Page 132 of DadBod

“Oh.” A frown appears on his handsome face. “I guess we should have talked about this.”

Ya think?

And don’t get me wrong. I’m just as much to blame as he is. I’m responsible too.

“Do you want children, Elizabeth?”

Crap. Should I answer that question? “Yes. I do.”

“How many?”

Call me crazy, but I’ve thought about this. A lot. “Two.”

“Okay. We’ll have two.”

“But you already have two children.”

“I’ve always wanted a big family. Calvin and Ryann have always wanted more siblings.”

“They have?” They’ve never mentioned it.

Duh. Why would they? They’ve been through a lot.

“We didn’t even talk about tests.” I feel the heat of a blush. “You know, medical tests.”

“I’m clean. I get tested regularly, but you need to know, Elizabeth. I haven’t been intimate with anyone for a long time, and other than Tina, I’ve never had unprotected sex.”

“Me neither.”

Mark wore a condom and he pulled out. Guess he wanted to be extra safe. At the time I thought it was a little offensive, but in retrospect, I appreciate that.

Rome wraps his arms around me, pulling me close. With my head on his chest, his warm palms move up and down my back. It’s both soothing and erotic. His touch turns me the heck on. “When you’re ready, I’d like to talk about kids.”

Holy moly. This is surreal. And another turn-on. While I’m young, I’m not that young. Hell, I never imagined having kids until I was in my thirties, mostly because I figured it’d take me that long to find the right person. The one person to which I wanted to share the most precious gift imaginable. Moving my hand up and down his side, I sigh. “Okay.”

“You sure, honey? You want to have children with me?”

“Yes.” And in that one word, I tell him everything. Making sure he knows I mean business, I add, “Absolutely.”

With that, Rome gently pushes me onto my back. His lips touch mine in a passionate, tongue-filled kiss. “Want you again.” His hands move down. “And again.”

Me too. I want that too.

* * *

“This is unnecessary, Rome.”He’s got his arm around my waist, and I’m tucked into him.

“Yes. It is.”

It’s not, though. Everyone at the restaurant already knows that Rome and I are, well, together.

“Thanks for coming in a little early, folks.”

Folks?Since when does Rome James use that word?

Now, I guess.

“Before we get to the staff meeting, I wanted to let you all know that Elizabeth and I—” He looks down at me and smiles. “Are in a relationship.”

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