Page 6 of Reckless
“He kept calling himself an empath.”
Charlie groaned.“Oh, no.”
I pressed my hand to my heart.“He said his greatest weakness was loving too deeply.”
Hope pressed both hands over her face.“No.”
“Yes.”
“How long did you last?”Miley asked.
I sucked in my lips and wondered if I should lie but I shrugged and smiled.“Fifteen minutes.I excused myself to go to the bathroom and climbed out a window.”
Charlie slapped the table.“You did not.”
“I did.Ground floor, thankfully.”
Miley looked appalled and impressed simultaneously.“Was he still there when you left?”
“Probably.He was very committed to the energy.”
Miley muttered, “These men should all be in jail.”
“I asked what his job was,” I went on.“He said he was currently energetically in transition.”
Xerses leaned back in his chair, eyes still on mine.“And yet you remain single.Mysterious.”
The table laughed.
I narrowed my eyes.“You seem awfully invested in my romantic failures.”
“Not failures,” he said mildly.“Research.”
“For what?”
His gaze held mine half a second too long.
“Quality control.”
I stared at him.“Quality control for what?”
“For the men wasting your time.”
His eyes sparkled but I knew I meant nothing to him.I shrugged.“You don’t get to audit my love life.”
“I’m not auditing.I’m observing.”
“There’s a difference?”
“Always.”
“Name it.”
“Auditing implies I have authority.Observing implies I’m paying attention.”
My hair on my arms stood up.“Both sound terrible.”
“For you, maybe.”
