Page 171 of Forgotten Prejudice

“You know, I had a thought,” he said after passing me the salad I asked for.

“Yeah?”

“Why don’t we have kids?”

I nearly choked on the tomato I was chewing on and had to cough for a long minute until I calmed down. Kai handed me a glass of water, which I drank up in one go before I cleaned my lips and looked at him. “What?” I gasped, still shocked.

“The boys are all grown up and will probably leave soon, so it feels like the right time. Besides, isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?”

Yes.

Since forever, my dream was to have kids and build a family, but I gave up on the idea once Soren told me he would never have children. After we broke up and I started this thing with Kai, having kids never came up. Ignoring the fact that we weren’t an actual couple, I also struggled to picture us as parents… it just didn’t feel right. Why? I had no idea—maybe because I didn’t see him as the fatherly type. The sad thing was that Kai was a dad. That fact sometimes slipped away, and I wondered what it said about him.

“Where is this coming from?” I asked after putting my fork down.

“It’s about time, don’t you think?”

I frowned. “Kai, we’re not even a real… you know what I mean.”

“What? We’re not actually dating?” He placed his hand behind my armchair and leaned in a bit closer. “Because if I recall correctly, last time we talked, we decided to be fully committed to this.” He pointed between us.

We did, and since then, I’d slept with my ex. Twice. Not that Kai had a clue.

“We can be awesome dads, Ashy. Just think about it.” He smiled at me, his blue eyes flashing with excitement. Although, I knew better than to just fall for it. Whenever Kai came up with an idea, it started with him being hyperfixated until he lost interest. Only it didn’t work the same way with kids. A baby wasn’t a project you took upon yourself only to put aside when your interests moved on to something new. A baby was, well, a baby.

“It’s not all fun and games, Kai. Kids take a lot of energy and are a big responsibility. Not to mention, this is all so sudden. We still have so much to focus on with the boys growing up and Diesel being away—”

He cut me off with a deep sigh, then leaned back in his chair. “You always see the negative in things. I thought you’d be happy with the idea.”

“Kai, we’re talking about a kid, not a dog.”

He rolled his eyes. “You know, I keep trying to be what you want, but it feels like it’s never enough.”

That was a very cute thought, but it was incredibly off-putting. Besides, I was in no place to even start considering having a kid with him. Not until I figured out what to do about Soren and my undeniable feelings toward him.

“You are enough, Kai. It’s just not the right time to talk about it. In a few months, when everything calms down, we can bring it up again.”

Kai studied me with a raised brow before he rubbed his jaw. “I just thought you’d be happy with the idea.” He got up and took his plate with him to the sink.

I hated that he was hurt.

“You know, I brought this thing up now because when I spoke with Zoe the other day, she mentioned she was thinking about having another kid.”

My body tensed with where this was going, and I straightened up in my chair, my full attention on Kai’s back as he washed his plate.

“And?” I asked, eager to know the rest.

Turning off the tap, Kai dried his hands and then turned to face me with his arms crossed over his chest. “She asked me if I was willing to be the father again. She said it only made sense with us already having Paris.”

For a second there, I felt like I was having a minor heart attack. Zoe’s audacity to even suggest such a thing while knowing Kai and I were together brought back all the crap from when they were teens, when I was forced to watch them from the sidelines and smile like an idiot.

“She actually asked you that?” I hissed, anger flowing through my body like lightning.

“Don’t worry, Ashy. I told her no.” Kai quickly came to calm me down, his hands rubbing my arms. “You know I’d never do that to you.”

Biting my lip, I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter.” I was so pissed. “She has no right to ask that of you. No fucking right, Kai—”

He pulled me into a tight hug that forced me to swallow back my fury. His warm skin, strong body, and familiar scent helped to calm me down, but not quite enough. I still couldn’t believe Zoe would cross such a line. We might have had our differences in the past, but I assumed that by now, she’d accepted the fact that Kai had chosen me.