He jumped a little and met her gaze, his hazel eyes an interesting mix of brown and green.
To his credit, the human male merely shrugged. "It's not every day a guy is treated like a piece of meat, trying to be the best cut on offer."
His accent held the tiniest amount of twang, almost liked he'd grown up in Texas but had left long ago.
Gaby didn't realize she had a weakness for the hint of a twang until just that moment, and she wanted to hear more. "Welcome to what females deal with on a daily basis."
He tilted his head. "Those who treat you that way don't deserve you. It's pretty simple."
Gaby blinked. No excuses, or even apologies. Nope, this human merely said she was worth more.
Both human and dragon took a greater interest.
Not that she was quite ready to make a decision. She needed at least a little more from him first. Glancing down at his name tag she read, "Ryan Ford." She met his gaze. "Well, Ryan, why are you here, then?"
If he was surprised by her question, the human didn't show it. And Gaby barely noticed that she held her breath, waiting to hear his answer.
Ryan Ford still couldn't believe he'd gone through with this damn thing.
His younger sister had hounded him until he'd said yes and promised to go through it all seriously, Tiffany confident that merely attending the lottery would get him thinking about moving on.
As if it were simple to forget your twin brother had stolen your wife and married her a little over a year ago.
No. He sighed. His ex-wife had stolen so many of his years, his heart, his energy, and so much more he didn't want to think about right now. Just wallowing a little was breaking his promise to Tiffany, and he loved his sister too much to do that.
Ryan had been just about to stop staring at the ceiling when the sexy dragon lady had spoken to him.
Maybe Ryan should've been charming, or some other bullshit. But for some reason, he'd spoken the truth with her. It'd been a long time since he'd felt that at ease with another so quickly.
But then she asked her question, a difficult one, about why he was here.
Again, he should've smiled and been charming, and said he was there to find someone as lovely as her. But his brain and tongue betrayed him and he replied, "Because my little sister thought this would be the best way to move on from the woman who stomped on my heart and smashed it to pieces."
Well, that should make her walk away, shouldn't it? Then he could go back to Phoenix and find some other way to move on with his life.
Although the dragon lady named Gabriela didn't walk away but merely stared at him with her pretty brown eyes, searching his gaze as if determining whether he was telling the truth or not.
Given what he'd heard of dragon-shifters over the years—about being quick-tempered and often more animal than human—it surprised him.
Maybe dragons and humans were more alike than he'd realized.
Then her pupils flashed to slits and back, and he sat up straighter. He'd heard dragon-shifters did that with their eyes when talking with the inner dragon inside them, but he'd never seen it before.
Maybe some would think it weird or alien, but it intrigued him, reminding him how humans and dragons were different in at least one area—the woman in front of him could shift into a giant flying beast.
Gabriela asked, "How long ago did the female break your heart?"
He was aware of the men sitting all around him, no doubt reveling in his secrets or pitying him since most guys would rather chop off an arm than share personal information. But frankly, Ryan didn't give a shit. He'd never understood the need to be secretive and stony. Life was too short to be an asshole for most of it. He'd leave that title to his brother. "Almost two years ago."
"And how old are you?"
The corner of his mouth ticked up. "Tell me your age first, darling."
"Twenty-four."
No hesitation, no admonishing him about asking a woman her age, just the truth.
Ryan leaned forward a little, wanting to talk more with her. "I'm thirty-six."