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They pulled up in front of where they were going to eat. It was a high-class restaurant that required reservations. Tonight he was going to begin pursuing Cristina and hopefully help her fall in love with him.
No, he didn’t want to marry her to be with Wyatt. He wanted her to marry him because she wanted him as much as he wanted her. But first, they needed to get to know one another. See if they were the right fit to make a life together.
He pulled his truck up to the valet parking.
When he stepped out, he walked around and helped Cristina alight.
“You picked a very fancy place,” she said.
“I wanted somewhere we could talk and get to know each other without people gazing at us and pointing. That’s one of the downsides to being known.”
He couldn’t help but wonder if her mother knew who he was. As soon as they were seated at a table in an enclave that was private, he turned to her.
“Does your mother know about me?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t tell her, but after tonight, she may realize who you are. Even now I bet she’s looking you up on Google.”
She gazed at the wine list and then set it down.
“When I was pregnant, I didn’t drink. Now I don’t drink because what if Wyatt needed me? Plus, I remember as a child seeing my father drunk. There is no way my son will ever witness his mother being drunk. Never.”
“Our son,” Blake said reminding her once again that they were in this together. Even if they never married, he would be there for her and Wyatt.
A few minutes later, the waiter returned and she ordered an iced tea and a steak. He ordered the same along with some appetizers.
“You’re going to make me fat. I just got the pregnancy weight off,” she said.
“You look beautiful. More beautiful than you did the night we met,” he said meaning every word.
A frown drew between her eyes. “You’re not trying to seduce me again. It’s not going to happen.”
He laughed knowing they would not be having sex again until he had a ring on her finger.
“No, we’re not,” he said. “It’s not that I wouldn’t love to have sex with you again, but we’re a dangerous combination. You got pregnant even after we used condoms.”
“I know,” she said. “I was shocked.”
“I wish you would have called me,” he said.
Gazing at him, her emerald eyes darkened. “At the time, I thought I was doing what was best for me and Wyatt. While I thank you for the car, I don’t want you to think you’re going to take care of us. You’re not.”
They would see about that. If he had his way, she’d be moving out to the ranch as his wife and she would become Wyatt’s full-time mother. And he’d like to have more kids with Cristina.
He didn’t respond to her statement because he wasn’t going to upset her.
The waiter brought their appetizers and they ate fried mushrooms, pickles, and even some zucchini.
“Delicious,” he said.
“Tell me about your family,” she replied.
His story was incredulous in many ways.
“My parents were very happy. Unlike you, I was raised in a great family. Sure, my parents disagreed occasionally, but my father never hit my mother. In fact, if any of us boys acted disrespectfully to my mother or any of our hired hands, we were punished. Not harshly, but you soon learned that having to clean the horse stalls was not a fun job, so it was better if you were respectful.”
The memory of that terrible day overwhelmed him and his chest squeezed with pain.
“Our ranch at the time was doing all right. We weren’t the big operation we are now,” he said and picked up his glass of iced tea. “Springtime in Texas often comes with rough weather. One day all of us kids were at school. The sky grew black. You could see the teachers were nervous and then we were all told to go into the hallway, kneel, and cover our heads.”
