“What?”
“I think your steak is still mooing.”
He paused, his steak knife still stuck in the meat, then laughed loudly. “And it’s delicious when it moos.”
“Is mine like that?” I pointed my fork at mine. “I mean, I’m all for a little pink, but I don’t even know why you cooked yours.”
“No, yours isn’t still mooing, as you put it. I hedged a bet on you being a medium-well kind of woman.”
“What made you think that?”
He was right, but I was interested. Guessing someone’s steak preference was quite the talent.
And it actually made perfect sense that he, alpha extreme, liked his steak still half mooing.
“Most of the women I know like it cooked until it’s virtually charcoal. You’re not like most of the women I know. You’re in a completely different league.”
My brow furrowed as he took a big bite of his half mooing dinner. “Different league? Is that a good thing?”
He swallowed his food, and his lips twisted up into a smile. “Yeah. You’re like Major League Baseball, and they’re...throwing-the-ball-in-the-backyard league baseball.”
I blinked at him. “So, basically, they’re collecting quarters in their piggy bank and I’m a millionaire?”
“Pretty much. Let’s just say they never got to see me enjoy eating a cow.”
“That’s still mooing.”
“Definitely not one that’s still mooing.”
“What an honor. I can barely contain my amazement.” Or my disgust at its redness.
“Sarcastic shit.” He smiled then sipped from his beer.
We fell into an easy silence as we ate. Unlike the others from earlier, it wasn’t awkward or tense, and it didn’t promise anything except comfort. It was a little scary, how at ease I felt here with him, just eating.
I lied. It was a lot scary. Despite the fact that I’d been hungry when I’d arrived, I couldn’t finish the steak or the salad.
There were too many thoughts whirling around in my mind—thoughts that morphed into questions I needed answers to. It was easy for Allie to tell me that sleeping with him and then leaving was the easiest thing to do, but in fact, it was the hardest.
I cared about West, and leaving someone you cared about was never easy.
“Can I ask you another question?” I asked as he brought out a filter jug of water and two glasses half filled with ice.
West set them between us, the glasses clinking as they went down, and poured the water into them. “You’re inquisitive tonight.”
“The last question wasn’t really serious. I just wanted to know if it’d really happened or you just said it to get back at me for what I’d said.”
“Get back at you? I’m almost thirty, Mia. I don’t have time for games like that.” He sat back down. “If I did and I wanted to get back at you, I’d have told you I didn’t charge her and let her suck me for free.”
“Fair enough,” I muttered.
“Ask your question. Something is obviously on your mind.”
I knew I shouldn’t, but it tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop it. “Why did you get married?”
West stilled. Yet again, my abruptness had caught him off guard. I really needed to work on not blurting shit out.
“Wow. That’s...random.” He chuckled quietly. “It’s as simple as I told you. I was young, I was stupid, and I thought she was the one. I got caught up in the success of the business and I wasn’t careful. She was an aspiring singer working a part-time job, and I should have gotten a prenup to protect myself, but you know I didn’t. I wish I could tell you some long, romantic story about how she broke my heart, but she didn’t.”
I pushed my plate to the side and sipped my water. Then I propped my chin up in my palm. “Is it really the reason why you don’t...have serious relationships?”
“Mostly. I also don’t have much time to dedicate to one.”
“You’ve given me enough of your time. Enough for a relationship.”
“Yes,” he said slowly, his gaze locking with mine. “But I want to spend time with you. There’s a difference between making time for somebody and time creating itself for them. Time creates itself for you. You just...fit.”
My stomach flipped. “Doesn’t that scare you?”
“Terrifies me.”
“Then why do you let it? Why do you let me fit into your life when you know this won’t be serious if it scares you that badly?”
“Because, sometimes, the things that scare us most are exactly what we need, and that’s why they’re scary.”