Chapter 78 Boy Or Girl?
âWhere are we going?â
âJust a little place downtown. There arenât a lot of places on the island, but there are a few. I think youâll like this place. Itâs one of my favorites.â
I smiled at him. I liked to see him get excited, and he had that little twinkle in his eye when he was talking. âAm! dressed appropriately?â I asked, worried more about my shoes th an my dress, but I wasnât used to wearing heels anyway.
âAre you kidding?â he asked, his eyes widening. âYouâll be the most beautiful woman there.â
I felt my face turning the same shade as my dress. âYouâre so kind,â I told him. âReally, your mother mu st be quite a woman. She raised you so nicely.â
His eyes shifted, and a shadow passed over his face. He cleared his throat and looked out the window, and I thought I mustâve said something
I shouldnât have. âIâm sorry,â I began.
Just as soon as the shadow was there, it was gone, and he was back to his amiable self, a wide smile
on his face. He didnât say anything about his mother, though, only, âThey have this great pasta dish at t he restaurant. I think youâll really love it. Of course, you can order anything you like. Alfonso, the chef, is a
good friend of mine.â
I wasnât sure what to say. I thought maybe I should apologize for upsetting him, but I also didnât want to
make him look like that ever again. âGreat,â | clapped cheerfully. âI love pasta.â
âDid you really make this scarf in one day?â he asked, pulling part of it out of the bag that was sitting be tween us in the seat.
âI did,â I told him. âIt wasnât that difficult since it was just a straight stitch in one color.â
âThatâs amazing,â he said, shaking his head. âI think if I tried to crochet something, Iâd end up with my fi ngers all twisted up in the yarn, and Iâd be trapped for the rest of my life.â
I giggled. He could be so silly.
A few minutes later, the car pulled over to the curb, and the driver opened the door. I got out first, and then Soren followed. He offered his arm, and we walked in together.
Every head turned in our direction, and Soren waved and smiled. I didnât know what to do. I couldnât hel p but smile. Everyone was being so friendly, but waving seemed a bit much since I didnât know anyone.
âMr. Soren!â a man in a tuxedo with a fancy mustache said from behind the maître D stand. âWelcome! Your table is ready, sir.â
âThank you,â Soren said, and we followed him down the aisle. I still felt like I was being stared at, but once we were seated, the table was so private, it was much better .
We had excellent service, and almost immediately, I had sparkling cider and water in front of me. I deci ded to try the pasta dish Soren suggested, and he ordered some sort of steak and red wine.
This was a fancy restaurant, and I couldnât help but look around in awe. It was like something out of on e of the books I had been reading.
âSo.â he said, spreading his napkin in his lap, âhow is the baby?â
I stared at him for a moment, not sure how to answer that question. âAs far as I can tell, the baby is fine .â
âHowâs the kicking been today?â he asked me, taking a drink of his wine.
âWell, the baby is so small, when those tiny feet kick me, itâs like a butterfly wing tickling my internal organs.â
He laughed, like I was kidding, but it was pretty accurate, from what I could tell. âYou should be able to f ind out whether itâs a boy or a girl soon.â
I shook my head. âI think Iâve decided I donât want to know.â
His eyes widened. âReally? Why is that?â
âI donât know,â I admitted. âI think I just want the surprise. Like back before they had this sort of technolo gy. Iâd like to be surprised and hear Seraphine say, âItâs a boy!â or âItâs a girl!ââ | smiled, imagining what I j ust said, and took a drink of my water.
âAnd which do you hope it is? A boy or a girl?â
âI donât know,â I said again. I used to think it must be a boy, and he would be a great Alpha just like his f ather. But now, I really didnât know. I meant it. âI will be happy with either.â In my mind, I had visions of
myself running through the garden with a beautiful little girl in a dress while I had also seen a sweet littl e boy with his fatherâs eyes standing on the beach.
I did wonder, if I had a boy, would he grow up to be like his father? I wasnât sure that I wanted that for my son. Ethan needed to work on his emotionsâto put it lightly.
Sorenâs expression didnât change for a second, and he seemed to be studying my face.
âI think it would be incredible if you had a little girl who looked like you. But then, a little boy would be w onderful, too. Iâd love to have a little boy to play ball with or teach to surf.â
âDo you surf?â This was the first time Iâd heard him mention it. âThatâs amazing!â
âOh, yeah. Well⦠I mean⦠itâs been a while. Iâve been so busy. But I do know how to surf.â He emphas ized the word âhow.â
âMaybe when Iâm done giving birth, you can teach me. I would love to learn.â I wanted to branch out an d have more life experiences.
âDefinitely!â Soren said. âI would love that! I bet youâd get it right off the bat!â.
âWhy do you say that?â I chuckled. I was glad I didnât have any liquid in my mouth.
âBecause youâre so graceful. And you try so hard at everything you do.â
I couldnât help but smile at him. He was so kind. Why couldnât more people in the world be like Soren?
The waitress brought out dishes, and they smelled delicious. I tasted the pasta, and Soren was right. It was one of the best things Iâd ever put in my mouth. I couldnât help the sound that came out of my mouthâ
it was a moan of pleasure that borderâline made me embarrassed.
Soren laughed so hard, he almost fell out of his chair. âWell, I was going to ask if you liked it, but I gues s I donât need to.â
âSorry,â I said, covering my face with my hand.
âNo, donât be sorry. No one else is paying attention to us. I just canât wait until you try the chocolate mo usse.â
âIf itâs going to make that sound come out of my mouth, we may need to get it to go,â I reasoned.
Again, he laughed and cut into his steak. He was quiet for a moment, as if he was trying to figure out whether he should say it or not.
âYouâve changed, Ro,â he paused, looking at me. âI liked you when we met initially, but now I like you mo He put down his silverware, and said it sincerely. âI know you donât like to talk about your past, but I have away from, I sure hope that person is miserable.â
I almost dropped my fork. I wasnât expecting him to say that. I looked up at him through my eyelashes for a moment, trying to formulate a response.
Soren just kept talking. âThey deserve it. To be sitting at home alone, drowning in their own tears, realizi He seemed to have made his point, so I cleared my throat. âThanks,â I said because it was the polite thi I knew why he had said it. He was trying to pay me a compliment, trying to say that I was so great that anyone who was didnât have me in their life anymore would miss me.
But Soren was wrong. I was certain that Ethan was not drowning in his own tears. The newspaper Iâd se But not me.
I was certain he wasnât thinking about me.
âI propose a toast,â Soren said, getting me out of my head and back to the present.
âOh?â I asked. âTo what?â
âWhy, to you, of course!â he replied. Lifting his glass, he said, âTo a beautiful, intelligent, loving motherâ
toâbe who has recreated herself and refuses to give up, no matter what, so that her child will have the best life possible.â
âIâll drink to that,â I said. âBut, I also want to drink to you,â I added. âTo a wonderful man who will do anything for his friendsâ
even when heâs just met themâ
and helps them get on their feet. Who gives of himself and sprinkles kindness on everyone like confetti!â
âI can drink to that.â His voice was gentle.
We clinked glasses and drank, and I knew it was going to be a good night.
Because Soren was a good man.
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