Page 10

Chapter Nine

Lora

His home was reminiscent of a mini mansion in the woods.

The two-story brick house had a good size front porch, complete with a swing.

The landscape was minimal, but sufficient for the setting, as it was surrounded by forest. He had a true front and back yard that was insulated by oaks, pines, firs and many other types of trees, an eclectic mix, their trunks acting as a frame around the property.

Despite having an older, traditional style of architecture, the house itself looked newer. If I had to guess, it was built within the last five years.

Accepting his outstretched hand, I closed the car door and let him lead me inside.

Stepping across the threshold, the air felt warmer than outside, but it was obvious the heat wasn’t on.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I looked around, not journeying deeper insider.

I was taken aback by the cathedral ceilings.

It turned out, he didn’t have a two-story house; he had a single story home with extra tall ceilings.

It made the space seem larger, grander, and barer.

The open concept design had little in the way of décor.

The kitchen countertops were sparse aside from a toaster and a massive bottle of vanilla protein powder.

The walls didn’t have a single photo on them.

Perhaps the most obvious, though, was his lack of a Christmas tree.

Even though I had no one to celebrate the holidays with, even though Sharon was the only one who saw my apartment aside from me, I still decorated.

It added a layer of warmth that made you want to go home at the end of a long day and curl up on the sofa in comfortable clothes with a cup of something good.

It made me feel like I wasn’t as alone as I truly was.

“Make yourself at home.” He closed the front door and walked to the oversized kitchen island. Opening a drawer, he pulled out two folded pieces of paper. “We only have two places that deliver in town: a Papa John’s knock off or semi-decent-on-a-good-day Chinese.”

Rolling my lips, I considered him. Pizza sounded better, but Chinese food was the best option for him probably.

He could order soup and veggies or soft lo mein noodles.

Those could be swallowed easier than potentially crunchy crust pizza.

“Roll the dice with Chinese?” I cocked a brow.

Just because I thought it would be good for him didn’t mean he wanted it.

Shoving one of the menus back in the drawer, he whipped his cell phone out. “Worst case scenario, we order pizza after.” Stalking towards me, he handed me the tri-folded paper. “What do you want, beautiful?”

God, that smile. He was breathtaking. It took effort to peel my gaze from him. I wanted to pinch myself. Was this real life? Was I really here, with him, in his house?

A nervous chuckle escaped me. “There’s no way to eat Chinese food and be sexy.”

His laugh turned into a cough. He quickly covered his mouth. He sucked in a deep breath. “Babe, you’re sexy. There’s nothing you could do that would make you less sexy.”

As a nurse, many scenarios came to mind, but I didn’t offer them up. Instead, I savored his compliment. This handsome, powerful male thought I was sexy. “Thanks.” I cast a fast glimpse at him, fully acknowledging his words.

Browsing the limited selection, I passed the menu back to him. “Small chicken lo mein with broccoli.”

“You got it, beautiful. Now go make yourself comfortable.” He jutted his chin towards the living area.

I should have been uneasy. I should have hesitated.

In the past, I would have hesitated. That just went to show, once again, how different things were with Stone.

His home wasn’t filled with the touches that welcomed you in, but I found myself sauntering to the leather sofa, without a second thought, pulling off my Ugg knock-offs, setting my phone and keys on the coffee table, and sitting Indian style on one end of the couch.

A large, flat screen TV was mounted on the wall across from me, above the fireplace.

No wires or boxes were visible. I’d always hated the mess behind electronics.

It was why I only had one television in my entire apartment and a laptop rather than a desktop computer.

That single piece gave me a newfound appreciation for his minimal décor.

He didn’t have a lot, but he still paid attention to the finer details.

Sitting patiently, I listened to him order a massive quantity of food. Based on his size, though, he probably ate a solid three to five thousand calories a day, as he worked out an average of two hours a day, focusing on weights and strength training. Being a business owner kept him busy as well.

Part of me secretly wished I could gorge myself regularly, but that would be the opposite of what my body needed, especially at five feet two inches. I definitely indulged, but typically it was only with Sharon on the days we were both off together, which were few and far between.

It’d been a few months since we’d done a full girls’ day, complete with pedicures, Starbucks, good food and juicy gossip. I missed those. I could seriously use one soon, too.

I jumped as a blanket came down across my lap. My hand flew to my chest, a nervous chuckle escaping me.

“Sorry to scare you, beautiful.” He pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

Strolling over to the fireplace, he flipped a switch and blue flames appeared in the hearth.

Pushing a stone, he revealed a drawer from which he retrieved a remote control.

Moving to the center of the fireplace, he pressed another set of stones and they folded down, revealing a slim compartment with all of the boxes.

Walking back to the sofa, he lifted the blanket’s excess beside me, sat down, propping his feet on the coffee table, and laid the blanket across his upper thighs. “What do you want to watch, babe? I have access to almost any movie or channel.” Clicking the remote, the TV turned on.

“Hm.” I worked my bottom lip. What did you choose when you could choose anything?

Better yet, what did you choose when you were pretty sure your tastes were the opposite?

I knew from our conversations that Stone liked action movies, especially when they involved boxing, as he wanted to go pro at one point, and a few comedy movies, but not stupid-funny ones.

I, on the other hand, liked what most women did, aside from Sharon: romantic comedies and period dramas.

The only commonality was comedy, but most of the current titles leaned towards over-exaggerated humor, which meant classics were the way to go.

A wistful smile curled my lips and I thought of Gran. Every year we watched the same holiday movie, because she was a big Chevy Chase fan. She thought he was an “adorable hoot.”

Looking at Stone, I was caught off guard by the intensity of his gaze as he took me in.

Heat turned his usually brown eyes into molten honey pools that seemed to pierce me.

There was something striking about him, almost otherworldly.

He was beautiful and mesmerizing. I wanted to get lost in his depths. I wanted to get lost in him.

But that wasn’t a good idea while he was sick. It was the surest way to ruin my holiday plans.

Grabbing hold of that logical part of myself, I broke the trance, turning my focus to the television. “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”

A little laugh escaped him. “That was unexpected, but, then again, you’re full of wonderful surprises.”

I heard the approval in his tone. I liked that he thought I was different.

You always wanted to be different than the women in his past, because things didn’t work with them for a reason.

“It’s a tradition in my house.” I shrugged my shoulders, aiming for the admission to be nonchalant, but the catch in my voice betrayed me.

He didn’t comment. He didn’t say anything to sway the moment. He simply wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close, pressing his lips tenderly to my head. The act was sweet, romantic even, and utterly perfect.

Before I could stop it, hope swelled in my chest. For so long I’d wanted this, someone like him. Half of me wanted to scream in celebration, the other half of me wanted to run in fear. Because, chances were, if he seemed too good to be true, he likely was too good to be true.

But darn was I praying hard for him to be the exception. Every woman only needed one man who was the exception, one to come along and change their luck, end their losing streak, one to make her forget every reject and rejection before him.

I only needed one.

And I wanted that one to be Stone.

But you couldn’t alter fate. I knew, if we were meant to be, we would be. If not, someone even better was waiting for me down the road, as hard as that was to fathom.