Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29132 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 146(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29132 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 146(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
“Then you should be safe,” she said, hugging the quilt to her chest as she added with a smile. “So yeah, I’m getting toward the end of my fertility, I’ve gotten all my wanderlust out of my system, and I’m ready to love someone forever.” She lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “I haven’t had the best luck in romantic relationships, but in this day and age, that doesn’t mean I can’t have a family, a child, someone I can give my heart to and know nothing is going to come between us.”
“That’s a beautiful way to look at it,” he said softly, the smile slipping away from his face. “But why does having a child mean the romantic part of your life is over? Wouldn’t you like to have a partner in this adventure at one point or another? Maybe during the terrible twos?”
“I’m more worried about the teenage years,” she said. “But I was a handful when I was a teen, so I figure anything my kid dishes out is just karma coming back to give me a well-deserved kick in the ass.”
“Or a peck in the ass. Those can be pretty nasty, I hear.”
“You would know.” She giggled, enjoying this walk even more than she’d expected, despite the heavy turn the conversation had taken.
“But seriously,” he said, nudging her arm with his. “Having a child on your own doesn’t mean you have to stay a single mother.”
She arched a brow. “I don’t think men exactly line up to date women raising an infant on their own, Noah.”
“I would,” he said seriously. “If the woman were you.”
She cleared her throat and gazed down at her feet, concentrating on kicking the grass flat in front of her as they crossed over the first ridge in the hill and started down the shadowed hollow on the other side.
“But I am a genius,” Noah continued, saving her from being forced to form a reply. “Maybe the rest of the men out there aren’t smart enough to realize a quality dating option when they see one.”
She tilted her head, gazing up at him out of the corner of her eyes. “Quality dating option, huh? And you can tell that after only meeting me twice?”
“Three times,” he said. “We’re already well into our third meeting, and this one is the most interesting yet. So answer the question, North. We geniuses are pretty good at knowing when we’re being given the runaround. Why no men?”
Yasmin pursed her lips. “I just want to focus on the baby. On being the best mom I can be. Is that so wrong?”
“No, it’s not wrong.” He nodded for a moment. “But it’s bullshit.”
She glanced sharply over, surprised—and a little turned on. She did love a man who wasn’t afraid to call her on her bullshit. “And why do you say that, Mr. O’Sullivan?”
“You weren’t kidding yesterday when you said that you weren’t going to seriously date anyone ever again.” He stopped near a gathering of short trees, turning to face her in the golden light. “Why is that? What, or who, made you decide it was time to close your heart for business, Miss North?”
The sun wouldn’t set for another two and a half hours, but it had already taken on that magical, end of day quality. Noah O’Sullivan looked even more handsome now than he had a few minutes before. Handsome and kind and clever and probably a few other wonderful things she’d dreamed of finding in a man, but this wasn’t a dream come true or even real life. This was one night with a man who was going to tell her “thanks, but no thanks” on his way out of town.
There was no reason to let down her guard, none at all, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. The truth slipped out before she could stop it.
“My last relationship was with a serial killer.” She whispered the words, but sadly some things are as terrifying in a whisper as they are a scream. “I had no idea until the day he was killed trying to murder one of my friends.”
“Jesus,” Noah said, his features softening. “You’re not kidding.”
She shook her head. “Nah. I don’t kid about serial killers. At least not anymore.”
“Damn, Yasmin.” Noah shook his head, clearly at a loss. “I’m so sorry. I obviously don’t know all the specifics, but you know what they say about people like that. They’re masters at hiding what they really are. They’re monsters, and no normal person can be expected to understand the way they think.”
She glanced down at the grass, hugging the quilt tighter. “But I was close to him, Noah. He was my lover, my friend. He made me laugh. I laughed with a man like that and I just…”
She swallowed, fighting past the tightness in her throat. “I don’t know how to come back from it. And I don’t want to. I just want peace and quiet and a chance to love someone whose deepest, darkest secret is that they wet their diaper or spit up their pureed carrots.”