Page 25 of My First Mistake
“Well, he at least had the hair of a lion,” I say through my laughter. “Honestly, I’m sure I’ll still be finding strands of his long, blond hair in my drain when I’m a grandma.”
Chase shifts forward in his seat, blue eyes laser focused on my face. “A grandma, huh?”
“What? Is that unusual?”
He shakes his head. “So, you want the whole marriage and kids thing?”
Oh, wow, this conversation took a turn, but I deflect like a pro. “Why have you seen my ex-boyfriend’s Instagram?”
He shrugs. “Eva told me you were cut up about him, so I checked him out.”
I sigh and roll my eyes. “I wasn’t cut up about him.”
“One of these days, Addie, I’m going to spank your ass when you roll those pretty eyes at me.” He takes a swig of his tea like he didn’t just say something wildly inappropriate, and also something which has images of him spanking me now burned into my brain. “So, you were just cut up about attending this wedding solo?” he goes on.
I blink at him. How the hell does he know that? And if I admit that, then I admit that I was worried about having to see his douchey face in person. “No,” I insist. “Maybe I was upset about Jasper,” I lie with ease. “So, sue me.”
His jaw works, making him appear annoyed. He takes a big gulp of his tea before topping up his mug and when he looks at me again, his eyes are softer. “So that was just me worried about attending this wedding solo then?”
“You were cut up about having to attend Brax and Eva’s wedding on your own?”
He hums to himself. “Not cut up, no. But I did wonder about bringing a date. If only to stop all the questions, or the pitying looks.”
“People definitely pity women more than men at these kinds of things,” I remind him. “Single men are carefree bachelors, while women are reminded of theirbiological clocks.”
He nods, like he agrees with that assessment.
Damn, why is he so charming and easy to talk to, and why am I so desperate to know more about his personal life? I’ve been able to glean enough about him from Brax and Eva over the years. He dates.A lot!But he’s never had a serious relationship, at least none that he’s told them about anyway. “So, why didn’t you? Bring a date I mean?”
“Inviting someone to a wedding is a pretty huge step. Especially bringing them to Brax and Eva’s wedding. It’s basically introducing someone to my family.”
“And there’s nobody who you want to take that step with?” I ask, probing more than I should, but this is just a conversation between…well, two people who used to be friends at least.
He shakes his head. “You obviously did though. With Jasper. The guy you booked a cabin with that has a sex dungeon?” There’s an edge to his voice now that makes him sound a little annoyed.
I roll my eyes. “That was not the reason I booked this cabin,” I insist.
His eyes narrow and I’m reminded of that eye-roll comment he made, and how it does things to my insides that are both unwelcome and yet delicious. But he doesn’t make good on his threat to spank me, fortunately—or not. “So, you weren’t planning on a four-night fuck-a-thon with your heart-of-a-lion boyfriend?”
Another snort of laughter, although this time minus the ginger tea being forcefully ejected from my nose. I shake my head. “Definitely not any kind of fuck-a-thon.” I internally shudder at the thought. “I suppose I did want to stop all the awkward ‘Are you still single?’ questions though.”
“You do want to get married though? Have kids? Become a grandma?”
And now we’re back here again. “You don’t need to be married to have kids, you know?”
He grins. “I know. Stop dodging the question.”
Do I give him honesty? Does he deserve it? I take another sip of my bourbon-infused tea before I answer. “Yeah, I do. When I left college, I had these big dreams about seeing the world and becoming someone extraordinary. And then I saw the world, and you know what?”
He’s staring at me intently. Listening. It feels like forever since a guy has actually listened to me, while not trying to get into my pants. “What?” His voice is deep and sensual even when he doesn’t intend it to be.
“I loved my time abroad. I had experiences that I’ll remember for the rest of my life, but the entire time I was away, I really missed home. And I realized that what I really wanted for my life wasn’t even close to the dreams I’d convinced myself I should have. In fact, they were a hell of a lot smaller. Not all that extraordinary after all.”
His bright blue eyes are still fixed on my face. “I don’t think any dreams are small, Addie, if they’re what we truly want.”
I suppose he has a point there. Damn eloquent asshole. “I guess. Although the house I want to live in with my adoring husband and our darling children, who will be the perfect blend of both of us, isn’t small.”
He grins. “No? And which house would that be?”
