Page 33 of The Sweetest Mistake

Just then, the waitress came over and asked if they wanted dessert.

“Yes,” Julia said.

“No,” Alec said simultaneously.

The waitress looked between them and giggled, but neither of them joined in her laughter.

This was another glitch in their relationship. Julia loved chocolate and desserts in general; however, Alec was a strict eater who only indulged in dessert on special occasions. No amount of coaxing would get him to change his mind. She’d tried everything, including using dessert to lure him into the bedroom, but the man wouldn’t budge. She didn’t like to think about what that said about their sex life.

After a while, Julia had stopped trying, but she didn’t let that prevent her from ordering dessert. “I’ll have a hot fudge brownie with whipped cream and a cherry on top,” she said proudly.

Alec remained silent until the waitress walked away, and then he leaned across the table and said, “You know how bad all that sugar is for you, right?”

The joys of dating a doctor-in-training. Having a father who was a doctor, you’d have thought she’d be used to it, but compared to Alec, her dad was lenient. Instead of preaching abstinence (with food), he talked about maintaining a balanced diet, and that included occasional treats.

So, growing up, Julia had learned to enjoy her dessert in small quantities. Tonight, however, she planned to eat the entire hot fudge brownie just out of spite.

Ignoring the sugar comment, she said, “Let’s move on to another topic, shall we?”

“Sure. Which topic do you want to discuss next?”

“Kids,” she said without hesitation.

This time, his jaw twitched, and she wondered what it meant. Since he hadn’t said anything yet, she continued. “I’d like to have at least two or three, God willing.”

Alec picked up his water glass and took a long drink, averting his eyes the entire time.

Uh-oh. This doesn’t look promising.

“Well?” she asked when he’d finished drinking.

Clearing his throat, Alec said, “I’m not really interested in having children.”

BOOM! Julia’s jaw dropped, her eyes bugged out, and she accidentally leaned forward, right into her plate of spaghetti. And the kicker was, he’d said it as matter-of-factly as he’d said he wasn’t interested in balancing the checkbook. Hello? Two completely different things!

“You’re…not…interested?” she stammered.

And there came the waitress, bearing a plate piled high with a mammoth brownie, vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, and a cherry on top. The waitress took one look at Julia’s soiled blouse and said, “Oh. I’m so sorry about your top. I should have cleared your plate earlier, but I didn’t think you were done.”

“Oh, we’re done,” Julia said, looking at Alec pointedly.

But true to his character, he didn’t dare show a flicker of emotion in front of the waitress. Had the man always been this stoic? How had she not noticed?

The waitress hurriedly cleared their plates, and then she set the dessert in front of Julia. “It’s on the house,” she said before walking away.

The dessert looked and smelled wonderful, but Julia wanted to wrap up their conversation first.

“Do you mean you’re not interested in having two or three? Because I guess we could compromise on that,” she said.

Alec shook his head. “No. That’s not what I meant. I meant that I don’t want to have any.”

“Any as in none? Zero? Zilch?”

“That’s right,” he said.

She honestly couldn’t believe it. Not just that he didn’t want kids but that they’d never discussed this before. How could they not have? She loved kids. Her dad was a pediatrician, for God’s sake. She’d known she’d wanted children since she was a child herself. How could this be happening?

“I can see that you’re upset by this,” Alec said, interrupting her thoughts. “But it doesn’t mean we can’t work something out.”