We were each five questions deep into Steph's little game. She now knew that my middle name was Matthew and that when I was ten, I'd broke my right leg jumping my bike. I'd lost my virginity at the age of sixteen to a girl by the name of Bridgett Quinn who was two years my senior. I also knew how to ride a horse and drive a tractor. Though, I made her promise to never tell anyone about the last two. I saw the teasing Hal took when the guys found out he was a farm boy. Even though, his quiet, reserved demeanor does tend to make him an easy target, I didn't need to risk the harassment.

On the flip side, I now understood how Steph managed to obtain her job with Vinnie. Knowing Vinnie, I didn't bother to ask what dirt she was blackmailing him with. It had to be pretty hideous, considering the stories I'd heard. In college, she graduated in the top five percent of her class and held aspirations of opening her own lingerie shop. That dream had died with the abrupt closure of EE Martin, leading to her needing to blackmail Vinnie for a job. Her favorite color was lavender, and her favorite alcoholic mixed drink was a Mojito.

"Okay." she cocked her head to the side and looked at me. "So, same question. What's your favorite mixed drink?"

"I'm really more of a beer kind of guy," I said. "But I don't mind a good screwdriver once in a while."

"Oh, I forgot about a screwdriver…yum," she murmured. "Okay, your turn."

"Okay." I took a moment to think. "Did you participate in any sports in high school?"

She turned her head to look out the window into the blackness. I'm sure if it had been daylight, I would have seen her blushing. "Promise you won't laugh."

Her request had me arching a brow I knew she couldn't see. What in the hell kind of sport did she participate in that made her embarrassed? "I Promise."

"I was a baton twirler. Though I wasn't all that good at it."

I worked to stifle my laugh, then had to fight back a growing erection at the thought of her in one of those skimpy twirler outfits. Damn! "Really?" I asked, my voice just a bit rough.

Her head whipped around, and I knew without looking at her that she'd narrowed her gaze on me. "Are you laughing at me?"

"No." I shook my head. "Not at all. How did you get roped into being a twirler?"

The glow of the dashboard lights provided just enough illumination that I was able to see her shoulder lift in a shrug. "I tried out because my mom hounded me to. Then I got picked mostly because I knew how to dance."

My shock returned. "You're a dancer?"

"I used to be," she replied. "I don't get to do much dancing anymore."

Well that explained the long, sexy legs.

"What about you?" she asked. "Play any sports in school?"

"I was a wide receiver on the football team and played point guard in basketball during the winter."

"That makes sense," she replied. "You're so athletic. So, why did you go into the Army?"

"Hey, it's my turn to ask a question," I protested. I could almost feel her rolling her eyes at me.

"Fine." She folded her arms across her chest. "Ask your next question."

While I was curious to know how many partners she'd slept with, knowing Steph, she'd reciprocate that question. Since I hadn't exactly been a choir boy, it might be best to avoid that topic. Besides, while we all suspected she'd slept with the boss, I really didn't need or want confirmation. Though I was still a little curious as to how wild she could be. "What's the craziest place you've had sex?"

I couldn't see her face, but I could feel her go rigid in the seat. "You couldn't ask me what my favorite movie was or my favorite food, instead?"

"Your favorite movie is Ghostbusters, and your favorite foods are Boston cream donuts and Pino's meatball subs," I replied.

Several seconds of silence passed and I could feel her staring at me. "How did you know that?" she finally asked.

"I pay attention. Now answer the question."

She hesitated, then blew out a breath. "Okay. You know that blind alley behind the old boarded up movie theater that's near the TPD?"

"The one that's a couple blocks from Leeder Street?"

"That's the one."

"That's it? You did it in an alley?" While I was impressed that she'd done it basically out in public, where she could have been caught, it wasn't all that high on my wild list.

"In the front seat of Ranger's Porsche 911," she added.

"Hell." I cringed at the mental image that popped into my head of Steph with the boss. "I'm sorry I asked."

"Hey, you said yourself that you guys thought I was sleeping with Ranger."

"Yeah, but I didn't really need it confirmed," I replied.

"Don't ask those kinds of questions if you don't really want to know the answers," she shot back. "And since you decided to go down that rabbit hole, same question," she said.

