Warmth filled Rudy's face. "We only just started dating and you're ready for that conversation already?"
She gave a nonchalant shrug, but her cheeks reddened. "It feels like something we should know about each other sooner rather than later."
"You're right." He nodded. "I do want kids. A bunch of them, but not for a few years."
"A few years?"
"Yes, I'd like to get my house built first, and make sure I'm financially stable."
Eden's face fell, and he was unsure what caused the change in her expression.
He took her hand. "What about you? Do you want kids?"
The smile she gave him looked forced and tense. "Yes, I'd like three or four."
"That's one or two less than a bunch, but I'd say we're compatible in that regard." He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.
Her smile softened, but she pulled her hand from his and fiddled with her fishing pole.
Trying to ignore the tension that suddenly surrounded them, Rudy reeled his line in and cast it back out again.
Eden copied his actions, nearly taking his ear off again.
"So, what do you do while you wait for the fish to bite?"
"Enjoy nature." He shrugged. "When my dad is with us, we talk occasionally. If it's just me and Scott, I ramble on about anything and everything just to see how long it takes for his grunts to turn to growls."
Eden laughed. "I don't imagine it takes very long."
"No, it doesn't."
After a lengthy silence, she sighed. "Seriously, this is all you do? All day long?"
"This is it." He propped his rod into the holder so he could focus his attention on Eden. Bracing his elbows on his knees, he leaned toward her. "If you're bored, we can find something to entertain you."
"Oh yeah?" She propped her own rod in its holder and mimicked his posture. A small smile lifted the corners of her lips. "What might that be?"
He couldn't kiss her with his mom's monstrosity of a hat on her head. Reaching up, he pulled it off and dropped it on the bench beside Eden. It fell to the floor of the boat, but he didn't care.
"We could play...I Spy."
Eden looked around before looking back at him and smirking. "Pass."
"Twenty Questions?" He inched closer to her and reached out to caress her cheek.
"Maybe later." Her voice took on a husky quality, and the blood pumped a little harder in his veins.
"Do you have a better idea?" Grinning, he leaned a little closer still.
"Only one."
They were so close now that her breath tickled his cheek.
"Which is?" It was all Rudy could do not to close the gap between his lips and hers.
"Stop torturing me."
He wasn't sure who leaned that final inch; him or Eden. Maybe both. But when his lips met hers, it was pure pleasure. All his senses became instantly aware of every little thing. The birds in the trees on the shore sang a little louder. Gentle waves rocked the boat in a hypnotic rhythm. Eden's subtle, floral perfume overpowered the fishy smell of the lake, and his heart raced so fast he could power the boat with it, if he wanted to.
