“I’m so sorry she did that to you.” Julie realized she’d just spouted a canned line of sympathy and quickly added, “Any woman who uses a man like that is a complete witch.”

He chuckled. “I’m over it now, but it took me a long time to get there. Through counseling, I learned that some people must feel justified when they destroy someone else, so they re-create reality and demonize the person they’re leaving. She told me that she’d never had such boring sex in her life. In fact, everything about me was boring, and my faults were many. She even complained about my habit of organizing my underwear drawer.” He slanted her a mischievous look. “It never occurred to me to tell her I might not have fallen into that habit if she’d ever once done the laundry and put it away.” He swung his hand. “It’s weird, because my underwear drawers are a mess now. I think I fell back on organization because living with someone so totally chaotic drove me nuts. She wanted no structure in her life. No planning ahead. She was like a five-year-old who wanted ice cream and cookies or takeout for dinner every night.”

The notes of resignation and disgust in his voice made Julie laugh, and then she immediately hoped she hadn’t offended him. But he chuckled, too, and shook his head.

“Trust me. It was bad.” He swirled his beer and took a big gulp as if to fortify himself. “But, oh, well, water under the bridge. We live, we learn, and then we move on. It took me nearly five years to take a dip into the dating pond again. That was after I moved here, and when I wandered off the straight and narrow, I went to Crystal Falls. I met a few women and had delightfully boring sex.”

“That’s a long way to drive just to find companionship,” she observed.

“Screwing around in Mystic Creek would be bad for business.”

Julie got a sip of beer down the wrong pipe as an unexpected giggle erupted. Blackie held up his hand and grinned. “Laugh all you like, but a lothario in Mystic Creek gets boycotted by jealous husbands and faithful wives. I didn’t want to have that reputation. Besides, going to Crystal Falls gave me a change of scenery. I lived in Portland before coming here. Crystal Falls is a larger town with a better selection of night spots. If I had a couple of drinks, I spent the night in a motel and checked out the pawnshops and galleries before I drove back. I don’t go much anymore. It’s been about three years, I think.” He broke off and cleared his throat. Then he rolled the base of his tumbler between his palms. “One-night hookups served me well during that stage of my life, but at this point, I’m looking for something a little more meaningful.”

Watching him, Julie wished she’d been more honest when he asked where they were headed. She’d made it sound as if she were looking for only friendship when she actually yearned for more than that. There was something inexplicably attractive to her about Blackie. He was sure of himself in a way that soothed her. There was no pretense with him. And he truly did seem to be content with his life as it was, which she found intriguing. He wasn’t needy. He made her feel safe, she supposed, and yet there was a masculine edge to him that also excited her. What she really wanted was to be a little crazy just once and go to bed with him. She had a feeling he would be anything but boring. But she needed to think this through and be sure before she confessed that to him.