Audrey laughed, shaking her head. “Sure didn’t, but I’m glad someone did!”
Tate moved the plate to the side, taking her by the back of her knees and bringing her almost into his lap, where he kissed her hard. He had missed her mouth so much, and the kiss they’d shared when they met up earlier wasn’t enough. With his hands in the back pockets of her jeans, he deepened the kiss, moving his tongue with hers as Audrey ran her hands up his back, making his body break out in goose bumps. Pulling back, Tate nuzzled her nose with his, then leaned his forehead against hers.
“Question,” he said softly against her lips.
Audrey nodded, her eyes closed as she tickled his neck with her fingers. “Sure.”
He didn’t know how to ask, and he was worried he might upset her, but he had to know. Pulling back again, his eyes searching hers, he asked, “Is there a reason you can’t have kids?” She took a sharp breath and looked away, but he brought her face back up to look at him. “No, don’t hide, love, tell me.”
Audrey shrugged. “It’s a long story.”
“And I have all night. I want to know.”
She took her hands from his neck and placed them in her lap, where she twirled a ring around her finger. “It’s basically the same story of Fallon and Lucas, minus keeping the baby and living Happily Ever After.”
“Huh?”
Audrey looked up. “Oh, Lucas never told you about him and Fallon?”
Tate shook his head. “Parts.”
“Oh, well here is my version,” she said taking a deep breath. “I was seventeen when it happened. I was messing around with this guy, Derek Rambles.” She paused a moment and shook her head. “We were careless, and the next thing I knew, I was pregnant.”
“But I thought you couldn’t have kids?” Tate said, confused.
“Oh, I could have, but after Derek left me and my dad caught wind of it, he demanded that I get an abortion or he would take everything away from me, no money for college, no car, kicking me out of the house, the whole nine yards. I was scared and young, so I went along with it.”
Tate’s brows came together. He didn’t understand how a father could do that to his daughter. “That’s insane,” he said.
“Yeah, well, I had to go to Kentucky to get the abortion because my dad didn’t want anyone in Tennessee to hear about it. So after a long, painful trip, I came home, and a couple days later I was in excruciating pain. I got a really horrible infection and they said I couldn’t produce eggs. My tubes are blocked and all this other crap, I don’t remember the specifics. I don’t like to think about it.”
Tate took her hands in his. He didn’t understand a lot of what she’d said but could see the pain on her face. He hated that and wished he could make it better. “So there is no fixing it?”
Audrey shook her head. “No, I’m one of the 2.1 percent that this can happen to. It drives me insane because if I could have been strong like Fallon who came home pregnant, I wouldn’t be having this problem. I would be raising a child on my own, because Derek was an idiot, but I would have a baby, and the option to have more, you know.”
Tate nodded as she went on. “But now, I’m this woman who has spent the last ten years or so feeling like I am not a real woman because I can’t give a man a child. It’s hard, and I still haven’t overcome it. That’s why I’ve always dated assholes, because they don’t want kids. They just want to have someone to fuck, and I was that girl—”
“But not anymore,” Tate said before she could go on. “You will never feel like less than a woman while we are together. I like you the way you are, love, and that will never change.”
“I want to believe you so bad, but I’m so scared.”
Tate leaned forward and dusted her jaw with kisses. When he reached her mouth, he whispered against it, “Don’t be scared. Everything is going to be fine.”