Blind Dating the Alpha Prince

5 - Not a Problem

~~Carter's PoV~~

Just when I thought my mother might have actually done me a favor by setting me up with a beautiful, funny, interesting woman, I find out what the catch is.

Quinn has a daughter. A young daughter, I guess, since she said she's still breastfeeding, and I can't stop my gaze from dropping to the breasts in question. I'd been trying not to stare since she got here, but it's a little more difficult when she brings them up herself.

But I don't understand. If she has a daughter, where's the guy who knocked her up? Why is she on a dating app at all?

She's looking more annoyed by the second as I stumble over my words. “This was all on the form,” she tells me. “What was the point of that if you weren't going to read it?”

I don't really know what form she's talking about but it must be something my mother put together. I already told her my mom was setting me up, so I might as well come clean about the rest of it.

“I haven't seen any of your answers,” I admit. “My mother is the one choosing my dates.”

I expect her to be more annoyed at that, but instead, her face clears and she starts to laugh. “Seriously? You really are going into this completely blind.”

I exhale in relief, glad she can see the lighter side. “We both are,” I point out. She doesn't know anything about me either, not even what I look like. At least I have that advantage.

“I'm not sure if that makes us brave or pathetic,” she tells me. “Maybe a little of both. But yes, I have a daughter. If that's a problem, I'd rather you tell me right now.”

It is a surprise, I have to admit. I've never dated anyone with a kid before. I've never thought much about kids at all, other than in the vague sense that eventually I'll need to have at least one to be my heir. But I've always been far more interested in the way they're made rather than the babies themselves.

But is it a problem? If someone had asked me before tonight, I would have said yes. But now, sitting here across from Quinn, I can't help wondering why it should be? All we're doing is having dinner. And if we do end up in bed together later, it's a good reminder about why I should always use a condom.

“It's fine,” I tell her now. “I was just surprised since I didn't know. What's your daughter's name?”

Her smile turns soft, her eyes full of affection as she answers. “Rosemary. Rosie, for short.”

It's a cute name, as far as names go. “How old is she?”

“Three months.”

I don't know a lot about babies, but that doesn't seem very old. I have no idea what a three-month-old is like, so I move on to the question I'm most curious about.

“So since you're looking for love on Mate-Match, I'm guessing the dad's not in the picture?”

The smile leaves her face entirely as she swallows hard. “He died before she was born.”

Oh, s**t. I have no idea what to say to that, and I curse my mother for not giving me some kind of heads up. Dealing with real emotion like this is not my strong point. My relationships are superficial for a reason, it's where I'm comfortable.

But I can't deny there's a part of me that wants to comfort her. It's an odd feeling for me, but I recognize it anyway. And Quinn seems willing to answer my questions, at least, so I keep asking. “He was your mate?”

Quinn nods. “We hadn't been together very long. He never even knew I was pregnant.”

F*ck. That must have been rough, and a strange pain stings my chest. It's almost like I care.

She takes a deep breath, then gives me a smile. “Look, Jeff, I appreciate you asking, but I don't really want to talk about it, at least not right off the bat. I came here tonight for a bit of a break from all that.”

Her calling me Jeff throws me off for a second. I almost forgot that's what I told her my name was. I'm happy to move on if she is, but I can't help asking one more thing. “This seems like a pretty extreme way to get a break.”

She laughs again, the sadness clearing from her eyes. “Well, I have a confession to make. This wasn't really my choice either. My friend filled out the form for me, I had no idea I was coming until an hour ago.”

That makes me laugh too. “Really? So we've both got people who love to meddle in our lives. I guess that's our first thing in common.”

“They're the best, and the worst,” she agrees, and just like that, things are light again. “Should we order? I'm actually kind of starving.”

That sounds good to me. We look through the menu together and her eyes go wide as she sees the prices.

"This is pretty fancy for a first date. Are you rich or something?"

Is it fancy? I honestly have no idea. "My mom picked it out," I tell her. "And she's paying. I guess she wants me to make a good impression."

Quinn laughs, and then she makes me laugh again as she reads off some of the more pretentious items from the menu in a snooty British accent. She's really quite funny, and I like how she doesn't take things too seriously.

She's not like any of the women I've been dating lately, and as I look across the table into her smiling blue eyes, I'm starting to think maybe that's not a bad thing at all.