I grinned. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"Not really but turnabout is fair play. So, spill."

"It was in a hot air balloon in Italy."

"A hot air balloon?" she repeated.

"It was right before I went into the Rangers program. Our unit was on its way back to the states after the end of our deployment when there was a mechanical issue with the plane. We had to land at a base in Italy and wait for repairs. Our commander gave us leave and I found my way to a local bar where I met a girl who happened to be a hot air balloon operator. She had a thing for men in uniform and when she offered to take me up in the balloon I agreed and well, we both ended up with one hell of a memory at two thousand feet in the air."

"Well okay!" She shook her head. "How many questions is that?"

"Who cares?" I replied. "This is fun, and I believe it's my turn."

She shifted, pulled one of her legs up and wrapped her arms around it as she rested her chin on her knee. "Go for it, hot shot."

I love that she's finally completely relaxed and is comfortable having these conversations with me. "So, if you could change one thing about your past, what would it be?"

"Only one thing?" she asked, and my brows winged up at her question.

"You have more than one regret?"

"Unfortunately," she replied. "Just one thing, huh? I'm not sure I can pick. Marrying Dickie is huge on my list of regrets, but then so is letting Ranger talk me into the deal."

"I thought you'd say the Tasty Pastry incident with Morelli," I replied, then realized what she said and immediately, my brow knit. "Wait…what deal?"

Silence met my question. "Stephanie." I glanced over at her. "What deal?"

Over the next couple of minutes, my anger began to grow as she explained the tab that Ranger created then called in for payment when he saw fit. Honestly, I couldn't quite believe what I was hearing. I always knew Ranger's moral compass didn't point exactly straight, but then most of us have a grey area when it comes to right and wrong. Still, what he had done was reprehensible. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Unfortunately, it's true."

My anger built at the idea of him using Steph just to scratch some fucking itch. "Bastard. I'm gonna kick his ass."

"No." She reached out and placed a hand on my arm. "Nobody knows and he didn't force me into anything."

"But it caused you to get attached it him."

"True, but I could have not agreed to the deal. I knew what I was getting into when I said yes."

Her need to defend his actions only served to piss me off more. Couldn't she see that he'd used her? "Still. Coercing you into bed doesn't speak much for his character."

"Maybe," she replied. "But I agreed to it. So, what does that say about my character?"

"Steph-" I started to reply, only to have her cut me off.

"Don't, okay? I know you think he somehow took advantage of me, but really, he didn't. He's always been honest with me about his intentions. He told me early on that he was an opportunist. Besides, I know he loves me in his own way and a piece of me will always love him too, even if it is just as a friend."

"Still," I tried to protest only to have her shake her head again.

"Please, can we just forget I told you."

Because she asked, I would honor her wishes, but I wasn't happy about it. "Fine. Ask your next question."

"Okay…let's go back to something fun. Do you have any siblings and if the answer is yes, how many and what are their names?"

"That's three questions," I replied only to have her shake her head.

"No, that's one question with qualifiers."

"Semantics," I replied.

"Just answer the question." Her laugh caused a warm tingling to flow through me, bringing with it a feeling of happiness that slowly replaced my anger.

"Okay. I'm the youngest of six," I replied. "I have two brothers and three sisters."

"That's a big family," she said. "What's their names?"

"Ethan is the oldest and is named after my father. Then there's Elizabeth, Emily, Evan and Erin is my twin."

"Wow, your parents really liked names that started with E, huh?" She paused, then shifted in her seat so she was facing me. "Wait…you're a twin?"

"Yep. I'm exactly five minutes younger than my sister."

"I had no idea," she said.

"Not too many people know," I replied. "Because of some of the missions I was on, it was important to keep any family ties hidden."

"In order to protect them from any retaliation," she added.

I loved that she accepted my past. It's the one trait of hers that endeared her the most to all of us. She didn't judge and she understood.

"Since I already know you have one sister, I'm going to ask a different question. Though, I think I already know the answer."

"Oh really?" she challenged.

"Really," I replied.

"What's the question?"

"If you could live anywhere other than Trenton, where would it be?" I'd expected the obvious and immediate answer of Point Pleasant. Instead, she appeared to take her time to give the question serious thought.

"Someplace near the beach that stays warm all the time. Maybe the Florida Keys."

