Then the words flowed out before I even realized what was happening. I told him the whole sordid story.
“I feel like I’ve just wasted my best years, you know? I kept waiting for him to be ready for the next step.”
“Marrying you?”
“No. Being a dad. I never cared much about being married or not, but as I told you, I always wanted to have lots of kids.”
Beckett whistled. “I remember. Three. Damn. I already feel overwhelmed with Charlotte.”
My chest constricted a bit.
“I can’t imagine having three.”
And now my stomach bottomed out. But I was being ridiculous.He and I were just dating. Why would I expect him to want three kids?
“Anyway, he never offered to do something nice for me and my parents. I guess that’s what made me think of him, just that you offered to organize a dinner here…” Ugh, I was blabbering.
“And yet you dated him for ten years,” Beckett went on.
“I know.” I wasn’t proud of that time. “I mean, who doesn’t see the writing on the wall before then? Me. I just wasn’t looking.
“We had gotten to that comfortable point, and neither of us wanted to rock the boat. We didn’t talk often about the future. I just thought it would happen someday… but of course, that was dumb. We should’ve been having conversations early on. Oh well.” It took a long time for me to get restless with our relationship, then even longer to finally get vocal and ask what was next.
“Well, it was my luck that things didn’t work out for you two, and I’m happy about that,” Beckett said.
He grinned, and I grinned right back. God, it was easy to be with him.
We received our jambalaya in record time.
“Damn, the service is really quick.”
“Gumbo, jambalaya, and a few other classics are always fastest because…”
“It’s already cooked,” I finished for him. I licked my lips before adding, “It’s time for the test.”
“What test?”
“To see if this is really the best jambalaya.”
He laughed without humor. “Whatever you do, don’t tell Isabeau you were eventhinkingit might not be.”
I shook my head. “I wouldn’t dream of it. I could never show my face at her store ever again.”
I ate a forkful and realized it was fabulous.
“I take it all back. Why would I think this isn’t the best thing I’ve ever eaten?”
“Music to my ears. You can tellthatto Isabeau for sure. It might win you even more points with her.”
“I need points?” I asked as I ate another bite.
“No, but it can’t hurt, right?”
“Then I’ll definitely mention it.” I cleared my throat as we ate. “So, now it’s my turn to ask. Why have you been ‘man-whoring’ for all these years?”
He rolled his eyes. “You’re never going to let me live that down, huh?”
“No. It’s quite a way to describe oneself.”
