Page 66 of Craig

"My dad had some smooth moves. It took him that one night at the pub to convince her that they belonged together."

She had finished her sandwich and was sipping her coffee, looking so fascinated that he had to hide his amusement.

"What happened with the guy?"

"From what I was told, he gave in gracefully. The way my parents told it, it was love at first sight. He fell for her voice and then everything else. They spent the night talking until the sun came up. He asked her to marry him the next day."

"Do you believe that?" She toyed with the rim of her cup, expression thoughtful.

"Believe what?"

"That a person can fall in love with someone by just looking and meeting them for the first time."

"You don't?" he countered, watching her closely.

She shrugged. "It hardly seems logical."

"What does logic have to do with matters of the heart? I'm Irish enough to believe in fate."

"I'm American enough to believe in practicality. Love, as it is, should not be a matter of the heart, but of the mind. When the heart is involved, people tend to make mistakes, romanticize the emotion, when practicality is called for. After the haze has worn off, then comes the brutal reality. You don't know each other. How can you love someone you don't know?"

He took a sip of his coffee and contemplated his answer. He absolutely believed in love at first sight.

He hadn't fallen for her when he first met her, but the instant attraction had been present, that much he was sure of.

"It worked for my parents, and I've heard stories of others." He pointed his cup at her.

"You cannot sit there and tell me that there's no such thing."

She shrugged, not at all sure she wanted to pursue the avenue of conversation. It was starting to make her feel a little uncomfortable.

He had changed her mind about a lot of things, and she wasn't sure she liked it. And it had taken him a day.

Just one day.

Or it had started when he first asked her to pose as his wife. She was starting to doubt what was real and what was fake.

She felt like his wife, but she didn't believe in marriage, did she?

The lines were starting to get blurred. And she didn't like it one bit.

She had a history. She was from a broken home and had daddy issues.

She had adored the man. It still twisted her inside out to think of him.

"We should…" She shook her head.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Because of your dad."

"Don't call him that!" Her tone was sharp, but she couldn't help it.

"He's just the asshole who knocked up my mother to produce me. He never wanted anything to do with me. So, don't call him 'dad.' He's a monster. He broke her heart and still she pined over him."

Pushing from the counter, she started to pace.

"I don't believe in love. I never had and never will. Love hurts. It tears you into strips and makes you forget who you are. It humiliates you, brings you to your knees, so I want no part of it."