Page 46 of A Journey For Jasmine

She didn’t want to blush but felt the heat fill her face. “In some cultures, it’s a sign of respect. I guess you can’t go wrong either way. I do like to err on the side of friendly if I can. You never know when you might need your neighbors for something.”

“That’s true,” he said. “I knew the people in Tampa next to us. Not that we did anything with them, but I knew who they were. We had each other’s numbers for emergencies and such.”

“Always smart,” she said.

“Practical. I’ll go light the grill.”

She watched him walk away in athletic shorts and a T-shirt. She’d wanted to tell him to take the shirt off and let her look at his chest, but figured she’d get to that after dinner and some nourishment.

She grabbed the potatoes in the foil and slid them on a plate and reached for the steaks with the other hand to put on the table in the shade outside.

“Did you want some wine?” he asked.

“That would be nice. One glass won’t hurt before I leave.”

She hadn’t planned on staying the night, but she did bring clothes in case. She figured she’d throw that out there to see how he’d be and not let on she was planning either way.

“You’re not going for a bit, right?” he asked. “I was hoping to show you around...like my bedroom.”

She was glad she didn’t make an assumption on staying the night. “I’d love to see your bedroom,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows at him again.

She might be a little sore, but she was up for more. There was nothing wrong with the bull-legged walk the next day if everything else on you felt wonderful.

She took a seat while he went to get the wine and returned to hand her a glass, then put the potatoes on the grill.

“How often do you spend time out here?” she asked.

“Not often. I drink my coffee here in the morning or a beer at night, but that is about it. It’s quieter and more secluded than looking at the beach.”

“I saw a balcony when I pulled in in the front of the house. Is your bedroom up there?”

“No,” he said. “Well, it could be. There are two primary suites in the house. I took the one down here. It didn’t seem right to be up there to just sleep and nothing more. Someday I’ll move up.”

“When you have a family and kids?” she asked.

It was one thing they hadn’t touched on yet. She didn’t know where he stood, but she knew at some point they’d have to talk about it.

“Yes,” he said. “I’m not getting any younger though. What about you? Do you see yourself with kids someday?”

“I do,” she said. “Not sure when or who. Don’t think I’m making those plans. We are just talking. We seem to talk about so much of everything.”

“We do,” he said.

“Can I ask why you didn’t have kids already? As you pointed out, you aren’t getting any younger and you were married a long time. You can tell me to mind my own business if you want to. I won’t be offended.”

“I won’t tell you that. It’s not a secret. Or it wasn’t. At first I was focused on my career. I probably got that from my mother. But I wanted to be a success or be in a position to really provide for my family.”

“Commendable, but I’m sure if you had kids before you reached that mark that you made for yourself you would have still gotten there.”

“Probably,” he said. “I think we never got in sync. I wasn’t ready and spent a lot of time at work. Maybe I neglected Noelle and felt bad for it. We’d had some fights, but I think every married couple does. Then when I was ready, she wasn’t. She’d gotten promoted and said it was her turn now.”

“Seems fair,” she said.

He stood and opened the grill, flipped on the foil packet of the potatoes and then put the steaks on. She was wondering if she pushed too much and told herself to let it drop.

“It was,” he said. “But she was losing her window of opportunity to get pregnant too. I mentioned it a few times.”

“No woman wants to hear they are getting old,” she said.

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