I grinned. “Of course. Just wanted to see how far I can… “
“Push?” he finished for me.
I nodded.
“Piper,” he said in a dangerous tone. “You’re playing with fire.”
I was about to ask him why, but then the waiter came with menus. He didn’t have good timing at all. He’d just interrupted a very sexy moment. But I had a feeling that we’d have plenty more during the evening.
Beckett ordered a nonalcoholic cocktail and braised beef. I went for a Pimm’s and coq au vin.
Once we were alone, I asked, “No alcohol again, huh? You didn’t have to drive and pick me up. I could’ve taken an Uber.”
“First of all, I wouldn’t ask you to Uber to a date. And second, it’s not just because I’m driving. I don’t feel comfortable going back home knowing that I’d drunk anything. What if there’s an emergency with Charlotte or something and I’m not thinking clearly?”
“That’s sweet. Do you have any new pictures?”
Something changed in his eyes. “I have a million pictures.” He took out his phone and handed it to me. “You can browse on either side.”
“Are you sure I’m not going to find anything I shouldn’t?”
He frowned. “Like what?”
“I don’t know. It’s your phone.”
He laughed. “My camera roll is all Charlotte.”
I scrolled through the most recent photos, and oh my goodness, they were adorable. And he truly had a ton of them: in her bassinet, wrapped in a towel, in his arms. “This is so cute. I could have a million of them.”
“A million kids?” Beckett asked with a smile as I gave him back his phone.
“Well, not literally, obviously, but since I’m an only child, I always wondered what it would be like to have siblings. I always thought three kids was a good number. How about you?”
He tilted his head. “Zero. As I said, I wasn’t really envisioning a family in my future.” He frowned, shaking his head.
“What is it?”
“It’s bizarre, but when I think about my life before Charlotte, it feels as if it belonged to someone else. And it’s only been a month.”
“Some events change us irrevocably. It’s a good thing you’re embracing it.”
“You sound like Isabeau. She said something very similar.”
“Well, your grandmothers are quite wise.”
“Wise and meddling.”
The corners of my mouth tilted up. “So… now that you have Charlotte, are you envisioning more kids?”
Beckett jerked his head back as if that was the very last question he expected. It was definitely not first-date material.
Although, we’d had sex already, so could I really consider this a first date?
I started to get a bit nervous. “I didn’t want to put you on the spot.”
“No, it’s just… I’m considering it. I don’t really have an answer. Honestly, I’m trying not to envision much anyway. Who knows what sort of curveball I’ll get?”
“Huh. True.”
