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She wanted to tell hi, that people weren’t like that, except she thought for him, maybe they were

"What did Jenny have to say?" she asked

"She was upset, or so she said The week after we broke up, her ht her a car That see about the past had to be hurting him That sort of experience would leave a scar

"Another wonant I was always careful, but I had no reason to think she was lying I did the right thing and asked her to ested ait until after the baby was born, so the plans weren’t rushed She freaked at that"

Marina sluuess She wasn’t really pregnant?"

"No She had a friend who peed on the stick and that’s what she showed ht away and if that didn’t work, to ‘lose’ the baby right before the wedding We would both be so devastated by the tragedy that we’d get married anyway"

"I hate that there are people like her in the world," she said "I know the ood experiences omen"

"So for each one to finally admit it’s all about the uy You’re s"

He smiled "Wait I need a ’ cohed "You knohat I mean It’s not always about the money It can’t be There aren’t that many horrible people in the world"

"Before Ryan fell for your sister, he was dating a single irl Ryan was convinced he’d found the perfect woman He was crazy about the kid, wanted the to a friend about how she’d hated having a baby until she realized that irl That she planned to stay married to Ryan for a couple of years, then divorce him and live on the child support he would offer to pay"

Her heart ached for Todd "So what do you do? Never trust? Never care tooso far"

"But that’s so lonely Don’t you want to be in love?"

"Not bad enough to get taken I can get a woman whenever I want If I need another heartbeat in the house, I’ll get a dog"

Sadness nearly overwhel, but in truth, there were big holes in his life He was powerful and in charge--the sort of ly kind and caring And he would never trust a wo?" he asked

"That we’re both seriously twisted You can’t trust anyone else and I can’t trust myself"

"I don’t believe that," he told her "You have it all together Don’t you date nerdy guys who are going to change the world?"

"Most of the ti and…" She bit her lower lip They were supposed to be talking about him, not her

"And safe?" he asked, his voice low

"Maybe Sometimes I just…" She took a sip of the tea "My mom fell in love with my dad the second she saw him She was seventeen and to this day, she still adores hireatest husband and father He leaves He just up and disappears forhe’ll be gone Every time he walks out, her heart breaks But she won’t tell him he can’t come back She won’t let herself love anyone else She lives a half-life, only truly happy when he’s with her"

"You’re not like that," he told her "You’re tough"

"You don’t know that and neither do I I’uy who’ll breakin love, really falling in love, see over control of my life It’s not ona chance, you date guys you’re not at risk of falling in love with"

She looked at hi out erous territory"

"I’ht?"

"Maybe"

"You’re always the object of affection, never the one at e me sound mean and I’m not I just don’t want to fall for anybody until I’m sure I won’t be destroyed"

"You can never be sure"

"I refuse to believe that," she said "One day I’ll take a chance"

"Will you?"

She wanted to believe she would That one man would be worth her step of faith

"Obviously we both need therapy," she said "Maybe we could get a group rate"

He laughed The sound ood inside Then she yawned

"Sorry," she said as she covered her ht"

"Me, either" He rose "Cohts raced through her mind Bed? With him? As in sex? She wanted to be shocked and insulted She wanted to stand up and slap hi, filled her brain, she found herself just as interested in saying yes

Todd held up both hands "Sorry Poor word choice Let o upstairs where we can each sleep in our own beds Better?"

She nodded, because that hat he expected, but inside, she felt a sharp stab of disappointment What was up with that?

He waited until she’d risen, then put a hand on the suided her out of the kitchen

"We’ll ure out if we ever want food again"

"Sounds like a plan"

At the top of the stairs, they each went their separate way But as she closed the door of the guest roo he’d meant what he said the first time

Later that afternoon, Marina stepped out of the shower and reached for a towel Todd ht not invite a lot of lady friends to his place, but he kept the guest room well stocked In addition to the toothbrush and toothpaste she’d found earlier, there was also shampoo, conditioner, body wash and an assort on a yuave her hair a halfhearted blow-dry and headed downstairs