“So what’s the word about the water heater?”
“Busted. We’ll go into town and order a new one from the hardware store, and you should pack your bag.”
“What? Why?”
“Because we’re going to move ourselves to an inn so you don’t have to live with no hot water. At least for the next couple of nights.”
“Won’t your mom be sad?”
“Nae, it was her idea. I think she wants to give us some alone time.”
I swallowed hard. The alone time we’d gotten was few and far between. Taylor’s nephews hang on to him like spider monkeys, and he was so good with them. He built Legos with them and chased them around on the grounds. Yesterday afternoon I’d found him at the rink running drills with them, their little hockey sticks absolutely adorable.
“The boys are going to be heartbroken.”
“They’ll get over it. Besides, I think Mum wants to make sure we actually go experience Scotland since it’s your first time here. Something tells me she’s afraid we’ll spend all our time with the family, and you won’t get a chance to fall in love with anything else.”
Like you? I wanted to say. But I held my tongue.
An hour later, after saying goodbye to the family, kissing his grandfather on the cheek, and driving into the small town just down the hill, Taylor and I had settled into a romantic andconvenientlyavailable room above the local pub. They seemed to know we were coming because the room was decorated with rose petals and candles, and there was even a bottle of champagne on ice.
“Do you think your mother broke the water heater on purpose?”
He laughed. “I wouldn’t put it past her. She’s crafty like that. I also have it on good authority that my father will be arriving home today. So it’s very likely she was trying to salvage whatever she could of this experience for you.”
“I’m not afraid of him.”
“No, and you shouldn’t be. But he has a way of sucking the life out of everything. Cutting down everything and everyone around him. Making sure we’re all walking on eggshells all the time.”
“Why does she stay with him?”
He shrugged. “She loves him, and it must not be all bad, or she wouldn’t have stayed.”
“My parents hated each other.”
“You mentioned they stayed together because of the kids.”
“And they kept having kids, so they kept staying together longer. It was a mess.”
“Are you afraid of that happening? Is that why you don’t believe in love?”
“I never said I don’t believe in love.”
“Well, it’s not hard to put it together.”
“I just don’t want to get hurt. I don’t want to get into a relationship complicated by so many irrational feelings.”
“Love is irrational.”
“True. And then you add in children...”
“What about children?”
“They complicate everything. You have children. You’re supposed to stay together. Give them a stable home.”
His expression softened as he poured us each a glass of champagne. “Perhaps that’s how it used to be. But don’t you think giving them two loving parents who are both happy is more important? Giving them an example of doing what’s best is better than giving them an example of making yourself miserable and sacrificing your own happiness.”
“Do you want kids?”