"Okay, that totally wasn't what I expected."

There was humor in her voice as she replied. "You expected me to say Point Pleasant?"

"Yeah."

"Guess you don't know me as well as you thought," she replied. "Okay, since you already know mine, what's your favorite movie?"

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"I promise."

"Tommy Boy."

"Really?" she asked. "I would have pegged you for a war movie kind of guy. Maybe Platoon or Saving Private Ryan."

I shook my head. "I've seen enough war and death to last me a lifetime. I like funny movies."

"That will be our secret," she replied, then clicked her tongue. "Volley is back in your court."

I smiled as a question floated into my mind. "What's your ideal guy?"

The humor in her tone returned. "Fishing?"

I lifted one hand from the steering wheel into a surrender gesture. "Hey, you're the one who wanted to play this game."

"Fine," she huffed. "I want a man that will accept me for who I am and not try to control me or change me. He needs to be secure in his skin and not threatened by a strong independent woman. Funny, yet caring."

"Handsome?" I asked.

I caught her smile when the headlights of a passing car lit up the inside of the vehicle. "That helps, but it's not a requirement. Joe is handsome, but he's an ass and Ranger is sex walking, but emotionally unavailable. So, looks aren't everything. What about you?"

"What about me?"

"What's your ideal woman?"

"You," I replied.

"I'm being serious," she said.

"So am I," I replied. "You're smart, inquisitive, independent, beautiful and most importantly, you understand me and the other guys. You've never been afraid of us and instantly accepted us for who we are without ever judging us for our pasts."

Another long silence followed my statement before she finally spoke. "I don't know what to say to that."

I reached over, took her hand and pulled it up to plant a kiss against her knuckles. "You don't have to say anything. Just accept it."

"I'll try," she murmured as I let go of her hand and returned mine to the steering wheel. "Since you slid in two additional questions with your sibling question, I'm taking another turn."

"After that last one I'm not sure I'm ready," she murmured, "But go for it."

"Okay. Are you really opposed to having children?"

She started to answer when I held up a hand, stopping her. "Before you answer that, remember, I've seen you with your nieces and you're amazing with them. You also do a fantastic job of mothering the guys at Rangeman."

She pursed her lips as she appeared to consider my statement. "The thought of having kids with Joe caused this weird kind of panic that sent me running in the other direction. I think maybe if he hadn't insisted that I become a stay-at-home mother and pop out a bunch of kids for him, while he worked, I would have considered it."

"And Ranger?"

She shook her head. "I had moments where I daydreamed about having kids with him, but they were short lived. We both know he's too emotionally unavailable for something like that."

I arched a brow. "So, if I'm hearing you correctly, you'd consider having babies with the right man."

After a moment she began to nod. "Maybe, if I found the right man. How about you? Ever thought of being a dad?"

I glanced in her direction her face now cast in shadows perpetuated by headlights from the cars behind us. "Is that your next question?"

"Yes."

"Yes." I echoed her reply. "I mean, I've always wanted kids, but honestly, after I joined the army and then the Rangers, I never thought it would happen."

Even in the dark I could tell she was frowning at me. "Why?"

"Why?" I'm glad it's dark, so she can't easily see my face. Despite years of practice, I still hadn't perfected the same blank expression Ranger and Tank coveted. "Because I'm a broken and damage man, Steph."

She shook her head. "No, you're not. Why would you say that about yourself?"

"Because it's true," I replied. "I can't go to any event that has fireworks because they cause flashbacks. The sound of a car backfiring has me pulling my weapon and I can't get on a God damn commercial flight because checking my weapon will give me anxiety." Damn, I was really starting to regret agreeing to this game.

"So?" she replied as if all the things I just mentioned were completely invalid arguments.

"Steph, thanks to the military, I can easily kill a man from a half mile away and have more times than I want to count."

"And I know that every one of those kills has left an open wound on your soul." She reached over and place a hand on my arm. "We're all damaged in one way or another. That damage does not mean you're unlovable."

Before I could reply, I'm too Sexy by Right Said Fred began to play through the speakers. I glanced over at her. "It's Lester."

Okay, I incorporated several hints into this chapter. Get your final guesses in now...the next chapter will reveal the Merry Man in question.