Page 90 of Just One Fake Date

“Only if you don’t tell the others. She’s thirty, married three years ago to Mark.”

“You don’t like him,” Shannyn guessed and Ty was startled.

“I’ll never tell.”

“You don’t have to tell me. It’s all over your face.” She made a note. “What does he do?”

“Real estate broker.” Ty took a sip of water. “She’s a hairdresser uptown, who unravels everyone’s secrets and proposes diplomatic solutions.”

“Useful talent in a big family.”

“Absolutely. Next there’s Stephanie, married to Anthony last spring. She’s twenty-eight and finishing grad school. He’s a lawyer.”

“In town?”

“No, they’re in Boston and will be coming down the week before the wedding to stay with my parents.”

“Do they live in Connecticut? You said the wedding would be there.”

Ty nodded and watched her making notes. Was Shannyn going to study? If she thought that had merit, then they had something else in common. “My parents moved out there before they started a family and still go to the same church.”

“Sister number three?”

“Paige, married two years ago to Derek.”

“Paige the house collector and Derek the roof savior.”

“She does his accounting and they had a son last November. Ethan.”

“The colicky one.” Shannyn looked up from her notes. “First grandchild?”

“Yes, because we’re way behind.” Ty shook his head at the injustice of it all and she smiled. “My mom’s sister, Teresa, has nine grandchildren already. One is better than none, but my sisters have to lift their game.”

“But not you?”

Ty made a face. “I try to deflect all discussion about the heir to the throne.”

“Why?”

He raised a hand. “I don’t think it’s that important.

“Come on.” Shannyn put down her pen. “You just haven’t gotten to that point of your life yet. When you’re married and all your finances are in order, you’ll want kids. A boy and then a girl. A house. Then a Labrador retriever.”

“I don’t think so,” Ty protested, sensing that this mattered.

“Why not?”

“Because that sounds more like an inventory than a list. What about making a good marriage and not worrying about the rest? You’re supposed to become a team when you get married, and a team pivots to address concerns as they come up. Every partnership can’t assume that their goals are the same as every other partnership. That makes no sense. It would be really boring, too, if everyone wanted exactly the same thing.”

She was watching him, her thoughts hidden, and he sensed that his answer was important.

“You’re adopted,” he continued. “You, of all people, must recognize that making babies doesn’t need to be the goal of every marriage.”

Shannyn took a breath and dropped her gaze to her notes, her posture tense. “You’re right. It’s not a common view, though.”

“Especially among those who get whatever they want,” Ty guessed. He leaned closer. “But if someone is used to getting whatever they want, why wouldn’t they want more than the average?”

“What’s more?”

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