Free Catia (Starkis Family #6) by Cheryl Douglas

wasn’t afraid to call me on my B.S. either. He built me up when I needed it, tore me down when I deserved it, and poked fun when I needed to laugh. I’d dated enough losers to know a winner when I saw one, and Chase definitely won the prize for most compatible, if only I could figure out a way to convince him of that.
    “It’s not like you to be so introspective,” he said, pouring coffee into our cups from the carafe he’d charmed the waitress into leaving on the table. “I was convinced you didn’t have a censor. Whatever pops into your head pops out of your mouth.”
    I took his teasing as a good sign. It meant we were easing back into the easy rapport we’d once enjoyed as friends and coworkers before the sexual tension made it difficult for us to be in the same room.
    “Maybe I’ve changed in that regard too,” I said, watching him over the brim of my cup before I took a sip. “I told you I’ve changed a lot this past year. Don’t you believe me?”
    He popped a bite of scrambled egg into his mouth before tilting his head and studying me. “I don’t know yet. It’s too soon to say. I think you believe you have. But old habits die hard, right? Who’s to say you’re not going to revert back to your old ways?”
    “Why would I want to?” I cut my French toast before popping a raspberry and blueberry into my mouth. “I’m happy now. I wasn’t then.”
    He looked doubtful. “You weren’t happy with the single life? That was never the impression I got, Cat. I assumed you loved the single life—that’s why you didn’t want to get tied down.”
    “That was true.” I took a minute to enjoy my breakfast as I considered my response. I knew this was the conversation I’d hoped to have with Chase, so I couldn’t afford to screw this up and plant more doubts in his mind. “I looked forward to getting back to Chicago, my work, my friends, my home, but when I got there, I realized it wasn’t as great as I remembered.”
    “How so?”
    “I thought dating would make me forget you, so I tried it. Every experience was worse than the last.” I tried to suppress my smile when I said, “And those were my A-list guys.”
    “Your A-list guys?” he asked, scowling. “What the hell does that mean? You rate them? Please tell me it’s not based on sexual performance.” I kicked him under the table and laughed when he said, “Ow!”
    “I haven’t even slept with most of them. Those were just the ones I’d call when I wanted to have a good time. They were fun, no strings attached, ya know?”
    “I guess,” he said, digging into his breakfast as though he needed the distraction.
    “But spending time with them only made me miss you more.” I waited until he looked at me before I added, “So I stopped wasting my time going out with them and started spending it more productively, getting to know myself better.”
    “How’d you do that?”
    I was still cautiously optimistic, but I could almost see his walls coming down. “I started reading a lot more. Books that helped me figure out who I was and wanted I wanted.”
    He smirked. “You don’t seem like the type to read self-help books.”
    Ignoring the barb, I continued. “I started figuring out the things that brought me joy, and that meant spending less time partying with my friends. I didn’t need that anymore. It had served a purpose when I was younger, but now I’d much rather meet a friend for dinner or a coffee.”
    “Interesting.” He chewed his toast slowly as he regarded me carefully.
    “And I started spending a lot more time alone. And you know what? I liked it.” I laughed self-consciously. “I used to hate hanging out at home with nothing to do. I’d get lonely, so I’d have the TV or music blaring just to hear voices. By the time I left Chicago, I had a whole list of things I liked to do when I was home alone.”
    “This I gotta hear.”
    He may have been teasing me, but as long as he was willing to listen, I was open to