“I…” He thought about that. “I’ve just dated the women who’ve crossed my path. I never intentionally set out to date only thin ones.” Had he? Suddenly he wasn’t sure.
He looked past Nina to Undrea’s table. They were getting up to leave. Undrea was definitely not as skinny as Nina. She was curvier. A lot curvier.
And he certainly found her attractive. Then he had another thought. Had Nina made that comment because of Undrea? Was she testing him in some way?
He sat back. “I dated Cindi Morgan in high school, and she was probably what you’d call plus-size.” She’d been pinup-model gorgeous, too. “And you want to know something else?”
She smiled like she’d won something. “Sure.”
“You’re like supermodel skinny. Which is great if you’re a supermodel, but in real life, it’s very thin. Not that you asked. But since you brought it up, there you go. You almost look frail sometimes. Makes me worry about you honestly.”
Her smile disappeared. “I am not too skinny. Or frail.”
“I’m just saying I wouldn’t be upset about having a little more to hold on to. But also if you’re doing this because of some sort of ideal you think I have, that’s not true. The outside matters less to me than the inside.”
She was glaring now.
Honestly, he didn’t understand women. What was wrong with what he’d said? He’d have thought she’d be happy about being able to loosen the reins a bit. “Would you rather I not tell you the truth?”
That seemed to take the edge off of her irritation a little. “No. I want us always to be honest with each other.” She poked at her lettuce, then put the fork down. “You really think I need to gain weight?”
“Need to? No. But again if you’re staying this thin because you think it’s what I want, it’s not. That’s all I’m trying to say. Don’t do this for me. Make yourself happy. And if that means eating dessert or fries or having a beer now and then, do it. Who cares what social media says?”
She seemed to take all that in. “Okay. But you realize it will be all over Twitter if I gain weight. Not to mention the camera adds ten pounds. And we get photographed a lot.”
She wasn’t wrong. He shook his head. “I wish that wasn’t true.”
She smiled again, but it was tight and thin. “I don’t think I’ll be having a beer anytime soon, but thank you for telling me all of that.”
Billy came by. “I hope you folks left room for dessert. Our peach cobbler is pretty well known as our specialty, but we also have a mud pie and a raspberry cheesecake.” He smiled. “So what can I bring you?”
Ethan had told Undrea he’d try the peach cobbler, and he was going to, regardless of the conversation he and Nina had just had. “We’ll have the cobbler.”
“Great choice.” Billy reached for their dirty plates. “Can I get these out of your way?”
“Sure,” Ethan said.
Nina held her hands up. “I’m done, too, thank you.”
Billy took their plates. “I’ll be right back with your cobbler.”
Ethan drew his finger through the condensation on his glass of iced tea. “You don’t have to eat any if you don’t want to. Seriously. Whatever you want to do is fine with me.”
“I can’t wait to try it. If they’re known for it, I’m sure it’s outstanding.”
She was just humoring him. He knew that. But he’d also realized something else. Nina was a good person, a stunning woman, and would absolutely make a fantastic wife.
For some other guy. She just wasn’t the woman for him.
In the last two years, he hadn’t given marriage a lot of thought. There was no reason to. Nina had filled the role of companion perfectly. She was great at parties, beautiful to look at, and exactly who everyone thought he should be with. Not only that, she’d nursed him through each one of his episodes with great patience.
She was the easy choice. The no-brainer.
But none of that was good enough anymore. None of that spoke to the need in his soul for a mate that understood him inside and out. Someone who shared his love of life. And his love of living it a certain way.
He wasn’t going to pretend that Undrea was that person. He didn’t know her well enough to make that call, but she had definitely awakened something in him that wanted to find out who else was out there.
For that, he was grateful.
But untangling his life from Nina’s was going to be miserable. Was that really what he wanted to do?
Life with Nina wasn’t that bad, was it? No, it wasn’t. But they were just coasting, really. And he already knew Nina wanted more out of their relationship than he did. She hinted at it all the time. About their future and making things more permanent and, of course, the ring.
He couldn’t commit to that with her. He studied her as she got her phone out, checked the screen, then set it aside. She really was perfect. Just not perfect for him.
He was about to make her hate him. He knew that. And already felt terrible. Was there a way to let her down easy? To part and remain as friends? Or at least not enemies?
He wasn’t sure. He didn’t have a lot of experience with breaking up. Plenty with being dumped. He hadn’t really gotten successful with women until he’d started making money.
He didn’t love that part, honestly. It made him question the motives of every woman who came into his life. That had been a factor in deciding to date Nina. She had her own money, but he also knew that she liked money. His or her family’s. She’d never pretended otherwise.
He figured there was something to be said for that kind of honesty.
Billy returned with their peach cobbler. It looked amazing. Brown and crumbly with peaches and juice poking through the crust, while a big scoop of vanilla ice cream melted over the top of it.
“Don’t touch it,” Nina said, picking up her phone. “I need to Instagram this.”
She’d gotten quite a following since they’d started dating. He held his hands up. “Go for it.”
He wondered if she’d try to destroy him on social media when they split. He hoped she’d rise above that, but Nina definitely had a mean streak.
She took a few pictures, holding the phone at different angles and heights. “Okay, I got a good one.”
While she worked on posting that, he picked up a spoon. “I can dig in now?”
“You can eat every last bite,” she said. She looked up from her phone, smiled quickly and added, “Just save one for me.”
“I’ll be sure to.” He dug in, making sure to get a bite with peaches, topping, and ice cream.
He ate it and instantly understood why Undrea had recommended it. “Wow,” he mumbled around a mouthful of the warm, cinnamon-laced dessert. “This is amazing.”
“Hmm?” Nina put her phone away. “Good?”
“The best thing ever.”
She took a dainty bite. “Mmm, very peachy.”
He laughed. That was one way to look at it. He ended up eating most of it, which didn’t surprise him. After Nina had eaten the onion ring, he didn’t imagine she’d eat much more.
He paid the check, and they got up to leave.