chocolate from the thermos and took a careful sip. “But, it was for the best. She would have ended up cheating on me, and I probably would have done something completely stupid like killing them both in my bed.”

I giggled inappropriately. “That wild Irish temper would have gotten the best of you?”

He smiled. “Yes. Anyway, we split up, but somehow managed to remain friends and it worked out for the best.” He leaned his head onto mine. “I’m here with you now. That might not have happened if I had married Cassandra. I’d probably be embroiled in a bitter divorce and flat broke now.”