Page 80 of Zane

“Okay. We can agree to be honest,” Zane said. “I think that’s important in a relationship, anyway.”

Kelsey was glad he felt that way about honesty now. But why hadn’t he felt like that previously?

She did wonder what being honest meant exactly. Was she supposed to tell him everything about herself all at once? Or did she share it over time the way she had when they’d been dating? Like how she hadn’t told him about going to nursing school right away. He said he’d understood why she hadn’t revealed it sooner, but would this Zane be as understanding?

The hope flickering inside her was tempered by the reality that this Zane might never fall in love with her. Her love for him still filled her heart. It hadn’t gone away just because she had some questions about the things he hadn’t told her. There was still the potential for heartbreak for her.

“Let’s start by asking each other one question,” Zane said after they’d sat in silence for a long moment. He’d probably beentrying to digest the agreement they’d just made, just like she was.

“A question?”

“Yes.” He stared at her for a moment. “Is there something you’d like to ask me? Or do you want me to go first and ask you something?”

Kelsey wasn’t entirely comfortable with either option, but she decided to go with him asking her a question first, figuring she could change the subject by asking him her question if she got too uncomfortable.

“You can go ahead.”

“Tell me about your family,” Zane said.

That had been something her Zane had asked early on in their relationship too. She realized later it was because his own family was important to him, and he liked to talk about them. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the same for her.

“That’s not a question,” Kelsey said, trying to either stall or distract him. She wasn’t sure which.

He narrowed his eyes at her for a moment, a move so familiar that her heart skipped a beat. “So it’s going to be like that, huh?”

“They’re your rules,” she pointed out. “Aquestion.”

Zane moved his food to the side, then rested his arms on the picnic table and gave her his full attention. “Okay. Will you please tell me about your family?”

Kelsey decided she needed to offer up some information, hoping she wouldn’t have to delve too deeply into her past in order to satisfy Zane’s curiosity.

“I’m the youngest of three. I have two older sisters,” Kelsey said, though it had been years since she’d felt like she had asibling. She’d told him that already, so she doubted he’d accept that as an answer. “We were a military family, so we moved around a lot.”

“Are you close to your sisters?”

“That’s two questions,” Kelsey told him. However, she knew she owed him an answer with new info, since her previous one hadn’t contained any. “But I’ll answer it. No, we aren’t close. They both left home at eighteen and never looked back. I have no idea where they went.”

Zane’s brows lifted. “Why did they leave like that?”

Third question, but Kelsey was okay with talking a bit about her sisters. “They both had conflicts with our parents, and they didn’t get along, so they parted ways as soon as they were able.”

“That’s a shame,” he said.

Kelsey shrugged. “The house got a lot calmer as each one left, but I worried about them a lot, especially at first.”

She could tell he wanted to ask more questions, but she’d allowed him some extra ones already. “My turn.”

Zane sighed. “Okay. Your turn.”

“What type of restaurant do you want to open?” she asked.

She hadn’t been sure if that was still his plan, but she took a chance. And from the way his face lit up, she knew that it was.

“I would love to open a restaurant that serves haute cuisine that appeals to adults but is also child friendly. I think good food should be accessible to everyone. So I want to make it fun and inviting.”

“You think kids want to eat snails?”

Zane laughed, and Kelsey felt a wash of emotion at the familiar sound. “Question two.”

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