Page 35 of A Labor of Hate
I froze.Huh.I’d never even considered that.Did I really want to hold back forever?Die a lonely old lady who avoided love?Choosing not to have kids seemed like an easy way to avoid losing a piece of my soul.But to never loveanyonelike that?
I deflected with a snort.“Newsflash: it doesn’t look like I’ll have to worry about that any time soon.”
“And what about Dekker?”Colt continued, ignoring my attempt to derail the conversation.“Do you not love her that much?”
“Of course I do,” I snapped.“She’s the most important person in my life.”
“Mhmm.”He cocked a brow.“Then it appears as if you’re fighting a losing battle already.”
Oh.
Well, dang it.
Dang Colt and his logic.Dang it all to heck.
“Well, then wouldn’t the risk just increase with each person I love?”
He shrugged.“But would the reward outweigh the risk?Think about all the memories you have with Dekker.Would you trade those for an assurance that your heart would never break?Would you tradeherfor that assurance?”
No.I wouldn’t.
I groaned, flopping back on the couch.“You sure seem knowledgeable about this kind of stuff for a fellow Single Pringle.”
He stood with a shrug.“Just because I’m single doesn’t mean I want to be.”
My jaw dropped.The pieces of one of the many puzzles that was Colt slowly clicked into place.“You’re a total family guy, aren’t you?”
He cleared his throat, maneuvering to leave the living room.“I’ve got to get ready for work.”
“Yousoare!”It all made sense now.I followed him, triumphant.“That’s why you had baby names picked out.And how you knew so many pregnancy symptoms and answers to Miss Karma’s questions.”
And here I thought he’d just excessively researched everything.Perhaps he had, but maybe it wasn’t just for this assignment.
He ignored me as he collected whatever he needed to shower.But I wasn’t giving up that easily.When I followed him into the bathroom, he whirled around with a sigh.“Yes, okay?I want a family.Now can I shower in peace?”
I leaned against the door jamb.“Why don’t you have a boyfriend, then?”
He frowned, brow furrowed in confusion.“Boyfriend?”
“Or… anyone?”I gulped, my stomach sinking.Even if my hunch was right, I shouldn’t have blurted it out like this.“Not that you need a partner so you can adopt, but being a single parent would be hard.”
He rubbed his mouth as if he was concealing a smile.“You think I’m gay?”
“It would explain the lotions,” I mumbled, twisting my fingers together.“And how neat you are, and how you didn’t freak out when I talked about my period when literally every straight guy I’ve met would’ve been grossed out.And then there’s the fact that you’re just?—”
I stopped before I could embarrass myself further.That in and of itself was a big ask, but hopefully the Powers That Be would extend a little mercy my way.
He chuckled, amusement shining brightly in his eyes.“I’m not gay, Lex.”
“Oh.”I gave my fingers another twist, refusing to acknowledge the way my breath whooshed out in what could almost be mistaken for a sigh of relief.“Uh… asexual, then?”
Another chuckle, this one accompanied by a shake of his head.The scoundrel wasenjoyingthis.Not to say I didn’t deserve the embarrassment, because I did, but he didn’t have to look like a fox in the chicken coop about it.
Yeah, I’d say the chances of him letting me live this down were subzero.
Great.Just freaking great.
Rather than back down and bow out like anyone with a grain of common sense would, I doubled down and straightened my spine.“Whatever.This is beside the point.Why don’t you have a significant other of any kind, hmm?You have people telling you left and right how attractive you are.”
