Six Months Earlier

Exiting the hospital, I'm excited that it's Friday and happy that a much-needed weekend off awaits me.

Of course, it's raining. It's a warm summer rain and the perfect ending to this miserable day. I hate that I agreed to meet Kelsey's cousin at McGrath's after work. What's even worse is that Kelsey has made it her life mission to find me the love of my life. She keeps throwing me into the dating fire, and I foolishly keep getting burned.

Kelsey is a gorgeous auburn-haired thirty-two-year-old caring sweetheart. We met five years ago when we started at Harrisburg Hospital as radiologists. We hit it off right away. Kelsey is a bubbly married mother of three. I, however, am too serious and have never had a boyfriend for longer than six weeks. It's not that I don't want a lasting relationship, the perfect man for me has never crossed my path.

I brought a change of clothes to work to meet my date, not wanting to wear my scrubs. My look consists of jeans and a light sweater, fresh makeup, and hair in a high ponytail. The minimal effort in my appearance is because I don't give a damn.

I stand for a few moments underneath the hospital's awning before making a mad dash towards 2nd Street. The usual ten-minute walk to McGrath's takes me seven minutes. Rushing inside to escape the droplets from totally soaking through my clothes, I go to the restroom hoping that Dan or was it Dave, didn't notice my damp entrance.

My image in the mirror is comparable to a drowned city rat that regrettably emerged from Harrisburg's gutters. Gasping, I noticed that my soaked sweater revealed the frilly black laced bra underneath. I attempt to squeeze the excess moisture from my top before leaving the restroom with my arms crossed over my breasts. Can this day get any worse?

My eyes catch Gus waving to me from behind the bar. He smiles warmly; the staff here are like family to me. Aware that my arms are covering my overexposed chest, I nod and smile back.

I glance around the wooded decor bar. The exposed ceiling has four-by-four beams stained to match the stools, bar top, and high-top tables. The high-top tables are placed a few feet from the bar against a brick wall.

I make my way over to the bar, searching for a red-headed man. I'm not sure if I'm relieved or pissed that he's not here yet. I'm not too fond of tardiness. Dan, or Dave, damn! Pulling out my phone to look at the text Kelsey sent me regarding her cousin, I found his picture and a short bio that Kelsey typed out for me. Thirty-three years old red-headed dentist, Dr. Dean Richards, oops. Not a good start for you, Dean.

I sit, and Gus already has my regular beverage in front of me. Lemon vodka over ice and a glass of water.

"Thank you, Gus. You, my friend, are a godsend." I sip my poison of choice and enjoy the slow burn as it cascades down my thirsty throat.

Gus smiles before he continues down the bar serving his customers. Fifteen minutes later, he makes his rounds back to me.

He eyes me warily while refilling my drink. "You're not in your usual after-work scrubs. What's up?"

I roll my eyes. "A blind date. Kelsey's cousin. We're to be meeting here for drinks." I glance at my watch. "Fifteen minutes ago." I shrug and take another sip of my tasty elixir.

Gus leans back against the back bar and crosses his arms, scowling. "What an asshole. Who in their right mind wouldn't jump at the chance to scoop up a beauty like you."

I laugh. "You're too kind."

He pulls himself away from the bar and leans closer. "It's the truth." He winks as he leaves me.

Ahhh, Gus. He's such a sweet, good-looking guy, but he has a girlfriend. He and Fran have been together for over three years. I'm not interested in him that way; he's like a brother to me.

Thirty minutes later, I decided to cut my losses and head home, then quickly change my mind. The sky is still dropping buckets upon the earth. I turn back to the bar and grudgingly drink my water to space out my vodka intake so I can make it home without stumbling around in the streets.

I sigh, finish my water, and raise my glass to Gus to indicate that a refill is needed. I see someone out of the corner of my eye approach the empty chair to my left. I smell him before seeing him; ginger and spice permeate my senses. While breathing in his scent, my eyes observe the hottest guy I've ever seen open his full lips to speak.

"Is this seat taken?"

All that my dumbfounded mind can do is give him a nod. He sits and turns himself towards me.

"Hey, Gorgeous, Rain Grant," he says as he pushes his hand towards me.

I instinctively grasp his large hand with mine.

He smiles brightly, and I swear that it illuminated the dark bar. "And you are?"

Oh my god, what the hell is wrong with me? "Hey, um, I'm Summer, pleased to meet you."

Wait! Rain?

"You have a fascinating name, Rain."

"You don't hear the name Summer very often either," he declared when he leaned towards me.

He softly moves a loose strand of hair behind my ear and whispers in his sexy, deep voice, "it suits you perfectly."

I shiver at his touch. He notices and smirks.

