Page 15 of Sugar and the Skeptic
I nod. “I know it’s not very manly of me, but my mom had a massive box of Mills and Boon romances that she kept in the closet. When my older brothers were sneaking dirty magazines, I went looking for some too, but I found her book stash instead. I learned far more information in there than I’d ever find in a mens’ magazine.”
“I love that. You’ll have to share your favorites with me too. We can do a book swap.”
“Deal,” I say, already feeling as though I needn’t ask a single extra question because I’m smitten as it is. But we’ve got time, and I want to know everything about her. “Dogs or cats?”
“Dogs,” she says. “But I don’t know for sure since I’ve never owned either. Van life, you know?”
I laugh. “That would make it hard. I’m more into dogs than cats, but I can be persuaded either way.”
“OK. I like these questions. Next?”
I consult the paper in front of me. “I’m jumping to one of the tough ones. Kids—do you want them?”
She rolls her lips together and lets out a slow breath. “You know, I never saw my future as one that would have space for children. But I am open to them. I love kids, and I think that if I was with the right man—”
“Your twin flame?” I waggle my eyebrows and she laughs.
“And if he and I were ready, then yeah, I’d want a kid or two.”
“I’ve always wanted to settle down and have kids one day. The number, I’ve never been too concerned about. Just not so many it’s chaos. I grew up in the big family, so something small would probably suit me best.”
“That’s fair.”
“And that’s probably a good lead in to this question,” I say, my finger running down the sheet. “What was your childhood like?”
The smile falls from her face, and I realize I’ve hit on a touchy subject. “Um…”
“You don’t have to answer if you’re not ready,” I say, reaching across the table and placing my hand on hers. The last thing I want to do is make this date uncomfortable in any way.
“No. It’s fine. It’s just not something I talk about too much. My parents…. they’re not with us any longer. They’re actually the reason I don’t drink, because I grew up feeling they loved their alcohol more than they loved me, and eventually it was the drink that stole their lives from them. Dad was driving, Momwas next to him in the front seat and they were fighting. They fought a lot. And…” She looks up at me and sighs. “They ran off the road, hit a tree. The doctors said I only survived because I was asleep in the backseat.”
“You were there?”
“Yeah.” I feel livid just thinking a parent could be so irresponsible.
“How old were you?”
“Twelve.”
“What happened then?”
“I went to live with my grandmother. She cared, but she needed a lot of help so it was more me looking after her than the other way around.”
“Sounds like you didn’t get much of a childhood.”
“I found Serenity. She wasn’t Serenity back then. She was still Fanny. I called her Fan, she called me Clem and we were thick as thieves from that first day at a new school until graduation when we went our separate ways. But we’ve always kept in touch. She’s probably the closest thing to a family I have.”
Running my thumb over the top of her hand, I swallow hard. “I’d like to change that for you, Clementine. If you’ll let me of course.”
She lifts her eyes to mine and swallows before she speaks. “I’d like that, Rafe. I really would.”
CLEMENTINE
By the time dessert rolls around—a dairy-free mango mousse under a net of toffee with gluten-free cookie crumbs sprinkled all around and finished off with a drizzle of dark chocolate on the side—Rafe and I have made our way through his list of one hundred questions and learned a lot about each other. There have been some moments when I’ve felt a little confronted, but then, so was he. It was both eye-opening and relationship affirming. I really think the card reading I did last night was right. Rafe and I are meant to be together.
“Thank you so, so much for bringing me here tonight,” I say after finishing the last bite of the delectable dish. “For a first date, it’s been the stuff dreams are made of.”
“First date with me? Or first date ever?”
