Fate Actually (Moonstone Cove #2) - Elizabeth Hunter Page 0,7
I have a big support system. I’m perfectly capable of raising a child.”
“But do you want kids?” Megan asked. “It’s not for everyone.”
“I don’t not want kids,” Toni said. “I always imagined having them, it just didn’t happen the way I thought it would. Men weren’t exactly beating down the door to marry Bobby Dusi’s daughter, who could beat them up and fix a car better than they could, you know? So I didn’t get married. So I didn’t have kids. It wasn’t a deliberate choice. Life just happened.”
“Well, life definitely just happened here. Speaking of men beating down your door, who’s the daddy?”
Katherine finally spoke. “Henry?”
Toni nodded.
“Who’s Henry?” Megan’s eyes went wide. “Why haven’t I heard about this man? Who is he? How long have you been in a relationship? Do you have pictures?”
“No, we’re not in a relationship. Exactly. And it’s not—”
“You have a picture,” Katherine said. “I saw it pop up on your phone once when he called.”
Toni pointed at her. “You are not to be trusted.”
“Oh bullshit.” Megan held her hand out. “We are going to support you whatever happens, and you know we’ve got your back walking through literal gunfire, Antonia Dusi, but we’re gonna give you shit about this first. Show me the man.”
Toni took a deep breath, opened her contacts, and tapped the picture next to Henry Durand’s name before she handed her phone to Megan.
She grabbed the phone, pulled it close, then held it at a distance and squinted before she gasped. “He is so cute! He looks like that…” She snapped her fingers. “Who’s the actor I’m thinking about?”
Katherine said, “I’m a seer, not a telepath.”
“You know, the young one who was in all those Disney musical shows.” Megan’s eyes went wide and her head whipped around to Toni. “He’s young! How young is he?”
“Thirtysomething,” Toni muttered. “I don’t know exactly. And he doesn’t look like Disney Musical Guy.”
“He kind of does though, you cougar.”
“See? This is why I was dreading telling you guys about him. I’m forty-one; I’m not a cougar.”
Katherine took the phone from Megan, looked at the picture, and smiled. “He’s not that much younger than you. I think he just has a young face. Have you told him?”
“No.” She couldn’t even imagine it. “He’ll probably want to marry me.”
“And you don’t want to get married?” Katherine asked.
“Do you know how many of my cousins got married because they got pregnant? Only one of them is still happy. I don’t object to marriage completely, but I don’t want to do it just because I got pregnant.”
“Agreed.” Megan handed her the phone back. “It’s not 1950. You’re an independent woman with a good support system. Have the baby. Work out the coparenting. Let the relationship be a separate thing.”
“Thank you.”
“Are you sure he’d want to get married?” Megan asked. “A lot of men don’t.”
“Henry is very…” She sighed. How could she explain? “He’s very good.”
Megan snorted. “Tell us more.”
“Not like… Okay, he’s good at that too, but I’m talking about his character. He’s traditional, but not in like the narrow-minded way, just like in the… good way.” She wasn’t doing this well. “He grew up on a winery; went to college in Washington State for viticulture. My cousin hired him about a year ago to be his winemaker. He’s incredibly gifted, and I know he’s traveled a lot for his education, but he still seems kind of… sheltered. Added to that, he doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink except for work, and he volunteers at the homeless shelter. He… picks up trash on the side of the road. He already adopted a rescue dog, for heaven’s sake.”
As if on cue, Katherine and Baxter’s adorable goldendoodle scratched at the door. Katherine rose to let him out. The sun was setting over the ocean as Archie came over and promptly laid his head in Toni’s lap.
“Look at you.” She rubbed his head. “How do you know?”
“He’s very empathetic,” Katherine said. “You probably have a lot in common. Henry sounds like a wonderful person who would make an excellent father. What’s the problem?”
“He’s too good.” Megan narrowed her eyes. “Right?”
Toni nodded. “I hate to be cynical, but I just feel like… no one can be that decent, right? What am I not seeing?”
Katherine smiled. “I think you’re overthinking this. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. Like you said, it’s not like you have boyfriends coming out your ears. He works with your cousin and knows your family. You’re not going to