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

“I was thinking about how much life I have left to live and how old I feel.”

“That deep, huh?”

God, I loved the way he spoke. It was as intoxicating as his smell. Though I resisted looking at him, I saw the tip of his black boots out of the corner of my eye and assumed he was in his typical uniform of a perfectly fitted t-shirt and jeans. Though I’d come out to my spot in hopes of staying hidden, I loved the fact that he found me.

“Yeah, that deep,” I whispered as I kept my eyes glued to the sky. “I can’t stop thinking about how the future might swallow me if I’m not careful. I’ve already spent so much time on my career, my whole life, actually. I need to have days like this to remind me to just live, you know?”

“I do,” he said, taking my hand in his. “And I think this might be my fault. I’m sorry.”

“You are so agreeable,” I said with a smile.

“I am,” he said in amusement.

“It would be hell to try to start an argument with you,” I noted.

“You can give it your best shot,” he fired back. “But, yeah, I’d have to agree with that, too.”

Finally unable to resist his pull, I turned on my side and propped myself on an elbow. He looked over at me, his smile devastating. His eyes more blue than gray today, matching his dark blue t-shirt. I instantly wanted to press my lips to his.

“Why are you so easy going? I mean, not that there’s anything wrong with it, but is there anything that gets you riled up?”

He cocked his brow suggestively, and I rolled my eyes. “Anything other than sex?”

“I wasn’t always so laid back. I’ve had my moments, lots of them. I used to get into a lot of fights when I was younger. I was small so I lost a lot of them.”

“Oh,” I said as he grabbed my free hand and laid it on his chest. Comfortable and moved by the gesture, I stroked him lightly over his t-shirt, and he leaned in close.

“Kids can be assholes,” he said, giving me a quick smile. I walked my fingers up to his lip and stroked it gently, knowing it was the cause of a few of those fights.

“They can,” I said as he lightly kissed my finger and I continued to trace his scar.

“You’d be amazed at what they came up with,” he said without prejudice. It didn’t seem to bother him at all now, but I was sure at one point in time, the beautiful man lying beside me went home heartbroken because of a birth defect he couldn’t help. My heart cracked for him at that moment, and I leaned down without thought and kissed it with reverence.

“How old were you?”

“Too old. And it took too many surgeries to correct. When I was old enough, I started fighting having them, which delayed them even longer. My parents felt guilty, but I wasn’t strong enough health wise as a baby to start young. I was born prematur

e, and they had to get other things under control before they could worry about it. It wasn’t their fault. No one is to blame. It’s just the way it happened.”

He lay still and let me trace the faint scar with my lips, and as I pulled away, I told him what I truly thought of it. “I think it’s beautiful, though I’m sorry for the pain it’s caused you.”

The look in his eyes was a mix of need and gratitude as he reached up and cupped my face, keeping me from fully retreating away from him.

“Those lips and the words that come out of them,” he rasped out. Gently stroking my face, he pulled me close with his next confession. “I get riled up thinking about you, Rose. Wanting to be with you, waiting to see you. I get more than riled up. I get restless.”

This time, I cocked a brow. “You look pretty damn calm to me.”

He took my hand again, placing it over his heart and recognition of its faster beat had a flattered smile play on my lips.

“I’m curious.” He reached out and placed his large hand on my chest, confirming with a pause what I already knew. With a deep breath, my eyes wandered over his face as he gave me a wink. I knew he could feel it racing erratically. It always did when he was close.

“And then when I got a little older,” he continued, tracing the line of my t-shirt collar with his finger, “and I hit a growth spurt, I put on a pair of gloves and hammered the shit out of some of them in revenge.”

“Seems fair,” I breathed out as my voice gave away my budding arousal. “So let me get this straight,” I countered, trying my best to keep myself from ripping his shirt off. He was pure temptation for me, had been since the moment I laid eyes on him. “You’re educated, you’ve done everything from run a business to erect a building, and you can cook, sing, and dance. You are literally the Jack of all trades.”

He chuckled as his finger moved over my shoulder and down my arm.

“Is there anything you can’t do?”