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such a personal question, especially since it had such a tragic ending.
    “I’m sorry to hear that. I hope my question didn’t seem too insensitive.”
    “It wasn’t. You had no way of knowing. Besides, I don’t mind you asking. It’s a lot easier for me to talk about it now than it used to be.”
    As much as she didn’t want to pry, she knew anything he revealed would give her insight to who he was as a person. While he was gorgeous, she didn’t want to take up with a man who wasn’t mentally stable. “Will you tell me about her?”
    Sterling took a sip of his wine. “Amelia was beautiful, kind, caring and full of life, all the way up to the unexpected end.”
    “Unexpected?”
    “She died of a brain aneurysm.”
    Naja instinctively reached out across the table. “I’m so sorry, Sterling.”
    “So am I. As I said, it was sudden. Amelia was a total health nut. Ate right and worked out.
    She was thirty eight when she passed.”
    “Did the two of you have any children?”
    “No, we’d tried unsuccessfully several times. We’d just decided to adopt a few months before everything happened.”
    Naja’s heart tightened in her chest and she struggled to hold back the tears springing into her eyes. So much heartache. She saw the pain in his eyes.
    “Amelia died eight months ago. At first it was everything I could do just to keep going. A lot of days I didn’t want to get out of bed. But my friend Elton refused to let me wallow in sorrow. He was there to pick me up when I needed it, gave me a shoulder to cry on if I couldn’t contain my sadness. More importantly he gave me several swift kicks when I needed them. He still does. I wouldn’t be here right now if it weren’t for him.”
    Sterling chuckled. “He says I need to balance out my work life and personal life. To an extent I agree with him. I’m ready to get back out there socially, but I want to take my time.”
    “Then you should. No one knows you like you know yourself.”
    “That’s true. What about you? Is there someone special in your life?”
    “No. I run my own event planning business, which usually has me extremely busy so I don’t have a lot of time to date.”
    “Ever been married? Any children?”

    “No to both.”
    “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but the men you’ve dated in the past must have been complete idiots to walk away from you.”
    She reached out and picked up a strawberry. “Who says they walked away?”
    He shrugged. “Doesn’t make it any better. I would have thought they would’ve fought
    harder to keep you.”
    His comment gave her pause. He was starting to sound more and more like a guy who
    wouldn’t go for a casual arrangement. That wasn’t good. While she was happy for her sister, she wasn’t looking for a permanent arrangement. Heck, she barely had time for casual. It’d been months since she’d done the horizontal—or vertical—tango with anyone. Sterling definitely seemed to be a good candidate, but she had to be certain.
    “Sterling, do you mind if I ask how old you are?”
    “No. I just turned forty-six in May.”

    She smiled. Right in the age bracket she’d guessed. Man did he make forty-six look good. He clearly took care of himself. Considering what he’d just revealed about his former wife, that didn’t come as a shock.
    “I’m thirty-one.”
    “A very mature thirty-one,” he murmured.
    “I’d like to think so. Which brings me to another question. Would you be open to becoming involved with someone while you’re here on vacation?”
    Sterling titled his head to the side and studied her. “What do you mean involved?”
    Okay then. He wanted straight and direct, she would give it to him. “Would you be open to a casual sex relationship?”
    He took a sip of wine. After he swallowed, he cleared his throat. “To be honest, I haven’t had a casual relationship since I was in my late twenties. I was married to my wife for fourteen years, dated her for an additional