younger girl set the dessert and drink down in front of her. “Thank you.”
“You bet. Enjoy,” Mallory said, then was gone again.
Kendall didn’t waste any time in picking up her fork and taking a bite of the cake, which looked moist and fudgy. She closed her eyes as she savored the taste and let out a soft, appreciative “mmm” in the back of her throat as she swallowed.
Damn . “I envy that cake right now,” he said, and he wasn’t kidding.
She opened her eyes and grinned at him, looking young and beautiful. “It’s amazing and worth every calorie,” she declared shamelessly. “Want a bite?”
She held a forkful up to his mouth, and he let her feed him the sample. The taste was rich, the texture gooey, and it surprisingly reminded him of home. “Yeah, that’s pretty damn good.”
“Right?” She picked up her glass of milk and took a drink.
Had he ever seen a woman enjoy dessert so much? If so, he couldn’t remember when, and it was so easy to take pleasure in her simple pleasure. This was what he wanted with Kendall. These moments that made him feel good, in a way that had nothing to do with sex. Just being happy and content in the moment.
“That cake reminds me of my mother,” he said, the words coming out of his mouth on their own, without conscious thought.
“Yeah?” She tipped her head to the side. “Why is that?”
He hadn’t meant to bring up his family, but since he had, he answered Kendall’s question. “My mom was a pastry chef, and she made some really great desserts. Chocolate was her specialty.” She’d also used those sweets as a substitution for affection, and to make up for the fact that she was rarely home. Not the greatest childhood memories.
“Oh.” Kendall’s eyes lit up with interest. “What a great job to have, but you used the word was , so I’m assuming she isn’t a pastry chef any longer?”
“No, she’s retired. So is my dad.”
She stared at him for a few moments, and he knew she was taking his young age into consideration, and it wasn’t all adding up. “Aren’t your parents a bit young to retire yet?”
“No. My mom is seventy-three, and my dad is seventy-six. They’ve been retired for a while now.”
She set her fork on her plate, and again, he could see the wheels turning in her mind as she did the logical math in her head. “Are you…adopted?”
A lot of people came to the same conclusion when they saw him with his parents. Or they thought that his mom and dad were actually his grandparents. “No. Not adopted. I was an accident.”
She glanced at him in confusion. “An accident?”
“I wasn’t planned,” he explained as he used his thumb to wipe away a smear of frosting from the corner of her mouth. He’d much rather kiss her to distract her from this uncomfortable conversation but licked the chocolate from his finger instead. If he wanted more with Kendall, then that meant sharing even the most painful aspects of his life with her, along with the raw, honest truth of it.
“My mother was forty-six when she found out she was pregnant with me. My parents were done having kids, and I was definitely not planned in any way. Both of my older sisters, who were twenty-three and twenty-five at the time, were already out of college and out of the house.”
“Oh, wow,” she said, her eyes wide. “How did it happen? I mean, I know how babies are made, of course…” She shook her head with a laugh. “You know what I’m getting at.”
He did, and it was a curious question a lot of people asked, given how old his parents were when they’d conceived him. “My dad had a vasectomy after my second sister was born, so to find out they were pregnant with me was a huge surprise. Come to find out, his tubes grew back together over time. It’s called recanalization, and the chances of it happening are extremely low, but here I am, proof that it does happen.”
Her green eyes danced playfully. “I’m sure you were a good kind of
“You bet. Enjoy,” Mallory said, then was gone again.
Kendall didn’t waste any time in picking up her fork and taking a bite of the cake, which looked moist and fudgy. She closed her eyes as she savored the taste and let out a soft, appreciative “mmm” in the back of her throat as she swallowed.
Damn . “I envy that cake right now,” he said, and he wasn’t kidding.
She opened her eyes and grinned at him, looking young and beautiful. “It’s amazing and worth every calorie,” she declared shamelessly. “Want a bite?”
She held a forkful up to his mouth, and he let her feed him the sample. The taste was rich, the texture gooey, and it surprisingly reminded him of home. “Yeah, that’s pretty damn good.”
“Right?” She picked up her glass of milk and took a drink.
Had he ever seen a woman enjoy dessert so much? If so, he couldn’t remember when, and it was so easy to take pleasure in her simple pleasure. This was what he wanted with Kendall. These moments that made him feel good, in a way that had nothing to do with sex. Just being happy and content in the moment.
“That cake reminds me of my mother,” he said, the words coming out of his mouth on their own, without conscious thought.
“Yeah?” She tipped her head to the side. “Why is that?”
He hadn’t meant to bring up his family, but since he had, he answered Kendall’s question. “My mom was a pastry chef, and she made some really great desserts. Chocolate was her specialty.” She’d also used those sweets as a substitution for affection, and to make up for the fact that she was rarely home. Not the greatest childhood memories.
“Oh.” Kendall’s eyes lit up with interest. “What a great job to have, but you used the word was , so I’m assuming she isn’t a pastry chef any longer?”
“No, she’s retired. So is my dad.”
She stared at him for a few moments, and he knew she was taking his young age into consideration, and it wasn’t all adding up. “Aren’t your parents a bit young to retire yet?”
“No. My mom is seventy-three, and my dad is seventy-six. They’ve been retired for a while now.”
She set her fork on her plate, and again, he could see the wheels turning in her mind as she did the logical math in her head. “Are you…adopted?”
A lot of people came to the same conclusion when they saw him with his parents. Or they thought that his mom and dad were actually his grandparents. “No. Not adopted. I was an accident.”
She glanced at him in confusion. “An accident?”
“I wasn’t planned,” he explained as he used his thumb to wipe away a smear of frosting from the corner of her mouth. He’d much rather kiss her to distract her from this uncomfortable conversation but licked the chocolate from his finger instead. If he wanted more with Kendall, then that meant sharing even the most painful aspects of his life with her, along with the raw, honest truth of it.
“My mother was forty-six when she found out she was pregnant with me. My parents were done having kids, and I was definitely not planned in any way. Both of my older sisters, who were twenty-three and twenty-five at the time, were already out of college and out of the house.”
“Oh, wow,” she said, her eyes wide. “How did it happen? I mean, I know how babies are made, of course…” She shook her head with a laugh. “You know what I’m getting at.”
He did, and it was a curious question a lot of people asked, given how old his parents were when they’d conceived him. “My dad had a vasectomy after my second sister was born, so to find out they were pregnant with me was a huge surprise. Come to find out, his tubes grew back together over time. It’s called recanalization, and the chances of it happening are extremely low, but here I am, proof that it does happen.”
Her green eyes danced playfully. “I’m sure you were a good kind of
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