Page 67 of Fortress of the Cursed

She picks up her spoon and stirs her soup slowly, as if in a daze. At least she’s not throwing hot chowder in my face.

“I get it was a shock, but you weren’t supposed to see those brochures…”

“But I did. Maybe all of that happened for a reason.”

“I’m just trying to wrap my head around this,” she says, taking a piece of bread from the basket as I offer it to her. “It’s a lot to take in.”

“Take as long as you need.” I pick up my spoon and start to eat, and it’s fucking amazing, just as it always is.

I needed this out in the open, and now it is.

I don’t care how it sounds and I don't care what I have to do to convince her. And convince her, I fucking will.

“How’s the chowder?” I ask after a few moments of silence.

She blinks up at me. “Delicious.”

“We should do this more often.”

“We’re way too busy for that.”

But I'm not too busy to make a baby.I smile at my own thoughts.

“We’re too busy to eat?” I scoff, tilting my head to the side and giving her that smile she used to love and adore.

I see her mouth twitch, and she looks down to her bowl.

“We’re eating now, aren’t we?” I go on.

“It was the least you could do considering.”

“I said I was sorry for my outburst the other night. I meant it.”

“But you stand by your words,” she says. “So really, you’re not sorry at all.”

“I’m sorry that I went off. That isn’t my style, you know that. I just got carried away.”

Because I’m fucking protective.

“Think about it,” I add. “Take your time. I just want you to know you have options.”

“But only if I sleep with you?”

“That’s not all of what I want.”

“Fynn, you live life as a bachelor, how do you think a baby will fit into your busy lifestyle?”

“I’m done with that.” I shrug.

She looks at me dubiously. “Since when?”

“Since now, Sage.” I shift in my seat, lowering my voice. “I want to pursue you.”

She looks up at me again. I can see the conflict in her eyes.

She’s a strong woman, so she won’t be told what to do. That isn’t her style.

“Fynn, that is a very dangerous idea.”

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