I clap a hand over my mouth as I sputter on my wine. “Pardon ?”
“What, you’ve never been caught by your best friends listening to a smutty audiobook with three women and an eighty-six-year-old man?” The sun dances with the amusement in his eyes as he watches me laugh. “They thought I might need some dating help.”
“I find it hard to believe you’re that out of touch with the dating world.”
“I’m not, I guess. I’ve been on plenty of dates. But this is the first one that’s felt like it’s meant something.” He lifts a shoulder, gesturing at the spread before us. “That’s probably why I was also on a four-way video call fifteen minutes ago with the same girls, freaking out about whether the pillows were too forward, if I should sit on the opposite side of the blanket, and how long into the date I have to wait before I take your hand and don’t let it go for the rest of the night.”
He shifts my hat back and brushes my bangs aside, fingertips skimming my cheekbone. “I can tell you’re nervous, Rosie, and I want you to know that, even if I seem confident right now, I’ve been a mess all week over this. I’m not ashamed to admit it.” When he looks at me next, beneath lashes so dark and with a gaze so heady, butterflies erupt in my stomach. “Then I saw you standing there in that hat and this sundress, and all the scary stuff melted away. The only thing I’m feeling right now is happy, and if you’re still nervous, I’ve got enough happy for the both of us.”
“The pillows are comfy, I like having you next to me because you make me feel warm and special, and if you take my hand right now, I might not ever ask for it back.” The words spill out, but if I can’t give him all my truths tonight, I at least want him to have these. The panic squeezing my throat eases at his kind smile. “Wow, I only had to drink half a glass of wine to say that.”
“I brought two bottles in case you feel like laying it all out on the line tonight. You can tell me all your secrets.”
“That’s a second date kinda thing, Mr. Lockwood, and it also requires ice cream.”
“Got it. Two bottles of wine, an ice cream cone, and date number two.” He grins then, wide and full of mischief as his gaze drops to my legs. His hand lands on my knee, sliding along my bare skin, where he nabs the hem of my dress from where it’s ridden up my thigh. Gently, he shifts it back into place, eyes rising to meet mine, a fire blazing so hot, it singes my skin. “I can’t wait to unravel you.”
My eyes widen at the innuendo, and I toss back the rest of my wine. It does nothing to soothe the burn in my cheeks, or the sudden beat thrumming between my legs, so I reach for the wine and refill my glass. Adam chuckles, handing me a small bottle of sparkling water too.
He reaches inside the picnic basket and produces a bouquet of flowers, holding them out to me, smiling. “For you.”
My hand shoots out, fingers curling back into my palm for a moment before I hesitantly brush over the petals, hues of muted pinks and dusty lilac blues. My vision wobbles and I trap my trembling lower lip between my teeth, an expected reaction as my mom’s laughter rings in my ears, memories of dirty hands and knees, peony bushes and falling leaves flashing through my mind.
“Rosie?” His voice dips, a slight tremble in his hand as he starts pulling the bouquet back. “I’m sorry. I meant to go with roses, because of your name. But then I saw these, and they were so pretty, they reminded me of you. If you don’t like them—”
“They’re perfect,” I murmur, wrapping my hand around his, bringing the flowers to my nose. “I love them, Adam.”
Sapphire eyes watch me, and Adam traps a single tear rolling down my cheek. “Then why are you crying?”
Because it doesn’t feel like there’s another option. “Memories.”
His gaze flickers. “Good or bad?”
I smile. “The best. Sometimes I just forget that I don’t get to make new ones. The realization is a little overwhelming for a moment.” I set the bouquet down, and before I can second-guess it, I wrap my arms around him, sinking into his warmth. “Thank you, Adam.”
He pulls my hat off and squeezes me against his solid chest. His lips touch the crown of my head. “You’re so welcome, Rosie.”
We linger like that, entwined together, like neither of us is ready to let go, but when my stomach growls, Adam chuckles, pulling back and brushing my bangs aside.
“Hungry?”
Another grumble, paired with a sheepish smile. “Always.”
As we eat, he asks me question after question, until he’s satisfied he knows everything about me, like that I grew up in Ontario and moved to Vancouver after I graduated from high school. That I’m twenty-four, but a November baby, so by the time I graduate in the spring I’ll be twenty-five. That I completed my undergrad in animal sciences, and I’m on a full-ride scholarship in the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program at Pacific Veterinarian College.
“Full ride?” His brows jump. “No shit. You’re a smartie pants.”
I shrug. “I had nothing better to do than study and read growing up. I didn’t have a lot of friends, so I think it kind of came with the territory.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. You’re in your last year of vet school, on a full-ride scholarship, and you’re not even twenty-five. You’re about to be a doctor, Rosie. Those are some incredible accomplishments. You should be proud.”
My heart soars. I am proud of myself. I’ve worked harder than I thought possible, and having someone else acknowledge my accomplishments feels nice.
Adam refills my wine. “What do you do at the shelter?”
“Well, vet school is really demanding, so I mostly only work there during the summer, and what I can manage during the school year. Hopefully they’ll hire me as a vet when I graduate, but right now, I mostly do animal socialization. A lot of the animals that come in are scared. Their whole life has been turned upside down. We work with them to start trusting humans again before they’re ready to be adopted.”
“It must be rewarding to see them come out of their shells.”
“It really is so amazing, Adam. Especially with animals like Piglet, who have been through so much. She has so much love to give, and someone stole that light from her. I love being part of the reason she finds it again.”
Adam smiles at me. “You really love her.”
“So much.”
“Have you ever thought about adopting her?”
“Only every day.”
“What’s stopping you?”
I bring my feet toward me, crossing my legs, tracing the swoop of my Nikes. “I don’t have the space she deserves.” Nor the money to keep up with her care. “If I did, I’d bring her home in a heartbeat. But she deserves more than what I can offer her.”
“I get that. But for what it’s worth, Rosie, it’s not usually the space that makes a home. It’s the love. And I bet you give the best kind.”
The corner of my mouth quirks. “You’re really refreshing, you know?”
“How so?”
“You look like someone always in control, or someone who likes to be, maybe. Maybe it’s your size, or how comfortable you seem in your own skin. You’re not afraid to be kind and sweet and gentle, like carrying Piglet down the stairs because she’s afraid, or admitting you ask your girl friends for advice. But the way you talk sometimes, the way you…touch…as much as you like to be in control, I feel like there’s a part of you dying to lose all that control, to be unrestrained. It’s just refreshing to see someone so willing to be open about exactly who they are and what they need.”