Page 116 of Accidentally, Scandalously Yours

He looks deeply regretful over this, and I don’t want to dwell on it with him, so I move on to answering his questions. “My job hunting isn’t going great. There’s not much out there, but also, I’m not really finding what I’m looking for.”

“What are you looking for?”

The last time he asked me this, I couldn’t nail down an answer, but today I can. “I think it’s time to finally do what I’ve always wanted to do. I’m considering starting a business.”

“Helping women?”

“Yes.”

“How? What are you thinking?”

I love how attentive he is. “Well, I was thinking about the mental health app you’re helping develop and am wondering if I could use something like that to build a network to connect women to the services that could help them. And I’d have a fundraising arm of the business, utilizing all the connections I have. It’s still an idea taking form, but I feel excited about it.”

He asks me a million more questions and brainstorms ideas with me for an hour. The thing I love the most is that he doesn’t try to take over. He doesn’t try to tell me what he thinks I should do even though he’s more knowledgeable about business than I am.

“And your mother?” he asks once we finish talking about my business ideas. “Did you end up having lunch with her today?”

“No, she had to cancel.”

His brows furrow. “Why?”

“Something about Dad.” I try to ignore the way my heart chokes, but it’s impossible and Bradford doesn’t miss it.

He curses softly and pulls me into his arms.

I rest my head on his chest and lie quietly with him. He gives me all the time in the world to gather my thoughts, and when I give them to him, he doesn’t let me down.

“I invited her for dinner tomorrow night like we discussed, but she told me that she and Dad are planning to have dinner together. She seemed torn, and I know this is hard for her, being in the middle of me and Dad, but I’m sad that this is our life now.”

“It’s your birthday tomorrow, Kristen. The day she brought you into the world. I’m not a parent yet, but when I am, I will want to spend the day we brought our children into the world with them, celebrating them. I can’t wrap my head around her not making time for you tomorrow.”

My mother may have fractured my heart this week, but my husband knows exactly how to patch it back together.

I roll so I can look up into his eyes. “How many children do you want?”

Bradford understands that this is my way of sayingthank you for loving me and asking me about my mom, but now I need a minute, and doesn’t hesitate to roll with me. “Ten.” At my brow arch, his lips quirk. “Wrong answer? Eleven?”

“If you put eleven babies in me, you will die a very unhappy man.”

“I imagine I would die before I even got to put the fifth one in there.”

“More like the fourth.”

“So, what you’re saying is that you want three children.”

“I’m saying I want two. Three would be acceptable, but that’s my limit.”

“How soon do you want these children?”

“Not soon. I need time alone with you first.”

“Right, because you have plans to make me fly you around the world and do filthy things to you before babies cut in on that time.”

I lean up on my elbows and kiss him, leaving my lips to linger near his as I say, “I like that you have a good memory for the things I tell you.”

His hand moves to my ass, squeezing it exactly how I like. “I need to get you naked.”

“Yes, you do. I’m ready for my birthday week to begin.”

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