Page 72 of Single-Minded
“Nope,” Maeve insisted, though it was obvious by her mannerisms the opposite was true, and she was trying not to give in to it.
“I wasn’t quite ready for parenthood,” Rowan said, laughing. “Surprise!”
“A baby and a teenager in six months flat,” I said.
“Do you girls want kids?” Rowan asked.
“Not if it means going it alone,” Anna said.
“I support that,” Chloe said, shaking her head. “They’re a lot. Worth it, of course, but I don’t think I’m cut out for single parenting.”
“I don’t know how West manages three,” I said.
“What about you, Presley?” Olivia asked. “Do you want kids?”
I picked up my wineglass and sipped, reeling more than a little from the question. Without setting the glass down, I said, “Believe it or not, I haven’t thought a lot about it.”
“Whaaat?” Olivia said in disbelief.
“Pretty sure she speaks the truth,” Chloe said. “She’s been married to her job since the dawn of time.”
I wrinkled my nose. “It’s true. I worked so much I barely had time for meals.”
“You mostly ate while you worked.” Chloe knew well what she was talking about, as she’d been by my side either literally or figuratively for a lot of it.
“How many serious relationships have you had?” Anna asked.
I held my hands up in a zero sign. “Goose egg.”
“None?” Olivia asked.
“Not a one. It wouldn’t have worked if I had,” I said. “I wouldn’t have put much time or effort into it. My job took everything.”
“That’s how it went when I was caring for my gram,” Rowan said. “No bandwidth for a guy.”
“She was so lucky to have you,” Anna said.
“She was,” Chloe said. “I hope someone takes such good care of me if I ever need it.”
“I hope to never need it,” Maeve said.
“Amen.” Olivia turned back to me. “So, Presley, now that you’ve liberated yourself from that awful career, do you want a relationship? Kids?”
My brows shot up as I considered it. “I feel like I’m still recovering from being a robot for more than a decade, to be honest. A relationship?” I blew out my breath. “I don’t know how to do that,” I admitted. “My parents were dysfunctional until my mom took my sister and me and left my dad, thank God. My sister married young, and her husband is a controlling jackass. I don’t even know what a healthy relationship looks like.”
“You’ve got these two,” Olivia said, pointing at Rowan and Chloe.
“Yeah. It’s weird.” I laughed and shrugged at Chloe. “Chloe was my fellow workaholic. My enabler. My partner in misery. Look at her now.”
“She’s so happy I’d slap her if I didn’t like her so much,” Olivia said.
“We’re not getting any younger,” Maeve said. “My eggs are getting tired and lonely.”
“Fertility declines after age thirty-five,” Anna said matter-of-factly, “and here we all are.”
I sat up straighter. “I’m thirty-six and haven’t thought seriously about kids. Now suddenly I’m feeling a little panicked.” Mostly I was joking, but there was a thread of truth there.
“Sperm donor,” Maeve said again. She grinned, but I wasn’t altogether sure she was kidding.
