THE BENNETTS' CHRISTMAS (The Bennett Family and the Masters Family #6) - Brenda Jackson Page 0,41
one, too. There was something so sexy about a woman taking a sip of wine. Especially when she licked her lips afterward. “This is delicious,” she said. “It tastes like peach.”
He picked up the bottle and read the label. “It’s a combination of red grapes and peaches.”
“I love peaches,” she said. Then she chuckled and added, “I guess you can’t be raised on Georgia peaches and not like them.”
“That’s true.” He took another sip, himself. “I want to know more about Monica Bennett. So far, all you’ve told me about is your family and your work.”
She lifted a brow. “What else is there?”
“Oh, I’m sure there is a lot more. Your likes and dislikes? Your hobbies? Your dreams for the future?”
She settled back against the seat, causing the side slit of her dress to flash one luscious looking thigh. He had to adjust his own position on the seat to relieve the pressure of his arousal pressing hard against the crotch of his slacks.
“I told you what I plan to do, right? About remaining at the Tribune for another year and then going back to college to get my PhD. I want to have that completed before I turn thirty.”
“And then you’re hoping to become a college professor, right?” he said, recalling what she had told him.
“Yes.”
“What about marriage and children?”
“What about them?”
“Are they in your future?”
She shrugged her beautiful shoulders, partially left bare by the style of her dress. “Yes, but I’m in no hurry. I really don’t want to marry before I’m thirty-five, and as far as kids go, well, as long as I have him or her before I’m forty, I should be good.”
“You only want one child?”
She nodded. “Don’t get me wrong—I love kids. It’s just that I think one will be enough for me, with all that I’ll have going on. I don’t really care if it’s a boy or a girl, though it might matter to my husband. But I think one child is enough for me. And my future husband and I will have that understanding before we marry.”
He nodded, thinking of the times he and Simone talked about the family they wanted to have one day. They’d always settled on four.
“What about you, Landon?” she asked, interrupting his thoughts. “Are marriage and children in your future?”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
MONICA WASN’T SURE WHY she had asked Landon that, considering the pain in his past. But a part of her wanted to know if losing his fiancée had made him a confirmed bachelor. Was he still a broken man? The way his fiancée had died had to have been traumatic for him. Was he now incapable of ever giving his heart to another woman?
She glanced over at him and saw him staring down into the contents of his wine glass, as if in deep thought. Had she dredged up painful memories? Memories he didn’t want to be reminded of?
She was about to apologize for her insensitivity, when he suddenly looked up and met her gaze. “Yes, I can see marriage and kids in my future. Of course, I always thought I would have them with Simone, but I’ve accepted that won’t be happening. I’ve moved on, though it hasn’t been easy.”
Landon didn’t say anything for a long moment, then took a slow sip of his wine and added, “My parents would love to have grandkids. They would make wonderful grandparents.”
“You only want kids to make your parents grandparents?” she asked. She didn’t hear the eagerness in his voice that she often heard from the two men her cousins had married whenever they talked about having a family.
“That’s not what I meant. Sure, I’d like a wife and kids for myself as well. I’d like to think I’d make a great husband and a wonderful father. In fact, I envisioned having a houseful of kids.”
“A houseful? How many is that?” Monica asked, curious to know.
“At least four, and gender wouldn’t matter. I’d be happy with all boys, all girls or a mixture of both.”
“Would you still travel so much?” she asked.
“No. My four partners and I have talked about expanding the firm in a year or so. Right now, Duan is the only one of the partners who is married. When he and his wife first got engaged, Kim was a nurse who wanted to go to medical school. Now she is Dr. Kimani Cannon-Jeffries.”
“Do they have kids?”
“Yes. They have a son who is about two, and Duan told me last month that they are expecting again.