Blame It on the Blackout by Heidi Betts

fallacies she wanted to lay to rest. But her mind was a jumble of facts and feelings. She knew if she said the wrong thing, Peter would clam up, curling in on himself to once again hide the little boy who had been hurt and disillusioned at such a young age.
    â€œYou can’t believe that,” she whispered. “Not really.”
    The expression on his face, though, told her he did—unequivocally.
    The engines of the plane turned over then, making it harder to be heard over the loud, humming whir. Crossing her legs in his direction, she leaned closer so she wouldn’t have to raise her voice, laying a hand on his arm. Beneath her fingers, the muscles bunched and tensed as he clutched the metal armrest.
    â€œPeter, your father was distant and uncaring, and I’m sorry for that. I don’t think anyone would argue the fact that neither of your parents did right by you. But you’re not a clone of your father, you’re your own man. That’s the beauty of children; they can grow up wiser than their parents and learn not to make the same mistakes as previous generations.”
    She squeezed his arm and brushed the back of her hand lovingly along the line of his jaw. She knew she should play it safe and walk away. Accept his reasoning and count herself fortunate not to have gotten too heavily involved with his personal demons.
    But she was already emotionally invested in thisman. Her heart had been engaged soon after she started working for him, and she was only more soundly entrenched now that he’d shared a part of his past with her.
    â€œI happen to think you’d make a wonderful husband and father,” she told him earnestly. “You’re kind and generous and patient, and have a great sense of humor. Any woman would be lucky to have you, and your children—if you ever have them—will think you hung the moon and the stars.”

Seven
    L ucy’s words penetrated deep into his soul, warming a place he’d thought long dead. He only wished he could believe them.
    A part of him wanted to…so badly, he felt a burning sensation at the backs of his eyes. He turned his head and blinked quickly, taking a moment to catch his breath and steady his out of control emotions.
    But you couldn’t rewrite history, and he knew what happened when a man tried to have a wife and family while also trying to build and maintain a thriving business. One would suffer, and if his own upbringing was any indication, it would likely be the family. That was a risk he couldn’t— wouldn’t —take.
    â€œI wish I could believe that,” he rasped, turning his arm over and twining her fingers with his own when they slid into his palm. “But I’ve had too much experience with the other side of the coin. I learned early on that a person can either concentrate on his job, his corporate image, or he can concentrate on his family—he can’t have both. And I’m sorry, Lucy, but Reyware is too important to me to let anything interfere. My entire focus right now is on getting the company off the ground and well into the black. Maybe later, when I’m older and Reyware is stable enough to put others in charge…maybe then I’ll take a chance on a wife and kids. For now, though, I can’t put someone—adult or child—through what my father put my mom and me through.”
    â€œYou only think that way because it’s all you’ve ever known,” Lucy pointed out gently. “If you’d grown up differently, you might have a dozen kids by now.”
    He wrinkled his nose at her wild supposition. “I’m only thirty-two, Luce. How is that even possible?”
    She shot him a cheeky grin. “Well, maybe not a full dozen, but if you’d gotten started early, you could be close.”
    His expression must have still looked doubtful because she adjusted her weight until her shoulder and the full length of her arm rested