“Nah.” He ran his finger down my forearm. “Just trying to lighten the mood for my girl.”
“Drew,” I growled.
“My soon-to-be girl.”
“Don’t you have work?” I asked around a mouthful of cranberry and potato.
“I haven’t got much done this week. Plus the hangover. I left my associates in charge.”
“Finance?”
“Yeah, risky investments with high returns. It’s all about the thrill for my people.”
“Wow. I don’t know if I could gamble with my money like that.”
“Most of my clients have plenty to spare. As for me, I didn’t think I had much responsibility until a few days ago. Now I have a love child ...”
I couldn’t help myself. I laughed out loud. “Love child! You make it sound so sinister.”
“But it is, isn’t it? Our story? A coach and his pupil make a child.”
“Oh God, just eat and soak up the alcohol.Pupil.” I rolled my eyes and almost laughed the coffee right out of my nose at that word.
“Oh, I sweat that shit out already. My knee wasn’t happy, but my gut was.”
He speared a crepe just as his sausage arrived. “Now, tell me about Darla Katherine King.”
“Smith,” I corrected him.
“Hopefully not for long, but I’ll let it be. Tell me, how big was she when she was born? Did she come out with a racquet in her tiny hand? What’s her damn birthday?”
I breathed a sigh of relief for the first time in forever. It dawned on me, I’d never really shared these memories aloud. “She weighed seven pounds, four ounces at birth. Came out screaming like a banshee on July twentieth, demanding to eat. Took to my breast right away ...”
A moan escaped Drew’s mouth.
“What? That’s how babies eat, King.”
“I’m not grossed out. It’s just the thought of your nipple, hard and wet. It does something to me. And you should be thankful because I was a venomous asshole when I fell asleep last night. Somehow the thoughts of you caring for Darla have calmed my rage.”
“Drink your coffee and be quiet. It’s food. Sustenance. Not a sexual endeavor. As for your temper, control it. You’re the one who left. Not me.”
“Wait ... is she a vegetarian?”
“Nice way to change the topic. Yep, she is.” I wrapped my hands around my warm mug, a smug look on my face.
“You’re gonna ruin her. Is she growing enough? On all those beans and sprouts?”
“She’s growing just fine.”
“So, you take her to the doctor and dentist and all that. Does she need braces? What about glasses? Her shots—does she have all of them?”
“Whoa, now. I’m her mom. She goes everywhere she needs to go, eats everything she needs to eat, takes her vitamins. She still has her baby teeth, for Christ’s sake.”
Drew semi-laughed while giving me a dirty look, and continued with his barrage of questions.
We drank coffee and talked over breakfast as if we’d never missed seven years.
Drew
