Page 34 of The Hard Hitter

“Even better.” I laugh at that, and he says, “I told you last night, when we were playing Never Have I Ever, that we’d be rectifying a few things. You not skinny dipping was one of them. Of course, there are other things, too.”

“Oh, such as?”

He pulls the wine from the bucket, pours two glasses and hands me one. “Oh, you’ll see.”

“Zander,” I warn in a soft voice.

“Trust me,” he says.

“I don’t even know you.” I think about that. It’s true, I don’t really know him, but on some level, I do trust him. I wouldn’t have had sex with him if I didn’t.

“Have a seat, steaks are ready.”

I slide into one of the chairs, and he places the steaks on our plates. “These look amazing,” I say. “I hardly ever cook.” I divvy up the salad and put the tongs back in the bowl.

“No?”

I put my hands on my lap and wait until Zander is seated. “Most times I pop something into the microwave.” Once he’s seated, I reach for my knife and fork, and cut off a generous portion of meat. I slide it into my mouth and moan as the flavor bursts on my tongue. “My God, Zander, this is the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth,” I say.

He angles his head and grins at me. “Is that a fact?”

I chuckle as I think back to the first night I brought him pie—and the fun we had afterward. “Well, maybe the second,” I say. “Seriously, though. I didn’t know you were such a good cook.”

“I did a lot of the cooking growing up,” he says, and I don’t miss the pain behind those words.

“I’m so sorry your mother walked out on you, Zander.” It’s no wonder he’s not interested in a relationship. He’s had a lot of women turn their backs on him. “That must have been so hard.”

“We got by.”

“And now,” I glance around his backyard, “you have a beautiful, happy daughter, and you’ve really made something of your life. So has Quinn.” That brings a smile to his face.

“I’m glad Dad got to meet Daisy.”

“I bet he loved her.”

“He did.” He takes a bite of steak, chews, and goes thoughtful. “You don’t want kids?”

“It’s not so much that I don’t want kids,” I admit. “I love kids. Heck, I work with them every day, and I’d love to give my parents grandkids. Lord knows every chance they get, they remind me they want them.”

“Then what is it?”

I fork a juicy tomato into my mouth and the juice dribbles down my chin. Zander reaches out and brushes it away with his thumb. As his warmth travels through me, I find myself opening up a bit more.

“It’s just that I mess up relationships. I don’t know…maybe someday in the future I’ll have a child, but I guess I don’t really need a man for that.”

He arches a brow and looks at me. “You kind of need a man for that.”

“Not really. There are clinics that can help out in that department.”

He nods. “Truth.”

“I mean, a woman doesn’t need a man to raise a child, just like you don’t need a woman,” I say, sounding an awful lot like I’m on the defense. He looks at me, his eyes searching my face. “What?” I ask.

“I think you’d do just fine raising a child alone, Sam. But it’s not easy, and it’s not so much that I don’t need a woman. It’s that I don’t want just any woman to be Daisy’s mother. By that, I mean I have to be careful. If there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that women don’t stay.”

“Some women stay. My mom and dad are together, and look at Quinn. She’s not going anywhere.”

I take another bite of steak as he nods slowly. “I know. Let me rephrase that. When it comes to me, women don’t stay. Now…what’s really bothering you tonight?”

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