The Reluctant Romantics Box Set (The Fall, The Mind, The Heart)

“You can’t really think that about us.”

“Why not? You aren’t as smart as you think you are in this sense, Rose. You might be a brilliant doctor, but I know better when it comes to this.”

I shook my head in argument. “Why are you so intent on forever with me?”

He looked at his lap on an exhale before he turned his heavy gaze to me. “Because that’s what my heart told me the second I looked at you. And for the first time in my life, I’m letting it lead the way.”

He didn’t give me a chance to absorb or respond before he started rattling off his house plans. “So I figure we will build the house, a one-story where the shed sits. A huge, one-story ranch, what do you think?”

I burst out in laughter as he carried on with his mindset without so much as pausing. “It’s your house.”

“Indulge me,” he challenged, exhaling a puff of smoke. There was something so alluring about him in that moment that it took me a second to find words.

I scanned the lot and realized the shed was the perfect place to start. There were a few trees cascading over the pond and more an acre or two behind from the shed.

“Behind the tree line, a large ranch, huge kitchen and living space, large bathrooms are a must. At least five bedrooms and a study so I can read.”

“What else,” he urged as he listened intently.

“No pool, just a huge dock for fishing and swimming.”

“My thoughts exactly. Keep going.”

“No pets except for these.” I pointed to the ducks circling our float and laughed as Grant had to swat one away to keep it from snatching the joint from his fingers. He took the last of it in his lungs and threw it over as I swallowed another sip of beer, getting lost in my own imagination.

“A fireplace—three of them, in fact—one in my study, one in the bedroom, and family room, and they have to be stone and very large.”

“Done. What else?” He was quickly becoming excited with each word I spoke, and I felt myself growing more involved in his game than I intended.

“An arboretum around the tree here with comfortable, oversized chairs. It has to lead to a huge patio with a stone fire pit and grill. And a matching stone waterfall.”

“Where is all this coming from?”

“My dad is an architect.” He sat straight up in his inflatable seat and gave me a million dollar smile.

“No wonder you are so thorough. You must have grown up in some house.”

“I did. It’s the most amazing house, really. Yours will be amazing, too.”

“Sounds like it. You need more sunblock.”

He grabbed the bottle, made his way towards me, and began to rub it on my shoulders. I closed my eyes at the feel of his fingertips on my skin.

“It will be exactly what you want. When can I meet your dad?”

I jerked out of my daze and met his eyes.

“Absolutely not!”

“Why? I’ll be a perfect gentlemen, I promise.”

“Look . . .” I pushed him away and grabbed the bottle for myself, rubbing the rest of what he’d left into my thighs and stomach. “This was just for fun. I don’t even know your last name, let alone know you well enough to take you home to my parents.”

“Foster is my last name. What else do you want to know, Rose Whitaker, with two siblings, and two living parents that have been married for almost thirty years? You’ll graduate with your doctorate in medicine in December.. You’ve only loved one guy and he cheated on you your first year of med school with—” he paused, making quotation marks with his hands “—‘that skank Marie Johnson,’ who he married and has two kids with. You hate soggy cereal and people who scrape their teeth against their fork. You need more sex in your life and you need me.”

I sat back in the float with what I was sure was a gaping mouth and a question in my eyes.

“Jennifer is all about cold hard cash.”