“Of course. I’m so sorry. I’m not sure where that came from.”
“It’s okay. Honestly, it didn’t occur to me until after he asked me to marry him. It never occurred to me that I could help our family with his money.”
“Once you’re married, some of it might belong to you.”
“Donny and I haven’t talked about it, but I won’t have any claim to the vast Steel fortune. I’m sure he’ll share his portion with me. And if it could help Mom and Dad…”
“You’re forgetting one thing, Cal.”
“What’s that?”
“Mom and Dad probably won’t take the money.”
She smiles. “I know. I’ll have to insist.”
“That’s not going to help.”
She nods. “Where the hell does Pat Lamone get off calling us gold diggers? We’ve never dug for gold in our lives.”
“Because he knows we were going after the Steel reward all those years ago.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. Everyone wanted that reward.”
“Yeah,” I say, “but we were the ones who really tried to get it.”
“Well, he stopped us.” She sighs. “I don’t want to think about this. This is my happy night.”
“Me neither. In fact…”
“Right. You wanted to tell me something. What is it?”
I bite my lower lip. “If I put this into words, it means it’s really a thought I’m having.”
“That’s right. So what is it?”
“Brock… He’s young and great-looking and comes from amazing stock.”
“That’s not news, Ror.” She chuckles.
“I know. But do you think… Would it be crazy…?”
“Rory, you’re going to have to actually finish one of your sentences at some point.”
I inhale and let it out slowly. Time to get to the point. “What if I ask him to father a baby for me?”
Callie’s jaw drops. Any farther, and I’d have to pick it up off the ground for her.
She doesn’t say anything for several seconds that seem to draw out into minutes.
Finally, “What?”
“I’m pretty sure you heard me. That’s why your jaw’s lying on the ground.”
“Rory, that’s crazy.”
“Is it though? I want a kid so badly I can taste it, Callie. I’m not getting any younger.”
“You’re twenty-eight. You’re hardly an old maid yet.”
“I know. But there are risks after thirty-five.”
“You’re seven years away from thirty-five.”
“I get that. It’s just… I want to do this while I’m young. I’ve thought about it a lot, especially since Raine and I broke up. I don’t want to wait, Cal. I want to have children while I’m still young enough to enjoy them. I don’t want to be one of those moms who doesn’t live to see her grandchildren grow up.”
Callie doesn’t respond.
“So…” I prompt.
“I don’t know. Brock Steel? No way is he going to want to be a father. First of all, he’s young. Second of all, he’s Brock Steel. He’s a womanizer.”
“You’re marrying a womanizer, Cal.”
“That’s different. Donny’s a lot older than Brock.”
“It’s not like I’m going to ask him to actually be a father. I’m asking for a sperm donation.”
“So you want him to come in a cup and then you’ll inseminate yourself?”
“No, I was actually thinking…”
“You want to do it with him?”
“It’s the most tried-and-true method, Callie. It’s more likely to take if you do it the natural way.”
Plus, it’s been a while since I’ve been with a man. A good old-fashioned fuck sounds great. I’m tingling just thinking about it.
And Brock Steel? I mean, he looks like he could get a woman knocked up with mere eye contact.
Can I say all this to Callie? So far she hasn’t responded.
“I can take one of those tests,” I continue. “I can find out exactly when I’m ovulating, and then we do it.”
“And you think he’ll be okay with this.”
“The doing it part? Yeah.”
“Of course he’ll be okay with the doing it part. He’s Brock Steel. And you’re Rory Pike. Man, the two of you would make a gorgeous kid.”
“Right? He’s the perfect specimen.”
“I wouldn’t use the term specimen when you ask him for this.”
“Why not? I think he’ll take that as a compliment.”
“I’m not sure he will.”
Maybe my sister is right. Brock Steel may have grown up a bit since his college Rake-a-teer days. “Fine. I won’t use the term specimen. But he’s perfect. He’s young and healthy and gorgeous. He’s smart. All the Steels are. This is el primo genetic material I’m talking about.”
“Are you sure that’s how you want to do this, Ror? Don’t you want to wait until you fall in love?”
“I’ve been in love. Things didn’t work out for me. Everyone wants me to pick a side, and I can’t do that. I like women. I like men. I have to be me.”
“Yeah. I know. But you will find someone who gets that. Maybe you need to find another bisexual person.”
“I can’t wait around forever for that to happen. I’m not getting on one of those stupid dating sites.”
She nods at that one. We’ve talked about it. Neither of us likes that idea, even though it’s how most of our generation meets.