Page 97 of Be My Wife

“Elizabeth, you said?” Steph lifts her chin in a way that’s very grown up.

“I’ve heard so much about you. It’s nice to finally meet you in person.”

She looks me up and down. “Would you come and sit over here?”

“Over there?” I point to the bench she’d been coloring on.

Steph gives me a dignified nod.

I glance back at Gwen, a questioning look in my eyes. She smiles and gestures for me to follow the kid. I do, uncertainly taking a seat in a bench that’s way too small and low for me. Setting my purse by my feet, I wait for Steph to settle herself.

Steph folds her hands together. “Elizabeth?”

“Yes.”

“How do you feel about divorce?”

“Divorce?” I shoot another stunned look at Gwen.

Is this the kind of conversation children have nowadays?

“I mean a man who’s been divorced before.” She leans forward.

“Uh… I think I would be okay. If that man were a nice man.”

“What if he had burn scars?”

“Scars?”

She lifts her tiny hands. “Like on here.”

“Um…”

Gwen covers her mouth to hide her laughter.

“As long as he’s a kind man who takes care of me, I would be okay.”

“Do you have any kids, Elizabeth?”

My eyebrows shoot up. “What?”

Stephanie tosses her long black hair. “What if he had a niece he loved very much? She wouldn’t live with you, of course. She’d live with her aunt since her parents can’t afford to take care of her.”

My heart throbs.

Is that what happened to Steph?

I squeeze her little hand. “I’d be okay with a man like that.”

“Would you?” Her brown eyes fill with hope. “You’re not just saying that because I’m a sick kid, right? You mean it?”

“I swear.”

She shrieks. “Okay. Okay.” She takes a deep breath. Visibly tries to settle herself.

“Why are you asking?”

“Because I have someone I’d like to introduce you to.” Step’s gap-toothed grin melts my heart. “He’s really handsome and very kind. If you married him, he would take care of you every day of your life. You want to know how I know that?”

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