Grant sits across from me, bringing the drink to his mouth, his eyes piercing into me. “I could ask you the same thing.”
I give him a flirty smile. “I asked you first.”
Grant leans forward resting his elbows on the small table. The flickering candle between us makes it seem like we’re the only two people in the room. “I think it’s obvious.”
“Not to me.”
He glances down at his drink, spinning it on the wooden tabletop. “Women aren’t pounding down a single dad’s door these days.” He pauses, giving me an adorable nervous smile. “I wasn’t exactly prepared to be a father.”
“Is anyone?” I ask with a chuckle.
“I guess not. But when a baby shows up on your door from your ex-girlfriend who you didn’t know was pregnant when you broke up, I’d say that’s as unprepared as it gets. Dating was something that got put on the back burner.”
Well, now I feel like an asshole.
Obviously, I knew he was a single dad basically from the time I met him, I just never imagined how he got there. Now it makes sense.
“You didn’t know?”
He shakes his head. “Things with Julie were…difficult. We were together several months before it was clear we weren’t going to work. I was just starting my residency and was living in a run-down apartment. Then nine months later I woke up to desperate knocking to find a newborn Harrison in his carseat. He was a couple of days old. He didn’t even have a name yet. The papers shoved next to him in his blanket said ‘baby Rollins’ along with legal paperwork with the dissolution of Julie’s parental rights.”
My mouth involuntarily pops open. I can’t imagine how difficult that must’ve been, how shocking and terrifying it was to go through that. How does anyone handle a situation like that? The man in front of me casually sipping his drink has to be one of the strongest people I’ve met. One of the most solid.
I try to work the shocked expression off my face. “And she was just gone?”
He sucks in a deep breath. “Yeah. I’ve been single ever since. Raising a newborn and working my residency was more of a struggle than I ever anticipated. My parents, Cole, and Wells helped when they could, but dating was out of the question. It’s gotten easier since I started the private practice, but I haven’t found anyone who’s caught my eye quite like you.”
Butterflies take flight in my stomach. I love how open and honest he’s being about his past and about me. It’s not the typical metaphorical chess match the first rounds of dates tend to be.
“You know,” I say leaning forward, “you have to be the most amazing person I’ve met.” And I mean it. Every other guy I’vedated hasn’t come close to the character and integrity of the man across from me.
Grant smiles, laughing softly. “I doubt that. You never got the chance to meet you,” he counters.
“Me?” I scoff. “I’m just a normal girl.”
“Yes, you. I don’t know how I got so lucky.” He says it so matter-of-factly that it’s hard to argue with him. Grant leans over the table and I meet him halfway. The kiss is soft, gentle, and lingering. Our lips part before he smiles at me. “Don’t think you’re going to get out of answering by distracting me.”
“And what question was that again?” He honestly kissed the crap out of me and I can’t remember anything from the last several minutes.
“Nice try,” he chuckles. “How are you single?”
The chilled alcohol cools my chest as I take a drink. “If I knew the answer, I’d tell you.” He watches me intently, urging me on. “I swear.”
His blue eyes squint playfully. “How do I not believe that?”
“It’s true,” I say with full sincerity. “I’ve never been lucky in love. Try as I might, it’s been a futile endeavor.” He gives me that look that all men seem to master that meansgo on, so I do. “Candice was the one that the boys flocked to. I was the girl on the side.” Grant visibly jolts back. “No!” I laugh. “Not like that. What kind of girl do you think I am? I mean, the wallflower type. There, but not standing out. When I got older and went to college I blossomed and embraced who I am. Then…” I suck air through my teeth, shrugging. “I’ve gone on countless first dates, but nothing’s stuck.”
Grant’s eyes lock on mine in the dim candlelight making everything seem more intimate than it is. Without breaking his gaze he holds up his drink, the ice clinking softly as he holds it up between us. “Until Now.”
“Until now,” I add with a shy smile, lifting my glass to his with a soft tap.
***
The glow of the sidewalk lights illuminate the dark lawn outside of my apartment complex. Grant’s car idles at the curb, the engine purring softly, its gentle vibrations matching the anxious feeling in my chest. I don’t want to get out of the car and it seems like he doesn’t want me to go either based on his firm grip on my knee. His pinky rests just underneath the hem of my summer dress, and something about it has my heart pounding.
“Here we are,” I say breathlessly.
Fingers skate along the skin of my thigh. “Here we are.”
