Some Like It Perfect (A Temporary Engagement) by Megan Bryce Read Free Book Online Page A

his head slowly. “Is your birthday coming up? Did I miss it?”
    She laughed a little and was horrified that it sounded wet and teary.
    “It means I’m high risk. If I got pregnant this second, I would be a high-risk pregnancy. And the older I get, the less chance I can get pregnant at all.”
    “Uh. . .”
    She laughed again at the fear in his voice and this time she had to wipe her nose. “I’m not saying I want to get pregnant right now. But I need to know that we could be heading that direction. That we could have a future together and it’s just not for fun. I can’t do just for fun anymore. I don’t have time .”
    She put her head in her hands and muttered, “And this is why men date younger women.”
    Because younger women could have fun. Their ovaries didn’t scream at them every month. Last chance, final call, get a fucking move on ! They could afford to wait, like she’d done, until they couldn’t wait anymore. And then they were too desperate for any man to want them.
    She couldn’t stop the tears from falling and she said through a tight throat, “I don’t know if I want kids with you. And it sounds horrible and cold and calculated, and why you’d even think of sticking around after this I have no idea, but if I have to scratch you off the list I have to do it sooner rather than later.”
    “You have to know right this second?”
    “Don’t you know right this second? Don’t you know if you want a wife and a family someday? It doesn’t have to be with me. But do you want that at all?”
    He watched one tear slide down her cheek and said, “Yes?”
    “Yes?”
    “I’ve always assumed that I would get married and have kids. That’s what you do.”
    She took a deep breath and swiped at the tear.
    He said, “I don’t know if I’m ready for that now. I don’t have time for dinner; I don’t have time for kids.”
    “Do you think that ever changes? That we’ll ever be less busy?”
    He looked at the stack of folders on his desk. “I hope so. This isn’t sustainable. And it would be a lot easier if kids just happened the old fashioned way. Accidentally, followed by a shotgun wedding, followed by a chiseling out of time for them.”
    Justine blinked wildly and her mouth fell open. She stopped herself at the last minute from telling him she’d been thinking about doing just that. She’d scared him enough for today.
    He said, “I don’t know if I’m ready for kids. You don’t know if you want them with me. But it’s not no, Justine.”
    Her eyes widened. “Yes, exactly! It’s not a yes, yet. But it’s not a no.”
    “But if it’s going to be no, you want to get there as quickly as possible.”
    Everything inside her settled. Her stomach calmed down, her shoulders relaxed. He understood.
    She smiled at him. “Yes.”
    “You do know that was extremely romantic. The most romantic relationship talk I’ve ever had.”
    She laughed at his sarcasm. “I’ve told you before that I’m not romantic.”
    “That’s all right. I’ve never thought romantic was what I wanted.”
    “What do you want?”
    He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve only seen what I didn’t want.”
    She didn’t ask because she didn’t want to know but he said, “I haven’t seen what I didn’t want in you.”
    “Now, that is the most romantic relationship talk I’ve ever had.”
    “We’re a pair.”
    She took a deep, deep breath and kept on smiling. They just might be a pair.
    He took another bite of his sandwich and said, “My place this weekend?”
    Warmth bloomed in her stomach and it seemed like cotton balls were suddenly stuffed into her ears. She couldn’t hear anything but her blood pumping through her veins.
    She nodded quickly before he could take it back.
    He said, “We’ll chisel out some time to make keys for each other this weekend. But right now I’ve got to get back to work if I want to go home tonight.”
    She stood, gripping her purse. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then. I’ll