After reading Gus' text, my obliterated heart comes back to life. I find the strength to stand and calmly open my door. If Gus is asking me to talk to Rain, he must have a good reason. I know that Gus is very protective of me. He'd never stick up for Rain like this unless he believes Rain.

Rain quickly stands. "Thank God! Summer, please let me explain what you saw at McGrath's."

I don't say a word. I open my door the rest of the way and walk into the kitchen to pour myself a lemon vodka. I shoot it down and make another one feeling Rain's presence behind me. I feel his hand on my shoulder, and shrink away from his touch.

"Shit!" He says before walking to the sectional and sitting down.

I grab a beer for him before following him into the living area. I hand him his beer and notice his swollen eyes; I imagine they match mine. I sit on the opposite side of the couch. He takes a long draw of beer before turning towards me.

"I don't know where to start."

I remain silent.

He takes a deep breath. "The woman that you saw at the bar is one of my clients from Cincinnati."

I raise my eyebrows. Rain was just in Cincinnati. What the hell?

"It's not what you think. I've never slept with Tabitha, ever! However, I made the mistake of flirting with her through the years, and, um, well, I allowed her to have physical contact with me. I never touched her, Summer. I, God, this is hard. It was all about the sale. I'm such an asshole."

I agree.

"This trip was different. The thought of Tabitha touching me made my skin crawl. I did my best to avoid her. She heard me telling another client about McGrath's. She thought that I wouldn't sleep with her because we were always together in a business setting. In her warped mind, she thought seeing me outside of work would change my mind about her."

He closes his eyes for a moment before continuing. "Summer, what you saw tonight was me telling Tabitha that if she was still sitting on that barstool when I returned from the men's room, I was going to call the hospital where she works and report her to human resources."

He scratched his head absentmindedly. "I didn't want to make a scene, so I leaned down and spoke into her ear. She was gone when I came back out. I looked for you, and that's when Gus told me he saw you run out of the door after talking to Tabitha without even paying your bill. I paid your tab and came right here."

He looks at me with a look in his eyes that has my heart questioning everything I saw and felt today. My heart leaps. It's the same look that Jim and Kelsey give each other. The look that I never thought I would ever see.

"Summer, you're it for me. I know that my reputation has you questioning everything about tonight, and I don't blame you. I know that I don't deserve you, but I want you and need you. The last six months have been the best six months of my life. I never knew what men saw in staying with the same woman until I met you. There's been no one else since the night that we met in McGrath's."

I can't stop the tears from streaming down my face.

"Summer, I think I love you."

"You think?" I choke out.

"I have never been in love. I have no clue how it feels. What I do know is that I can't get you out of my mind. Every moment of every day, you're in my thoughts, my dreams."

I notice him inching towards me on the couch.

"Summer, what you do to me, damn woman, I'm completely at your mercy."

Closer.

"My heart comes alive whenever I get near you."

Closer.

"My body reacts just from thinking about you."

Closer.

"My desire to be with you is all-consuming."

Closer.

"Your touch sets me on fire, and only you can quench it."

I feel his breath on my face.

"I think I love you because I don't know what else these feelings could be. It has to be love, right?"

I release the breath that I've been holding and look into his red-rimmed eyes.

"I think I love you, too, Rain."

He smirks. "You think?"

I grin. "My heart fell in love with you, no matter how much I told it not to fall."

He touches my thigh. This time, I don't flinch.

"Rain, I'm so scared. I'm afraid that I won't be enough for you. Today I heard two nurses talking about being with you, and it broke my heart. She's still hoping that you'll call. Then I saw you at the bar with that woman, and I lost my shit."

He pulls me into his arms and kisses the top of my head.

"I can't change my past, Summer. What I can do is be a better man for you—a man who deserves to have you in my future. I've had so many firsts with you and want to experience so many more. You'll always be enough for me. Please don't ever doubt that."

Rain knows how to make you think you're the best thing.

Between the alcohol and my emotional exhaustion, I can no longer keep my eyes open. Right before I fall into a peaceful sleep in Rain's arms, I hear him whisper. "I love you so damn much, Summer. I promise that I'll never give you a reason to doubt me again."

The sun shining through my wall of windows wakes me. I'm in my bed and alone. Did I dream yesterday? I look around my apartment and don't see any signs of Rain.

His words resonate through my mind. Rain Grant loves me, and I love him.
I stretch and crawl out of bed. I walk into my kitchen to start a pot of coffee and notice a note on the counter.

Summer,

First and foremost, I love you. As much as I wanted to wake up in your arms this morning, I could not stay. I have a meeting early in the morning. I want, no, I need to see you after work today. Please say yes. Text me your answer.

