Page 30 of Inexplicable

I was also a hermit because I wasn’t good with people and I hated it when they stared at my scars.

Yeah, I was hyperaware and probably overly sensitive about those scars, but people looking a little shocked about my face wasn’t completely my imagination.

People did stare sometimes. The scar on the left side of my face was the most hideous, but I had a few on my neck and chest as well. I had to be careful about what I wore and tried to cover them as much as possible.

I definitely didn’t want to wallow in the melancholy of traveling alone.

Maybe I’d join in group travel someday, but I wasn’t sure that was my thing, either. But the good thing about that option was that my travel companions would get over the shock of seeing the scar that destroyed my face.

Normally, I was good with being alone, but there were times that I ached for companionship.

Traveling alone would probably be one of those times when I wished I was the kind of woman who could have a partner.

After trying the partner thing, I’d given up.

I just couldn’t seem to get that close to someone.

My last counselor had told me not to give up. That the right man could make all the difference.

I didn’t think so.

I’d dated a nice guy, someone with imperfections like me, but my heart just hadn’t been into that relationship. Not enough to trust him as a lifelong partner.

It had been nice to have companionship, but the feelings just hadn’t been there for either of us, and we’d finally had to let the relationship go.

My second attempt had been a disaster that had been over as soon as it had begun.

After that, I’d been done trying, telling myself I was better off alone.

I was defective when it came to relationships and trust, and I didn’t think that was going to change.

Maybe I should miss sex, but I really…didn’t. It hadn’t ever been that good for me.

Maybe that was why my ungodly attraction to Brock had come out of nowhere.

When I suddenly met Brock’s gaze, I realized that he was looking at me expectantly.

He was still waiting for me to answer, and he looked like he was willing to wait all day for that answer.

I wasn’t used to that, either.

Most people weren’t really all that interested in what I had to say unless it involved astrophysics.

I hesitated for a moment before I murmured, “Maybe I’ll start traveling now that I’m not in my position at the observatory anymore. I’ll have more flexibility.”

“Or if you find someone to travel with?” he suggested huskily. “I’m not sure why, but I get the feeling that you don’t really want to travel solo.”

I sent him a surprised look. “How do you know that?”

I didn’t even try to deny it. Brock sounded way too confident that he was right, and I didn’t want to lie to him, even though it would be far less embarrassing.

“Costa Rica got a little lonely for me last winter,” he said as he held my gaze. “I had way too much time to think. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed seeing the country, but it would have been better if I’d had someone to share it with.”

I swallowed hard.

There weren’t many guys who shared something like that. Especially not a guy as alpha as Brock.

My heart squeezed inside my chest as I answered, “I want to do something exciting like travel, but I’m kind of afraid that I’ll feel the same way. I think I’d wish that I had someone if I took those trips. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t really need a companion. I’m content with being alone. But traveling by myself just doesn’t sound that appealing, and Nina is my only close friend. She’s married with a family now, so it’s not like she can go travel with me. I don’t really have a friend to travel with right now. Most of the people I talk to on a regular basis are colleagues. We mostly talk about science.”