The Soul Mate (Roommates, # 4)

Bren

I’d never wanted a glass of wine so badly in my entire life.

Though, of course, I would have taken a shot, too. Or maybe a hole in the head. Anything to get me off this constant roller coaster or to make me less likely to hide under the table until he finally gave up and left.

Swallowing hard, I forced myself to remember what he’d just asked me but was saved when the waitress stopped by our table to take our order. “Uh, the apple, bacon, and gorgonzola salad, I think. Sounds good. Not that I’m like craving apples or anything.”

He nodded. “It does sound good. Steak for me, please.”

He ignored my complete spazziness just like he had earlier. Which, of course, made perfect sense.

Because that’s exactly what he was-perfect.

Seriously, not only had this guy completely rocked my world in bed, but now he was telling me about his close family ties and how he stayed in the city to take care of his ailing mother? What was he going to say next, that he was up for sainthood after performing his next miracle?

“What’s on your mind?” His deep, rumbling voice broke through my thoughts and I looked up at him, feeling weirdly like those clear blue eyes of his could see through me and into my mind.

“What?”

“You have a weird expression on your face. I was just wondering why. What’s going on in your head?”

“Oh, uh” -I cleared my throat-“it’s silly.”

“Something about the animals?”Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“No.” Damn. Why hadn’t I just said yes? That would have been the perfect out.

“Then what?” He laughed.

I glanced around and finally huffed out a sigh. “This is going to sound stupid.”

“I doubt it.”

“Well, then, if you have to know, I was wondering why you’re still single.”

He raised his eyebrows and I rushed to finish my thought.

“I mean, you’re handsome and successful. You’re a doctor. You must have women falling all over themselves to get to you, and you see hundreds of women in your office.”

“Dating a patient is not an option,” he said. “It’s unprofessional, not to mention unethical.”

“Okay, fine,” I murmured, slicing my hand through the air. “Other than that, though. You have to have had women fawning all over you, and you’ve got these stories about bringing babies into the world and taking care of your sick mom and all that, so, like, what’s the deal?”

“What’s the deal?” he repeated, and his eyebrows hitched slightly higher. Taunting me. Why couldn’t I make sense while talking to him? I’d had just about enough of stuttering Bren and wondered when poised Bren would come out of hiding.

“Yeah. Why aren’t you already taken? You’re what…thirty?”

He cleared his throat again. “Thirty-two.”

It seemed ludicrous. Unless, of course, he was already taken and hadn’t felt it pertinent to fill me in on that fact. I toyed with my fork trying to act nonchalant as I waited for him to respond.

He rubbed at his perfectly chiseled jaw. “Well, I do date quite a lot.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you’re single.”

He eyed me and then took a sip of his drink. “Look, I’ll tell you the truth, but then I’m going to be the one sounding silly.”

“Seems only fair at this point, considering the level of awkward I had to suffer through on your exam table,” I fired back.

“You got me there.” He tipped his head in a clipped nod. “The reason I haven’t settled down with one person is because I’m looking for more than just sex and companionship.” His intense gaze burned into mine as he leaned forward, and I barely suppressed a shudder. “It’s going to sound cheesy, but the fact is, I want a soul mate. Someone who not only loves me, but understands me on my deepest level, you know? Accepts me for who I am, faults and all. After watching my parents all my life-and especially through my mother’s illness-I just think life is too short to waste it on anything less.”

A lump knotted in my throat.

Life was too short.