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He opened his napkin and placed it on his lap then picked up his fork. “Rosemary roasted lamb with haricot mash.”
Rosemary, that’s what I smell. “What’s haricot mash?” It sounded like something fed to farm animals.
“Haricot is a bean. And I mashed it similar to the way you mash potatoes, with olive oil, rosemary, and garlic,” he explained.
Beans were another food not near the top of her favorite list.
Across the table, Erin was already eating. Obviously she liked the taste of lamb and didn’t mind beans.
Just bite and chew, Leah told herself. Picking up her fork and knife, she prepared to follow her own advice.
“Is there any dessert?” Erin asked between bites.
Leah hoped there was because she wasn’t sure how much of this dinner she’d get down.
“Cream buns.”
Now those sound delicious.
Leah put the first forkful of meat in her mouth, expecting the flavor she’d come to associate with lamb dishes. She got something much different and wholly delicious.
In the back of her mind, she’d known for a long time she wanted children someday. Exactly when, she’d never known, but she saw them in her future. Since she’d never been able to envision any of the previous men she dated as fathers, she’d never wasted too much time on the idea.
She didn’t need to imagine Gavin as a father. She’d seen him in the role firsthand over the past few days. And he rocked it. Even so, the idea of having children hadn’t popped up once until this evening.
Or maybe it had started this afternoon, when Erin asked about her and Gavin having a baby someday. Leah couldn’t say for certain.
She did know that helping Gavin tuck Erin in and watching the two of them interact had flipped a switch in her head and heart. She could picture Gavin holding a baby boy with dark hair and dark eyes while she held his twin sister, who oddly enough had blonde hair and Sherbrooke blue eyes.
You’re getting a little ahead of yourself.
The reminder didn’t help. The image in her head didn’t disappear.
“Here you go.” Gavin handed her a whiskey sour and joined her on the sofa, a glass of scotch in his hand.
Leah gave herself a mental shake, hoping to dislodge the oh-so-lovely vision. “Erin all set?” He’d no sooner gotten up to make them drinks than Erin had called him down to her room.
“Yep. She couldn’t find Sam Sam. I don’t know how it got there, but it was under the bed.” He sipped his drink and put an arm around her, pulling her in close.
The girl had so many stuffed animals in bed with her, Leah didn’t know how she’d noticed one was even missing. “Which one is Sam Sam?”
“The doll in the yellow pajamas with the letters stitched on the chest. Vivian bought it for Erin when she was about nine months old. She’s slept with it ever since.”
“When is Vivian arriving?”
His fingertips traced circles against her skin in a gentle caress she could sit and experience all night. “Next Wednesday.”
They fell into a comfortable silence, enjoying each other’s company and their drinks. Unfortunately, Erin’s question and the vision of Gavin holding a baby kept creeping back up.
“Did Erin tell you Amber is pregnant?” Leah asked him, rather than the question really in her head, which was do you want more kids. Just because Gavin was a great dad didn’t mean he saw more children in his future.
He raised his glass toward his lips. “She mentioned it on Saturday. She seems excited about it but hopes the baby is a girl. And I’m happy for Amber. She comes from a big family and always wanted a lot of kids.”
Leah wondered if Erin had dropped the same question on him that she’d popped on her.
Only one way to find out. “She asked me if we’re going to have a baby too.”
He’d just taken a sip of his drink when she shared the statement, and he choked.