Usually, I'm not into a guy who is this forward. It's usually a big turn-off for me, but damn, this guy has me melting like butter in five sentences and two brief touches. His dark, chocolate eyes match his dark, wavy hair and olive skin. He has a tight beard that has me wondering what it would feel like against my skin. This feeling is entirely foreign to me. I'm feeling a connection to this stranger within minutes of meeting him. What the hell is wrong with me?

Rain interrupts my thoughts as his deep voice demands my attention. "Don't overthink this."

I raise my eyebrows in shock. "What makes you think that I'm overthinking anything? We just met. You don't know me."

"Don't be offended, please. I have a gift of reading people through their body language." He chuckles in amusement and puts his hands up in surrender.

"And you think my body told you that I was overthinking this?" I wave my hand between the two of us. I know that I was, but why did he have to call me out like that?

He takes a moment to speak, which I appreciate. It shows me that he is not impulsive. When he begins to talk, I find myself anticipating his words.

"Let me start by saying that you're an exquisite, rare beauty. The way you carry yourself with your perfect posture and confident demeanor shows me that you are a strong, no-nonsense woman. You look me square in the eyes without hesitation, which reveals to me that you're independent. There's not a chance in hell that you would allow a random guy to take you home. Your blush and reaction to my touch have you second-guessing everything you believe in regarding boy meets girl."

I'm flabbergasted. How could a man, a stranger, who has known me all of ten minutes, nail who I am? I'm intrigued.

"Summer, just let this be whatever it is to be," he tells me as his dark eyes bore into mine, taking my breath away.

"Okay," I say and am awarded another one of Rain's megawatt smiles.

We spend the evening getting to know each other, drinking and nibbling on appetizers. I inform Rain about being stood up. He just replied, "his loss, my gain." I discovered that Rain is a 35 years old pharmaceutical salesman and does a lot of traveling. Due to the traveling, he never really found the time to have a steady girlfriend. Now that he hit his mid-thirties, he wants to change that. He wants to have someone to come home to and experience life together.

This man is everything that I ever wanted in a life partner. He makes me laugh and can have an educated conversation. It's like I placed my order with God, and he delivered Rain to me on a silver platter.

Conversation flowed so easily that I even told Rain about my miserable day of performing an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) on a three-year-old boy. Unfortunately, I discovered a tumor on the base of his brain stem. It was heart-wrenching to hear his mother scream as the doctor gave her the devastating news.

Rain and I were so deep in that conversation that we never heard Gus announce the last call.

I didn't realize Rain had both of my hands gripped protectively in his till Gus came over and looked down at our hands while cocking an eyebrow at me. I slowly removed my hands from Rain's.

"Last call, Love. Can I get you and your friend something?"

I look at Rain, and he nods. "Sure. Go ahead and give me another lemon vodka, please, and thank you."

Gus looks at Rain. I can tell that he's sizing him up. I glare at Gus. "Same?"

"Yes, please. I'll also take both of our checks."

I attempt to grab my bill from Rain's quick fingers. "Rain, you don't have to pay for my evening."

He holds my bill out of my reach. "I want to. You've made this an enjoyable night for me, Summer, it's the least I can do."

We finish up, I wave goodbye to Gus, and we make our way out of McGrath's.

"Can I walk you to your car, Summer?" Rain offers.

"Thank you for the offer. I didn't drive. I'm just a ten-minute walk away."

"Then I insist on walking you home and refuse to take no as an answer," he demands and offers me his arm; I gladly take it.

The ten minutes pass way too quickly. We are standing in front of my building, Executive House Apartments, located across the street from the hospital.

"Well, this is convenient," Rain says while looking towards the hospital.

"It is, and I love it."

I get on my tippy toes and kiss Rain softly on the cheek. "Thank you for getting me home safely."

"Technically, I don't have you to your home yet," he declares as his eyes go dark.

I know what he's suggesting, but I'm not ready to show someone I just met which apartment is mine.

"I think that I've got it from here. My building's security is top of the line," I reply with a smirk.

Disappointment flickers across his face. Just as quickly, his smile reappears.

"Can I please have your number? I want to take you out on an actual date."

"I would love that. Give me your phone."

He removes it from his pocket, unlocks it, and hands it to me. I punch in my number and type in my name.

When saving it, I briefly noticed several of his contacts are numbers, not names. He takes his phone back and places it back into his pocket. He takes my hand into his, pulls it to his soft lips, and gently presses a kiss upon it.

"Thank you again for a delightful evening, Summer. I look forward to spending more time with you."

"I had a wonderful time, Rain. You turned my dismal day around and ended it on a positive note. I, too, look forward to seeing you again."

Our easy conversation during our time together is ending a bit awkward.

"Goodnight, Rain."

"Goodnight, Summer."

I can feel Rain watching me as I open the door to the lobby. I turn and give him a smile and a wave before entering my building, totally unaware that Rain considers me his next girl.