Yours forever and always,

Rain

I smile. Mostly because Rain's profession of love last night was not a dream. I find it very hard to grasp the myriad of emotions that I've experienced over the previous twenty-four hours. Jealousy of the nurse, altruism for a woman who ended up being someone with a distorted view of her and Rain's relationship, and Rain confessing his love for me.

I take a deep breath and hold Rain's note close to my heart. I grab my phone and send him a text.

Good morning. I would love to see you after work to give you a proper welcome home.

I hit send and wait for Rain's response. I feel giddy when I see the bubbles appear, knowing that his text is seconds away.

I can't wait. Come to my house right after work. I'll cook dinner.

I laugh and quickly respond.

You're cooking? Should I be worried?

I get an instant response.

Just get your perfect ass to my house after work, brat.

I chuckle.

Okay, okay, I'll be there.

I think for a moment, then add.

Love you!

He's quick to respond.

Love you, too!

My heart jumps and leaps and does all kinds of crazy shit. Calm the hell down, heart. Jeez.

I had a hectic workday. Time flew by. Before I knew it, I was heading to my apartment to change and knew that we'd be relaxing and making up for lost time from Rain being away and my little temper tantrum last night. I had put on a sexy lacy bra and panties this morning. I dressed in leggings and a sweatshirt. Rain had confided in me that he loves my ass in leggings. I also packed an overnight bag wanting to be prepared just in case. I smile to myself.

I texted Rain to let him know that I was leaving my apartment garage. I don't drive much. Everything I need is within walking distance from my home. It's nice to have a reason to drive my sporty red Honda Civic. It's only the third time that I have been to Rain's home, so I pull up my previous destinations on the GPS and select his address. I pull into his driveway twenty minutes later.

I observe Rain running out of his front door before I get a chance to get out of my car. I chuckle at his antics as he slides down his driveway to my car door. He tries to pull it open but is unsuccessful. My doors automatically lock when you put my car into gear. His surprised expression had me doubling over in laughter.

"Come on, Summer, open up!" He pouts.

I reach over and pull my door handle to unlock my door and to put Rain out of his misery. He quickly yanks opens my door and takes my hand. I let him assist me. Once I'm standing, he embraces me. His spicy scent is intoxicating.

Rain sweetly kisses the top of my head. "I have missed you so much."

I hug him tightly. "I've missed you too, Rain. I'm so excited for tonight."

He must have seen my bag in the passenger seat. "You brought an overnight bag?"

"Oh, yes, I did. I just wanted to be prepared. I don't have to stay over," I reply, unable to keep the nervousness out of my voice.

Rain places his hands on my shoulder and pushes me back to look into my eyes. "Summer, Babe, you're welcome to stay here anytime you want. It pleases me to see that you thought to bring a bag. Although, I'm just a bit disappointed that you'll not need my clothes to wear home."

I grin and smack his chest. "Who said that I wasn't going to wear your clothes?"

Rain's eyes brighten, and his brows wiggle with mischief. "Let's get you inside." He leans across the driver's seat and grabs my bag.

He offers me his arm. "Shall we?"

I take his arm and giggle like a schoolgirl who just got the attention of the most popular boy in her class. "We shall."

As soon as I enter, the aroma of dinner permeates my senses. "Rain, what smells so delicious?"

He shrugs. "Spaghetti and meatballs. It is my grandmother's recipe."

He places my bag on the floor by the door and escorts me into his kitchen, where two glasses of red wine are waiting for us.

We each grab a glass. Rain raises his glass. "To first experiences with my first love."

My heart melts like snow on a sunny day. We click our glasses. "

Cheers!"

To say that dinner was amazingly delicious would be a complete understatement. Rain cooked the meatballs to perfection with just the right amount of seasoning, and the tomato sauce was tangy and sweet.

I take my last sip of wine and pat my stuffed belly.

"Rain, that was incredible. Sexy God, hot as hell, and can cook. I hit the damn trifecta!"

He laughs deeply. God, I love this man's laugh.

"Let me at least do the dishes."

He smirks. "I'd rather do the dishes together."

We clear the table and clean up together. Any chance Rain got, he would rub up against my ass, touch my breasts, and kiss me wherever his lips could reach. In turn, I would grab his ass and his manhood every opportunity I got. Cleaning up took longer than it needed with us goofing around. By the time we finished, we were both sexually wound up.

Rain took out a new bottle of wine, and I picked up our glasses. I thought we were going to head into the living room. Instead, Rain made his way to the stairs.

I quickly followed him. "Well, okay then."

We were just about to step onto the first step when Rain's doorbell rang.

I raised my brows. "Did you invite someone to join us?

"No. Wait, you would be into that?"

"Get the door, Rain. I refuse to share you with anyone."

He laughed while he walked towards his door. "A man can dream, Summer!"

He pulls open the door, and his smile immediately drops from his handsome face.

"What the hell are you doing here?"