“I wonder if that would have worked with my parents when I was a kid. Telling them, I couldn’t do the dishes because I am too cute.”
“Give it a try next time you visit them.”
She giggled again. “I’m sure they’ll love it.”
“You’re really close to them, huh?”
“Oh, yeah. I really am. It’s another thing here in Half Moon Key. I feel like families are closer. When I went away to college, I was honestly thrown off by how many families just seem to hate each other with a fiery passion.” She winced. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make any sort of comment about your life.”
He shook his head. “Don’t apologize. You’re right. I have noticed that too … people being close to their parents here. If I were to have kids, that’s how I would want things to go down. I would want my kids to be close to me.”
“Not sure you want kids?” she asked cautiously. This was a bit of a deal breaker for her. She wanted kids. She wanted to be a mother, and she wanted to bond with her own mom and share parenting tips.
She wanted to have a husband who loved their little ones as much as she did.
Parker was careful and quiet as he laid out slices of chocolate cheesecake. “Now, don’t get too excited. I didn’t make this. I had Mason whip it up for us.”
“This is my favorite. Did Lila tell you?”
His eyes went wide, and he shook his head. “No. I didn’t know. Honestly, chocolate cheesecake is my favorite. The dark chocolate cuts the …”
“Sweet of the cheesecake,” she finished for him. “Totally agree.”
He beamed at her, and finally, she got the answer she had so impatiently been waiting for. “I’m not gonna lie. I’m terrified of being a bad dad. It’s not like I had such a good example, but I think that if I were with the right woman, I wouldn’t mind having a couple of kids.”
“And what is the right kind of woman to have kids with?” Jade held her breath despite herself.
“Well, to be honest, she would be a lot like you.”
Jade’s entire body flushed with heat. She took a bite of her dessert in the hopes that the right response would just pop into her head. No such luck. She drew a blank.
Who said something like that so very early on in a relationship?
No man she had ever dated, that was for darn sure. Weren’t men supposed to be skittish about that kind of stuff?
But maybe good men like Parker didn’t mind laying it all out on the line. They weren’t exactly twenty anymore, and she didn’t want to waste her time with someone who didn’t have the same aspirations as her.
If Parker was this forward about his wants and desires for the future, it could only be a good thing. Right? She had to believe that because if she was honest with herself, Jade was falling hard and fast for Parker.
“I shouldn’t have said that,” he finally cut in through her thoughts.
“No, no. Don’t be sorry for sharing something that is true. For what it’s worth, I’m starting to think that you’re the right kind of man to have kids with.”
He grinned and leaned closer to her. “This is getting very serious, Jade.”
“We’re not twenty anymore,” she pointed out.
“That’s a fair point. I like the way you think.”
“Besides, if you mess with me, you do know that Mrs. Francis will run you out of town, right?”
He threw his head back with a laugh. “I believe that. I really do.”
“As well you should. This town is very protective of us ladies. I think that most of the elders still feel bad for letting Pippa get her heart broken.”
“The town elders can’t be blamed for that.”
She shrugged. “Maybe not. The man is a grown adult. He knew what he was when he had those kids, and he definitely knew what he was doing when he abandoned his wife and kids.”