“How old were you?”
“Seventeen. Old enough.” At least it had felt that way at the time. “I had money saved from various jobs, my own used car, and a lot of unrealistic plans.”
“What did you do? How did you survive?”
At first, it hadn’t been easy. “I got a night job cleaning the floors at a grocery, and that led to meeting the pharmacist there. Great guy who taught me to golf, and during those lessons he imparted a lot of terrific advice. With him guiding me, I got my associate’s degree, then my bachelor’s, and that led to a job as a pharmaceutical rep. In a lot of ways, I was made for this job.”
“Have you ever been back home?”
“For what? It was a roof over my head, but never a home.”
“Your dad . . .”
“Not anyone’s idea of a father figure. When I try hard enough, I can remember a handful of good times with my mom, all of them when I was really young, and all short-lived. She didn’t physically abuse me or anything. Mostly, she just ignored my existence, and when she couldn’t do that, she resented me. Sometimes she relied on me.” The truth still hurt. “But she never loved me.”
Skye hugged him so fiercely, she stole his breath. “I pity them. They missed out on an awesome son.”
There was her big heart again, knowing the right thing to say. “Not sure what they’d think of me now, and I don’t care enough to find out. Going back isn’t an option, and most of the time I forget all about them.”Most of the time. “I’ll tell you one thing. If I’m ever a dad, I’ll be totally different. My parents taught me what not to be, what not to do, and they showed me how I didn’t want to live my life. Lessons well learned.” Lessons he’d never forget. “They wasted so much time and energy on the wrong things.”
“Drinking and fighting.”
“Yes.” He teased his fingertips over her downy cheek, her chin, then tipped up her face so he could look into her midnight eyes, ensuring she understood his conviction. “I won’t make those mistakes. No child of mine will ever have to wonder if I’ll have ajob to support them or to be sure they have what they need. They won’t have to wonder whether I’ll be sober and reasonable, or whether I’ll take care of them.”
“If you’ll love them.”
He vowed, “I’ll love him or her so much, they’ll never have doubts.”
The way she looked at him, with so much faith, warmed him even before she spoke. “Any child would be lucky to have you as a father.”
The words finished him off. Where had she been all his life? How had he not known that someone like her existed, or that she’d be so vital to him?
What she said mattered a lot, and he needed time to take it in. “Let’s talk about your childhood.”
Though he could tell she wasn’t fooled by his switch of topic, she humored him. “Compared to your upbringing, mine was easy. The hardest thing I had to deal with were comparisons to Laylee. Did I tell you my father was a twin? You’d think he would have understood, but he was the”—she made air quotes—“smart twin.That’s how my grandparents characterize him. My dad was the smart twin and my uncle was the athletic twin.” She rolled her eyes. “Neither Laylee nor I is athletic. For us it’s the smart, serious twin”—she aimed a thumb at her chest—“and the beautiful, fun-loving twin, meaning Laylee.”
He cupped a hand to her cheek. “It’s a fact of life that even good parents aren’t perfect. The most important things are whether you felt loved and cared for.”
“I did, absolutely. Not just by my parents, but we’re close to our grandparents on both sides, and we have a bunch of aunts, uncles, and cousins that we see often.” Trying to look cavalier, she asked, “Will I get to introduce you to all of them?”
Another promising sign, that she’d even want him to meet her family. He didn’t think Skye would do that unless she wantedhim to be a fixture in her life. “I’d be happy to meet them.” If he could win them over, it’d give him an edge.
She blinked, grinned, and ended up laughing. “You are the most amazing man. My family is going to love you.”
“That’s funny?”
“The quintessential bachelor happy to meet my large family? It’s a little funny, but I should have known you’d be fine with it. You’re the most adaptive person I’ve ever met. Nothing makes you uneasy.”
He snorted at that. Everything made him uneasy, most especially the idea of screwing up with her. “You aren’t worried that I’ll schmooze your family?”
“You’re more genuine than you think. Do you not realize how open and friendly you are? People are drawn to you. They like you immediately. You say two or three things, and they feel like they’ve known you forever. You’re automatically a friend.” She leaned in to kiss the corner of his mouth. “It’s a gift.” Yawning, she settled against him again, curving her body as close to his as she could get. “I like us together, making plans.”
Yeah, he liked that a lot.
He especially liked that she saw in him things he’d never seen in himself. Wonderful things that made him optimistic even though he hadn’t been feeling exactly pessimistic. More like . . . detached. Almost separate from others.
Sometimes lonely.
But now, after sharing details of his life that he’d never shared with anyone else, everything was good, perfect even.
