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"Harv didn't want to get married," she said, shaking her head and biting her lip. "But I always wanted a family, because growing up, it was just me and my grandpa, and that was...it got lonely, even though he was great. So me and Harvey made a compromise—I told him I wouldn't press him anymore about getting married if he agreed we could have a baby."
I blow out a breath, rubbing my jaw hard. The audacity of that asshole to refuse to marry this goddess...I can’t believe it. Who wouldn't want her when she had so much to offer?
I wouldloveto spend eternity with her.
"I don't know, Claire," I tell her. "Sure, we just met, but I know a red flag when I see one, and that guy seems like was covered in them."
Claire takes a big sip of her drink, gulping it down. "And it gets worse," she says, shaking her head. "He told me he would only do it if I agreed to assume all the cost and complete care of our baby. So I did what I do—I drew up a contract and basically made him my sperm donor even though I thought we were in love. I was such an idiot..."
I don't let her see it, but my fist clenches under the table when I think about what that guy did to her. I can't imagine...
"Then we started trying," she says, and her voice gets hollow. "We had so much bad sex.”
She sees my face and laughs quietly, but even in the dim light of the Snowcap, I can see the blush on her cheeks.
“It wasn’t like that. It wassomuch bad sex. I didn't get pregnant. He never cared about me, and like, he fulfilled his contractual obligation. And that’s all he did, if you get my meaning. But even that didn’t work. So I started IVF...and it made me so sick, it was so hard, so stressful. When that didn't work either, I was heartbroken."
Okay. I decide right then and there that, if I ever meet this guy, I'm kicking his ass.
"But Harvey, he didn't care," she continues. "He didn't want to have a baby anyways, he just said it to keep me around. And when I was no longer useful to him, when I got to be too much to deal with, he just...left. When grandpa was in the hospital. At the time, I couldn’t even process it, because I was so worried about grandpa. But now...I was such an idiot."
I reach over and take her hand, squeezing it gently. "I'm so sorry, Claire," I say sincerely. "No one deserves to be treated like that."
She looks up at me, and I see the pain in her eyes.
"I just want a family so badly," she whispers. "And I feel like I'm running out of time. I'm not getting any younger, and with my job, it's hard to meet someone who wants the same things I do."
I don't know what comes over me, but before I can think, I hear myself saying, "What if I could help you?"
She looks at me, confused. "What do you mean?"
I take a deep breath, feeling my heart race.
"You want a baby?" I ask. "I'll give you a baby."
I might not have known her for long, but I would give this womananything.
Claire's big blue eyes stare at me with something like shock, her pink lips parting. God damn, I want to kiss her. I wonder if she'd let me right here, right now, at the bar.
But then she speaks, shaking her head in disbelief.
"You can't be serious," she says.
"I got nothin' better going on," I say, trying to play it cool. And it's true—I've got nothing better to do than fuck this gorgeous girl senseless until I put a baby in her. Maybe I've just had too many beers, but it's starting to seem like more and more of a good idea. "You could write a contract for it and everything, if that makes you happy."
"You don't get it," she says. "I just told you I'm infertile."
"Ah...but you didn't, did you?" I say, clicking my tongue. "Nope, you told me your piece of shit ex had slow swimmers and couldn't get you pregnant. I presume you did your due diligence when it came to figuring out what was going on?"
She nods.
"Did he?"
"Yes, but..."
"But he's no longer in the picture," I say. "So that means only one thing."
"Which is what?"
