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“Please,” I say, handing him the glass. He gets up, walking to the counter. I watch him go. He turns around and catches me staring, and he winks. I blush.

I look down, smiling to myself. This is not how I expected this day to go, but I’m glad it turned out this way. That he wants to be involved.

“There’s one thing I want to talk about tonight,” he says, coming back to the table and handing me the glass. “And you don’t have to answer right away, but I want you to think about it.”

I raise a brow. “What is it?”

He takes a deep breath, looking me in the eye. “I know you’re in the middle of a divorce, so I’m not asking you for a relationship. I mean, you don’t even know me. I get that. But I want to ask you if we can move in together once the baby comes. So we can raise our child together. As a family.”

My jaw drops. “Raul… Are you serious?”

“Completely. I want to be there as a father to this child for every moment I can. I also want to support you, to help you. And I can’t do that if we’re living apart.”

“I… I don’t know.”

“You can date whoever you want,” he says quickly. “I won’t keep you from living your life. It’s just that I never expected to have a child outside of marriage, and I want to be involved in every day of our baby’s life. Our baby deserves to have both parents present.”

I look at him, really look at him. He’s serious. I can see it in his eyes, his sincerity. He’s not doing this out of obligation or guilt. He’s doing it because he wants to. Because he cares.

“Family is everything,” he says softly. “I’ve coached your sister for three months. I know a little bit about how your family keeps score, and I don’t want our baby keeping score. Family loves unconditionally. And I want to give our child that kind of family, that kind of love. Even if we’re not a couple, we can still be a family. It’s up to you.”

I swallow hard. I never thought I’d hear something like this, especially not from a man I barely know. But it feels right.

“I’ll think about it,” I promise.

He smiles. “That’s all I ask.”

We sit in comfortable silence for a while. I feel a connection with him I can’t explain. Maybe it’s because of the baby. I don’t know, but I like it. I feel safe with him. I feel like with him I don’t have to wear a mask. I can be myself.

“So, what now?” I ask, breaking the silence. “Do we go for that walk?”

“Sure But first, let me clean up a bit. I don’t want to leave the restaurant in a mess.”

I nod, watching as he moves around the space, turning off lights, locking doors, putting away the money. I get up too, following him.

“Can I help?”

“No, no. I’ve got it. You just relax.”

I smile, leaning against the wall. I could watch him all day. He knows what he’s doing. He’s in control.

He finishes up and walks over. He doesn’t hold out his hand, doesn’t suggest in any way that this is anything more than what it is.

“Ready?” he asks.

“Yeah.”

We step outside and I feel like I’m in a dream.

We start walking with no destination in mind, side by side, enjoying the quiet. He keeps a pace that’s either for my benefit or for his knee’s and I don’t ask which.

“You know,” he says, “I always wanted to be a dad.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I love kids. I’ve always been good with them. I used to coach a kids’ team back in Florida.”

“I didn’t know that. It’s sweet.”