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Raven’s breath caught in her chest for a moment when Tim’s eyes lowered to her own breasts. They tingled, and she tried to ignore the sensation and focus on the conversation.
“Full figured or slender?”
He shook his head. “I don’t have a preference there. Women’s bodies are…beautiful.”
Raven wrote that down, trying to hide her blush. Why in the world was she blushing? Goodness, she needed to get a grip on her reactions!
Taking a deep breath, she continued. “Do you want children?”
There was no hesitation with his answer this time. “Yes. Absolutely.” He clenched his jaw, then continued, “Eventually. Not immediately. I’d like to know the woman first. Spend a couple years living with her so that we are sure about our relationship before we bring children into the equation.”
She nodded, writing that down. “That’s very logical of you.”
“Are you mocking me?” he demanded, those blue eyes narrowing.
Raven looked at him, smothering her amusement. “Not at all!” she lied. The man was a prickly bear! And she had to admit that she enjoyed poking the handsome bear. It amused her when he lost his temper. Why that was so, she didn’t really understand. She’d sift through her emotions later, when she was alone.
“How many children would you like?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, rubbing his neck again. “I guess two. A boy and a girl.”
Raven didn’t point out that expecting specific genders wasn’t realistic. Although, she knew that science was getting closer.
“Right,” she replied instead, and wrote down several points. “And what about animals?”
He gave her a mock shudder and shook his head. “I don’t want animals. No pets. They are messy and require too much attention.”
Raven thought about the Australian-shepherd-boxer-mutt that her friend had adopted two years ago. “Bean” was the sweetest, most affectionate, adorable animal put on this earth.
“Right. No pets,” she whispered, writing that down as well. “Okay, now we’ll get into the more nuanced stuff.” She put her pen down and took her first sip of her latte. “What personality traits do you require in a spouse?”
He took a moment to consider that question. “Someone logical,” he replied after a moment. “I don’t want a woman who gets all emotional about…whatever. I want someone who goes through life with purpose, without getting irritated when I work too late, or when I forget her birthday, anniversaries, or some random day that she’s made into an arbitrary, significant holiday in her mind.”
Mentally, Raven cringed. It was going to be difficult to find a woman who didn’t care about her birthday or their wedding anniversary.
“What did you do on your last birthday?” she asked, curious now.
He blinked, and then frowned down at the table for a moment, as if trying to remember. “I worked,” he replied with a dismissive shrug.
For some reason, probably a ridiculous, “irrational” reason, that reply made Raven’s heart ache a bit. Tilting her head slightly, she asked, “You didn’t go out for dinner with your friends? Or have lunch with your co-workers?”
“No,” he replied, looking at her curiously. “Why would I?”
For some reason, his comment caused that ache to expand. “You didn’t get any presents?” Obviously, no one in his life had ever taken the time to make his birthday special.
He shrugged. “Bailey and Matteo gave me something. A book and a bottle of my favorite scotch.”
Raven was incredulous! “No cake? No special meal? Nothing?”
He stared at her as if she’d lost her mind. “I don’t like cake. And if I want a special meal, then I’ll ask my housekeeper to make it so that it’s ready when I get home from work.”
Well, that was just…sad.
“Right,” she replied and added more notes. When she looked up at him, she continued. “And do you expect your wife to work after you have children? Or will you prefer she stay home with the kids?”
He shrugged. “That’s up to her. I’m not going to dictate what another person does with her life. I will support her with whatever she chooses to do.”
“That’s very egalitarian of you.”
