Upon a Midnight Clear (Legend, Colorado 2)

"And you don’t have any furniture?"

He nodded behind him. "I have a couch. Doesn't that qualify?"

"You know what they say about guys that don't have furniture," she said, sitting on the couch.

"I have a feeling I'm going to find out."

"No couch, no commitment."

"I have a couch," he repeated, lighting the fire.

"Well, you get the drift. Men who can't commit to furniture are certainly not going to be able to commit to a relationship."

He stood up and tilted his head, looking at her curiously. "I've got to admit I've never heard that before."

She shrugged her shoulders as she daintily sipped her tea.

"Just for your information," he said, lean

ing on the fireplace mantle, "the reason why I don't have furniture is because I was committed. And when we broke up, she got the furniture."

"Oh?" she asked as innocently as she could. "Ex-wife?"

He shook his head as he sat back down next to her. "No. Serious girlfriend. We dated for five years, lived together for one. When we split up, she got the furniture, and I got Geena. Which is exactly what I wanted."

"Oh," she said again, staring into the fire.

"Well?" he said, leaning over to look her in the eyes.

"What?"

He flashed her a sly grin. "You're going to let it drop? You're not going to ask me why it didn't work out?"

"Okay, doctor," she said amicably. "Why didn't it work out?"

He shrugged. "I really don't know," he said thinking. "It was just one of those things. We never fought, we just… drifted apart Actually, there was never that… spark, you know what I mean? I guess I always knew that we would never marry. And so did she."

She nodded.

"In retrospect, I think we were both too much alike. There wasn't enough… balance."

"Was she in medicine?"

He nodded. "A surgeon. And, just FYI, she was a couple of years older than me." He took a sip of his tea. "So much for your theory of my dating younger women. Although," he said, hesitating, "I have to admit I've been out with a few younger women since my breakup with Robin."

"Playing the field?"

"Not really. I just… well, my time is pretty valuable to me. I don't have much of it. And I've decided not to keep seeing a woman when I know we're not right for each other. I learned that lesson."

Kim nodded. She understood. After all, she felt the same way—which unfortunately, meant that she usually ended up spending the holidays by herself—or worse, sitting across from a blind date.

"What about you?" he asked. "Any marriages in your past? Close calls?"

She shook her head and furrowed her brow, thinking. "I was serious with someone earlier this year, but it didn't work out"

"Too bad."

She shook her head. "Well, not really serious. I guess I should qualify by saying serious for me, which is probably casual for you… am I making sense?"