Page 52 of The Hang Up
He had no idea what it was like to come from a broken home.
He glanced at Henry, who was still sleeping peacefully, his little body twitching the way it sometimes did when he was deep in dreamland. What was it like not knowing his dad? For all intents and purposes, not having a father at all.
You’re the father he doesn’t have. It’s your job to make sure he’s happy and well adjusted and safe and loved.
“He looks so much like you.”
Jason glanced up to see Miriam watching him. She smiled and nodded at the boy. “Henry, I mean. The resemblance is strong. It’s no wonder I thought he might be your son.”
“We get that a lot,” he said, and he heard the tinge of pride in his own words. “How old are you?”
Miriam laughed and shook her head. “Anyone ever tell you that’s not a polite question to ask a woman?”
“No.”
“Well, it isn’t. It’s much too intimate.”
“Honey,” he said, lowering his voice even though Henry was the soundest sleeper in the universe. “I’ve been buried deep inside you while you screamed my name. I think we’re well beyond the point of intimate.”
Miriam’s cheeks turned pink, but the faint smile on her face told him she remembered it as fondly as he did. She opened her mouth to say something—maybe that she wanted to do it again?—then closed it again.
She glanced away for a moment, then looked back at him. “I’m thirty-one. How old are you?”
“Thirty-four. So can I ask you another personal question?”
“Fire away,” she said, throwing an arm up.“Might as well keep going while you’re on a roll.”
She looked more amused than annoyed, so Jason pressed on. “How come you’re not married?”
“Jeez.” She grabbed a potato chip from the bag between them and chomped down on it. He watched her jaw move as she chewed, taking her time with the question. “I guess the simple answer is that I never found the right guy.”
“What does the right guy look like?”
“Looks aren’t the important thing,” she said a little haughtily, though he noticed she shot a glance at his pecs when she said it. “The right guy has to be smart. Passionate. Funny. Successful. Sexy as hell.”
“Sexy? I thought you said looks weren’t important.”
“I said they’re notasimportant. Besides, sexy isn’t about looks. It’s about chemistry.”
“Got it,” he said, not entirely sure why it mattered to him, but pretty sure they had enough chemistry bubbling between them to power a Bunsen burner. “So where do you plan to find this smart, passionate, funny, successful, sexy-as- hell husband?”
“Maybe I’m not looking,” she said, glancing away. “Maybe I stopped looking altogether.”
He nodded, his gaze locked on her face. He sensed there was more to the story than that, and was deciding whether to push for it when she turned back to look him right in the eye.
“So how about you?” she asked. “You seem like a good family man. You’re obviously devoted and love kids. Why aren’t you shackled to a wife with a house in the suburbs and a dog in your backyard?”
Jason shrugged and let his gaze dart to Henry before he returned his attention to Miriam.“I guess I feel like I already have a family. No real need to do anything different.”
“Huh.” She nibbled another chip. “Think you’ll ever get hitched?”
“Kind of a heavy subject for a third date.”
“This isn’t a date, and you’re the one who brought it up, remember?”
“Good point. Okay, I guess I’m not sure. I mean, it’s not a priority for me. I know how much time and attention and devotion it takes to keep a family safe and protected and happy. I can’t afford to divert any attention away from the family already entrusted to me.”
She was silent a moment, but her gaze stayed locked with his. He had the disconcerting sensation she could look right through his eyeballs and into the back of his skull. Like she could read his mind.
