Still, there were always women who had a death wish that attracted them to a man who set hard boundaries. A few of them had convinced themselves they could get him to the altar, although he couldn’t imagine why they’d want to drag a commitment out of someone with such a deep-seated aversion to family life. As bad a husband as he’d be, he’d make an even worse father.

He still winced when he remembered all those sucker punches he’d thrown at his sisters when he was a kid and he hadn’t known any other way to keep them in line. It was a miracle he hadn’t hurt them.

He pitched his root beer can into a trash barrel and stuffed his hands in his pockets. At least one good thing was coming out of this misadventure—he didn’t have time to brood about the way he’d screwed up a professional life he’d worked so hard to build.

Not long after he’d put himself through college, his mother had died. With more financial responsibility for his family, he’d worked harder than ever to build his career, and it had paid off as he’d moved from a small-town paper to the Chicago News Bureau and finally to the Standard. He’d had everything he’d wanted: a high-profile job in a great city, money in the bank, good friends, and enough leisure to play some ice hockey. And if he sometimes thought a man who’d accomplished all his goals should be happier . . . well, nothing in life was perfect.

Then Sid Giles had come courting. Sid had been developing a television news program called Byline, and he wanted Mat as his head producer. Although Mat had no experience in television, his journalistic credentials were impeccable, and Sid needed him for the credibility he’d lend the show. In addition to offering Mat an astronomical amount of money, Sid promised that he’d be able to do quality work.

Mat initially turned him down, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the offer. Maybe this was what was missing from his life, he’d thought. A chance to push himself in a new direction. He’d finally accepted the job and set off for L.A.

At first Sid had kept his promise, and Mat had been able to do some good work. But Byline’s ratings didn’t grow fast enough, and before long he found himself producing stories on cheating husbands, lesbian wives, and clairvoyant pets. Still, he held on, fueled by pure stubbornness and the inability to admit he’d made a mistake. Finally, as the stories had grown sleazier and his old newspaper friends started ducking his calls, he’d known he couldn’t do it any longer. He’d turned in his resignation, put his luxury condominium up for sale, and walked away.