“And now?”
“It’s the best thing that ever happened to me. Masen is my life,” I answer honestly, smiling at him.
Behind the glass he is holding to his lips, he hides his sly smile.
“Why are you smiling that way?”
He takes another drink and motions for the waiter to bring him another. “Because, motherhood suits you.”
“I seem to be hearing that a lot.”
“So you’re not with the guy . . . Henry . . .”
“Haden,” I correct him.
“Whatever.”
“No, Haden is engaged and it’s really complicated.”
Ain’t that the fucking truth! I desperately want to tell him the full story, but I’m scared he will convince me to never speak to the Jerk again. It’s not such a bad idea after what happened with Eloise, but it’s not just about my feelings anymore. It’s about Masen and what he deserves.
“Well, sounds like a jerk.”
I laugh, shaking my head. “Yeah, what can you do?”
“You find yourself a real man, Pres. A man who’s willing to give you everything.” His eyes twinkle as they stare directly into mine. Moving his hand towards my side of the table, he plays with the ring sitting on my middle finger. My chest is pumping, but it’s not all because of this intimate moment. It’s the guilt that I feel for sitting here with Jason when my heart belongs elsewhere.
Why does it have to belong somewhere else?
The food arrives and we eat in silence. My appetite is nonexistent, and with each bite, I’m swallowing a tablespoon of guilt.
“What did we do, Pres? We had it all, you know?”
“Did we, Jase? We were happy, but I don’t know . . . it’s like we got cold feet way too early.”
“This could have been us. We could have had a child together,” he says in a low voice.
“I guess so.”
The question makes me think. Even if I could go back in time, would I make Jason the father of my child? It would’ve been so easy, it would have been a stroll in the fucking park. But everything that Masen is lies in his DNA. He has Haden’s blood running through his veins. And truth be told, I wouldn’t change that for the world.
“There’s always the future, Pres. It’s not a closed book between us.”
“I miss you,” I blurt out, not intending it to come out the way it does.
“I miss you too.”
“It was so easy, what we had,” I confess. “Life is so complicated now. I just don’t know what I’m doing anymore.”
“But is easy wrong?”
“No, it’s drama-free and all I’ve been doing for nine months is living in a world of drama.”
Jason presses his palm against mine and leans forward. With only the glow of the candlelight between us, my body moves in, bringing us close together.
“We both were searching for something else, Presley. But we already had it all,” he concedes. “Now we’ve had that time apart. I’ve realized that no woman could compare to you. Sure, you have your quirks, but Presley, I want my life with you.”
He said all the words I want to hear . . . from someone else. He’s offering me everything we had on a silver platter with a nice red bow to complete the package. An easy life filled with love and happy memories.