“And?” There wasn’t a hint of surprise in his voice, or revulsion either. “You sure as hell don’t look forty-seven, and who cares if you do. You’re successful, beautiful and rich, that’s enough for any man. More than enough.”
His words stunned me, mostly on account of our contentious relationship, which was admittedly, mostly my own doing. “That’s really what you think? I don’t need compliments because you caught me crying.”
Grady laughed. “Believe me, I wouldn’t lie to make you feel better.” He flashed a slow and sexy smile that sent heat flaming throughout my body. “Stuck up as hell on top of everything else,” he added with a wink. “It’s all true.”
That’s why I believed him, because for all of his faults, Grady was an honest guy, especially where I was concerned. He never hesitated to tell me what he thought of me, good or bad. Mostly bad, given our relationship, and for that reason his compliment touched me even deeper.
“Thank you Grady. Really.” Before I could think better of it, I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed him tight, all too aware of the mounds of rock hard muscle. My nipples tightened with arousal, and when he hugged me back, that earlier heat turned to an inferno charged with pure electricity. I pulled back with a gasp. “Thank you.”
He didn’t linger on the hug thankfully, and slid from my side of the booth and returned to his side. “You can’t cry over cake.”
“I thought it was spilled milk,” I told him, and sat up a little taller when an amused grin split his face, teeth so white and stark against his tan skin and red beard.
“I say never cry when there’s food in front of you. It just feels wrong.” He shrugged again and finished off his cake in four enormous bites before he turned his gaze to me again. “So why were you crying if it’s not about aging gracefully?”
I shoved a bite of cake in my mouth and chewed slowly. It was sweet and rich and fluffy, and the perfect distraction. But Grady was an expert at waiting people out, and after another bite of cake, I found myself telling him everything. “My last ex-husband Michael left me for our mechanic, Adam. They fell in love and have been living their happily ever after since the divorce, before the divorce if we’re being honest.” And apparently I was being totally honest with my sworn enemy. “And today he decided to share his wonderful news with me, that he and Adam have adopted adorable twin girls.” Saying it out loud left a nasty taste in my mouth and I gulped some water.
“Are you still in love with him?”
I laughed. “Goodness, no. The divorce was necessary and inevitable, only I didn’t see it until it was too late. Michael did the right thing by initiating the divorce, because he knew I never would.”
Grady’s brows dipped in confusion. “But you’re not in love with him?”
“No,” I laughed. “I love Michael, and I probably always will. We were, and mostly are, still great friends, but we should not have mistaken that for the kind of love that leads to marriage. It was just my own dumb luck that by the time I figured it out, my years of having children were behind me.” And that was the part I couldn’t get past, wouldn’t forgive Michael for taking from me.
“Says who?”
“Says who, what?”
“That your years of having kids are behind you? It’s not the eighties anymore Margot, women are having kids well into their fifties, especially women like you. With money.”
I shook my head at his words, all of them. “You can’t be serious. A woman my age, pregnant?” I laughed.
“My mama’s friend Charlene is fifty-six and she has a one year old boy. She and her second husband have been together for a few years and weren’t trying, but one day she just popped up pregnant.”
I couldn’t deny how much his words filled me with hope, but hope was a bad thing for a woman like me, a woman my age with no prospects for a man. No desire either. “Definitely fertility treatments,” I said dismissively.
“Doubtful, since Mama called him an oops baby.” He shrugged. “She’s like an aunt to me, so I didn’t get into specifics about how she made her baby. The old-fashioned way I assumed.” Grady distracted me for a moment by taking the last bite of my cake. “Anyway, all I’m saying is that it’s not too late if you really want to have kids.”
I sat there and stared at him, shocked by his words and the kindness I hadn’t earned. “Thank you for saying that. I don’t deserve your kindness and I am well aware of that, but I think I needed to hear that.”