Page 46 of Clueless
I glared at her.“No, and she better not.”My folks used to drag me and my sister to church every Sunday when we were kids.A lot of good it did me.I still made a mess of my life.Not that I blamed the man upstairs for that.Those bonehead mistakes were all on me.
“Fine, don’t get all pissy,” she said, raising a hand defensively.“So, tell me more about Grace.”
Grace I didn’t mind talking about.She happened to be my favorite topic.“What do you want to know?”
She considered that carefully before she said, “Well, I know she’s a therapist, and Mav Stone’s sister-in-law.She’s obviously well-educated, intelligent, beautiful, successful?—”
“I don’t need you to listherattributes either, thanks.”Because every time I focused too long on how amazing she was, I questioned all over again what the hell she was doing with me.
Rachel huffed.“Fine, has she ever been engaged?Married?Does she want kids?”
“No, no, and I don’t know.”
“You don’t even know if she wants kids?”She clucked her tongue.“You should know that by the third date.”
“I don’t even know if I want any more kids, and you expect me to press her about it?”
She covered her hand with mine.“Hon, just because you couldn’t be there for Quinn, doesn’t mean you wouldn’t be an amazing dad if you?—”
“I’m a shitty father, Rachel.Let’s call it what it is.And if I got to start from day one, that kid would probably hate me even more than Quinn does.”
“Are you serious right now?You’re an amazing uncle.My boys adore you.And you would be an amazing dad, given the chance.”
“Whatever.”I rolled my eyes.“You have to say that.You’re my sister.”
“Taz.”She seemed hesitant when she said, “If you really don’t want kids, that’s something you need to talk to Grace about before y’all get in too deep.”
“What the hell are you talking about?We just started dating.You think we need to have ‘the talk’ about marriage and kids and all that shit?”I asked, making air quotes around the word.“I don’t think so.”
“How old is Grace?”
“She turned twenty-seven a few months ago.”I was a solid eight years older than her, but I didn’t give a shit about that.
“Hmm.”She nodded.“So, she’ll probably want to take a couple of years to get established, professionally before she starts to think about getting married and having babies.”
“Assuming she wants that.Not everyone woman does, you know.”But I had a sinking feeling Grace did.She’d always dated a certain type of guy.Safe.Stable.Well educated.Good family.Good job or prospects.In other words, someone who was great husband and father material.I was so screwed.
“Why are you scowling like that?”
“Because you gave me one more thing to worry about where Grace is concerned.”I dropped my half-eaten pizza slice back down on the plate.I’d suddenly lost my appetite.“Thanks for that.”
“Hey, don’t blame me!”She flattened her palm against her chest.“This is the kind of stuff grown-ups talk about.You’re not dating a teenager, for God’s sake, Taz.You’re dating a grown woman, who’s got her shit together, for once.”
“Yeah, lucky me.”Too bad I couldn’t claim to have my shit together.
ChapterFifteen
Grace
Taz was heading out on the road with Mav tomorrow, so I’d suggested a nice dinner before he left.Unfortunately, he’d been cold and distant for days now.
We were working on our entrees at one of the best steakhouses in the city, and I couldn’t stand the sight of him pushing his mashed potatoes around on his plate for another second, so I said the one thing I was sure would snap him out of his stupor.
“Taz, if this isn’t working for you, just tell me.”
He scowled at me, dropping his fork with a clatter against his plate.“What the hell are you talking about?”
I gestured from myself to him.“You and me.If this isn’t working for you, just say the word, and I’ll get out of your life.”Not that it would be that easy for me.I’d already fallen for the man, and letting him go just might be the hardest thing I’d ever done.But I couldn’t be with someone who refused to let me in when something was troubling him either.
