Ben Lathem was a confirmed bachelor. After he’d split with Jill he made a conscious decision to remain single – unattached – alone. Yeah, so marriage seemed to agree with his brothers, he’d told himself. Actually it appeared to agree with all of his brothers but that meant nothing for him. He wasn’t ready to settle down to the doldrums of monogamy. And becoming a father? He’d decided that wasn’t for him either. And if anybody had ever asked, he could say with complete honesty that he was happy with his choices. But something happened at a little Italian restaurant, that incidentally had the most delicious meatballs he’d ever tasted, when the owner stopped by Ben’s table as he, Sophia and Alex were wolfing down dozens upon dozens of the scrumptious little things, and said, “What a delightful family! Thank you for joining us and I hope you are enjoying your meal.” Alex wasn’t paying any attention to the older gentleman, as he was too busy trying to out eat Ben. Placing his fork on the edge of his plate, Ben looked at Alex and thought that perhaps it might be nice to think about having a family…one day…far into the future.
