Standing By: A Knight's Tale #2 by Claudia Y. Burgoa Page A

though, she had the girl Dad always wanted, Mom upped the ante by having the only child with Welsh eyes.”
    “The ghostly green eyes?” His eyes pin me down and as they observe me, I feel as if they’re trying to enter inside my soul.
    “Yes,” my breath hitches and I can’t break the connection. “My grandparents made a big production each time they saw me and mentioned how I was a hundred percent Welsh taking away some of Paige’s spotlight. Speaking of Paige, the wedding is at midnight. What are the plans for the next few hours?”
    “Dinner first.” He finally moves away, taking the first aid kit on top of the counter then proceeds to spray some antiseptic and covers the cut with a band-aid. “We’ll come up with a plan while I keep my mouth shut and not tell you how amazing my food is, which we already know it is. Don’t we?”
    “I kind of like your mac-n-cheese.” I tell him as I leave the bathroom and head to the closet to pick one of the dresses I brought and my new gladiator sandals. “Give me five minutes and I’ll be ready to have fun. Safe fun.”
    “I’m usually fun and with me everything will always be perfect. What can go wrong?”
    I cringe after he says that because those are the hex words of my life.

Chapter 12
    Hayley
    W e walk to the restaurant down the street from where we’re staying. They serve American cuisine, burgers and fries, a safe meal to avoid the critic inside him that drives me crazy. It occurs to me that it must be annoying to go out on a date with him, so I ask about his love life.
    “Love life?” He chews on his hamburger. “I don’t have such a thing.”
    “So you’re a playboy, love ’em and leave ’em the next day?” I snatch one of his sweet potato fries and dip it in the ketchup.
    Next time order those delicious fries instead of the celery sticks, Hayley.
    “Only when I travel,” he responds. I finish my beer and wait for him to continue. “In New York it’s different, I go out with one girl who interests me and when I get bored we end the sex.”
    “Sex, no dates?” His knitted eyebrows move closer as his forehead furrows. “As in you don’t go on dates, you only sleep with them?”
    “We go out to night clubs, if that counts.” Then his speculative eyes concentrate on my face. “How about you, other than Ted and Mr. Scumbag. Any other guys?”
    “No, I don’t… it’s seriously complicated. Going out at four in the afternoon is hard for a lot of them, and I have to head to bed early.” Following the Mitch method to circle around a conversation, I strike again with a question of my own. “So you’ve never dated seriously?”
    “In theory, I did a couple of times,” he takes another bite of his burger and after finishing he continues. “The first time was ten years ago, freshly unpacked from London; I met this girl that… she was different. Full of drama, I think we broke up on a daily basis and had hot make-up sex the same amount of times. We always had hot and heavy sex, at least that’s what I thought back when I was nineteen. After the final breakup, I realized that it’s not worth it to have a relationship, at least not for me. That was until I met the second one, successful, smart, great body, and she got along with my mother. Things didn’t work out in the end, and we called it quits.”
    “Translation, you’re still hung up on one of them and won’t give me the full story,” I steal another fry. “Got it. Now tell me about our nightly tour, Mr. Fun.”
    “No, I didn’t say that.” He insists. “I said it isn’t worth my time, that I prefer to have a few months of fun and move on rather than try to have a relationship with a woman that will only bring drama to my life. I like simple and there isn’t a woman on earth who will make me change my view about it.”
    “You say tomato, I hear: ‘ You’re right, Hayley. ’” I then change the subject. “What are we doing after this?”
    We agree on visiting the