“Dammit. I forgot the wine,” he grumbles, dropping the knife on the chopping board with a loud thump and moving to the refrigerator, pulling out what looks like a bottle of white. “I’msorry. I got so focused on gettin' everythin’ else ready that I left you sittin’ there without a drink. I’m not exactly the host with the most right now, am I?”
“Hey. I’m not sittin’ over here witherin’ away, you know. Besides, Icanhelp.” I slide off the stool and walk around the island, coming to a stop in front of him and holding my hand out for the wine bottle. “Let me do it.”
He arches a brow, his expression filled with mirth. “You don’t think I can pour you a glass of wine, doc?”
“I have no doubt you can do anythin’ you set your mind to, Austin.” I wave my arm out over the counter. “But you’re cookin’ me one of my favorite meals after I mentioned itonce, and you’ve already spent half your day showin’ me around your amazin’ ranch, I feel like I’m the one doin’ nothin’.”
His gaze softens. “Just you bein’ here is enough for me, Char.” God, this man is gonna be the end of me, I swear… So damn sweet, and yet, so reserved and quiet in other ways. It makes me think that he's not like this with anyone else. And isn't that something special?
“Austin… maybe I want to do somethin’ before we’re interrupted by someoneor somethin’again.”
“Not gonna happen,” he replies quizzically.
“Huh?”
“It’s Friday night. We usually go into town to have dinner at the diner before movin’ on to the Cow afterward. That’s how I know we won’t be interrupted.” He lifts his eyes to mine. “What I’m wonderin’ is if there’s somethin’ you don’t want tobe interrupted doin’?” His eyes are half-lidded but also full of amusement. Except I’m too stuck on his revelation to react to it.
My head jerks back. “You gave up family time for me? We could still g—” Austin silences me with a lightly pressed index finger to my lips, and just that action has my entire body from top to toe sparking to life.
His lips gift me a soft smile. “I don’t want any interruptions, Char. Iwantedto cook you dinner and have some time alone together without bein’ disturbed by animals, or by either of our well-meanin’ but meddlin’ families. Just me and you, makin’ time and space for one another, you know?" His eyes pin me in place, and I can’t do anything but nod, because what woman in her right mind would argue with that?Not me!
After searching my gaze for what I assume is any sign of unsureness, he takes his finger back again and turns to the counter where two wine glasses are waiting.
Moments later, he holds a glass out to me, our fingers brushing together around the stem as I take it off his hands. “Can I just make it known that I’m already more than impressed by everythin’ here at the ranch and our time together. So please don't fall down on the job now by thinkin’ the night will be ruined because you got sidetracked and forgot about the wine.”
That’s when I take a gamble and put myself out there—well I hope I am—by flattening my palm against his chest and lifting on my toes to brush a gentle kiss against his beard-covered cheek. The smell of his woodsy cologne filling my senses and becoming my new favorite smell. Here was I thinking it was newborn babies, nope. It’s Eau de Austin.
"Duly noted," he murmurs, his eyes not leaving mine as I lower myself back down.
My stomach decides then would be the perfect time to rumble…loudly and embarrassingly.“But just sayin’, my tummy might ruin the night if it doesn’t get fed soon. So is there anythin’ I can help with?” I ask while he chuckles and shakes his head at me.
“Nope. You can sit back on that stool and give me somethin’ pretty to look at.” His rough gravelly voice rumbles through me as I do what I’m told and move back to the stool with my wine glass in hand. “Damn, the man’s got demandin’.”
“You’re my date and I’m the one cookin’ you dinner.”
I fan myself right there in front of him, earning a quirked brow and twitching lips. “You sure this isn’t a dream and I haven’t just fallen asleep readin’ my romance book again?”
Austin’s eyes bug out this time and now it’s me laughing. “If only you knew,” he murmurs under his breath. “There's probably more truth to that than you could ever imagine.”
What does that mean?
I don’t get too much time to ponder that because he presses on. “But just in case you’ve forgotten about the kind of man I am. I won’t ever expect you to do anythin’ on your own when you’re my guest. I want to take care of you, that’s somethin’ that will never change whether I’m twenty, fifty, or eighty.” His voice is low and intimate, more of a vow than a promise that can be broken. Maybe it’s his mantra. Whatever it is, there’s no denying the fact that his words and the meaning behind them have awakened every nerve ending in my body.
Andthen, as if hehasn’tjust thrown me for a loop, Austin pours himself some wine and raising it in the air between us. “To new adventures and makin’ up for lost time,” he toasts, clinking his glass against mine before taking a sip.
Lifting my glass to my lips, I’m more focused on his words than the taste of the wine. He stares deep into my eyes before a soft smile appears and he returns to his meal prep.
My heart is racing, my blood feels like it's whooshing in my ears, and it feels like there are a million butterflies taking flight inside my stomach. One thing is for sure, there's absolutely zero doubt in my mind now about Austin's feelings toward me.
This was never one-sided after all, and we've probably wasted fifteen years of not being together all because we couldn't be honest and tell each other the truth all those years ago.
What I don’t know is how to process that. Because so much has happened in our time apart. I'm now a qualified OB/GYN. I have years and years of study under my belt, something I never would've been able to get if I hadn't gone to Anchorage, then Boston, then Florida, then Texas, and eventually Europe. I wouldn't have visited different countries and met so many different people. I wouldn't havehelpedthe hundreds of women I donated my time and care to who wouldn't have otherwise had access to it. I wouldn't have delivered all the babies I have.
Most importantly, I wouldn’t be able to appreciate just how rare a man like Austin Graham is. He may lead a simple life, but it’s good, honest work and it makes him happy. It’s full of so many other ways that matter. That’s something I could tell in abundance on our tour today. His entire face would light up whenever he’d tell me a story about the rodeo, or the bull stud,and even when Nelly made her untimely appearance, even then I could tell he was happy.
With all of that though, maybe the fifteen years apart doesn’t matter. If my work and experience has taught me anything, it’s that life is too short to focus on what should’ve been when you’re standing in front of whatcouldbe.
And that is Austin Graham beingmine.
