Page 82 of My Haven
“So, because kids are rare, you would have taken in Meryn, who wasn’t even a blood relative?”
Caiden nodded smiling. “It would have been hard, but we would have done it and gladly.” His smile faded. “It actually hurts,” he said, rubbing his sternum. “Knowing that she was out there and suffering, when we would have loved her.”
Genevieve took in his expression. The man genuinely felt pain, for not saving his sister’s cousin, when he had no way of knowing she even existed. “I think you’ll make an amazing father.”
His head snapped up to look at her. “Do you mean you are ready to have a child?”
Her hands jerked and she spilled some of the salt she had been measuring. “I mean eventually. I sort of forgot we are this destined pair for a second. You just seemed amazing to me.”
Caiden looked confused. “Thank you… I think.”
She busied herself with finishing up the soup and setting it to simmer. She had known him less than twenty-four hours, but he already felt like a safe haven to her. “This mating thing, does it make you fall in love?”
“Why, do you love me already?” he teased.
When she stayed quiet, he hurried over to her and pulled her against his chest. “Are you not fighting the mating at all?” he asked, looking surprised.
“Why the shock?” she asked, poking his chest.
“Because in all my dreams of you, you looked perfectly happy. I wasn’t sure if you really needed me,” he confessed.
“There’s a difference between being wanted and being needed. Before I met you, you’re right, I didn’t need a guy in my life. My days were filled with doing what I loved and traveling to new places. That doesn’t mean I didn’t want more.”
“You wanted me?” he asked.
She nodded. “In my dreams, I had somewhere to return to. Someone waiting at the door.” She pointed to the apron she was wearing. “Maybe even wearing an apron.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad.”
“Isn’t it better to be wanted, than needed?”
He grinned. “I guess that depends on how secure that person is.”
“Exactly. I would prefer to be wanted, to be chosen, than a need that has to be filled. Does that make sense?”
“It does. I was worried that you wouldn’t need me, I never thought about what it would mean for you to want me to be there.”
“Just be patient with me. Your world is scary and I’m doing my best,” she confessed.
“My middle name is patience.”
“It is not.”
“Sure, it is. Caiden Patience Ironwood.”
She laughed and rested her head on his chest. “Can we do a real date?”
“You mean like a meal neither of us has prepared?” he asked.
She sighed. “By going out, we run a huge risk of hating the food huh?”
Caiden rubbed her back. “I have an idea, let me see what I can do.”
She looked up. “Really?”
“If it is something you want, it is my job to provide it.”
“I could really get used to that.”
