Dillon moved Jean’s suitcase to his car and drove to the only home he’d ever known. He’d gone away for college, but other than that, he’d lived in this same house his entire life. He parked his car in the garage, trying not to pay attention to her shocked gasp when she saw the house. He knew though. He’d grown up in a life of wealth and privilege, while she’d been shuffled from one foster home to another. They were both orphans, yet their circumstances couldn’t have been more different.

“I’ll carry your things up,” he offered as he got out of the car.

She nodded, biting her lip. She hoped his house wasn’t full of servants, but that’s exactly what she expected of a house this size. “Do you live alone?”

He nodded. “I do. There’s a woman who comes in during the week to clean, and she usually leaves a meal for me. I can cancel that if you want, but then you’re going to have to feed me, because I can burn water.”

“Erin got a chocolatier.”

“Huh?”

“Sorry. My friend Erin was matched to a chocolatier. He even invented a candy for her and named it after her.” She shrugged. “Just thinking about the different matches made by the infamous Dr. Lachele.”

“How well do you know that woman? Is she a bit…balmy?”

She giggled. “Balmy?”

He shrugged. “I have some odd language habits. It comes from living with someone so much older my entire life.”

“I like it. I’ve always liked words like that. I read a lot of historical romance, and they use antiquated words all the time.”

“Romance? Why don’t you strike me as the type to like romance?”

She laughed. “Probably because I’m a stockbroker. We’re known for being boring and serious. Erin got me hooked on them in college.”

“You two seem really close.” He opened the door and guided her inside, seeing the house with fresh eyes. It was huge, and everything had been professionally decorated. It was a good house for entertaining guests. There was even a ballroom that his mother had once “come out” in.

“It’s beautiful,” she said softly, feeling more than a little overwhelmed by the house.

“It’s home.” He led her up the stairs. “I wasn’t sure what to expect, so I cleaned out half of my drawers and my closet, but I also had a guest bedroom prepared.”

She bit her lip, standing in the hallway at the top of the stairs. She took a deep breath, trying to figure out exactly how to respond. “Do you have a preference?”

He smiled. “I’m a man. I want you in my bed every night for the rest of our lives. I’m not going to force you into anything you’re not ready for though.”

“I’m a nervous wreck at the mere thought,” she said, closing her eyes for a moment.

“Then we’ll wait.” He shrugged. “It won’t kill me. Just maim me a little.”

“I’ll do better getting it over with though. Less time to worry about it is good for me.”

He sighed. “I don’t know how I feel about being in the same category as bad medicine, but if you’re offering, I’m accepting.” He pushed open a door at the end of the hall. “This is the master bedroom.”

She stepped into the huge room, her eyes wide. There was a balcony right in front of her, and she walked over and opened the door, stepping out to look over the city. She was glad she’d thought to change from her wedding dress before they had gone out to eat. She now wore a casual spring dress in a mint green. Leaning on the railing, she looked out over the huge garden. “You must have loved playing there when you were a little boy.”

He stepped out beside her, his eyes on her and not on the view. “I did. I often hid and made my nanny try and find me.”

There was a large pool with a small house beside it. “I use the pool house as a guest house now.”

“Have you ever stayed there?”

“After I graduated from college, I lived there. Right up until my uncle got sick about a year ago.”

“How’d he die?” Jean looked up at him curiously.

“Cancer. He was always a smoker, and lung cancer finally got him. He never smoked in the house, because he’d read too much about second-hand smoke, but he’d step outside every night after supper. I always knew he was smoking.” Dillon turned to her. “Do you know he never stopped? He smoked until the day he died. Said it was too late to change when he was already half-dead. I found him in his bed one morning. He died in his sleep.”

She put her hand over his on the railing, offering what little comfort she could. “Did you know he was close?”

“Yeah. We’d called in hospice a couple of weeks before, so there was no doubt he was on his way out.” His eyes were distant as he stared out over the garden. “I miss his cantankerous ways.”

“Cantankerous?”

“He was always griping about something. His generation did everything better. That sort of thing. You know the type.”

“I do. I had a foster father who was that way. The last one actually.”

Dillon turned to her. “How long were you with him?”

“I moved in with them when I was fifteen and stayed until I graduated from high school. His wife was my favorite. She was a grandmotherly-type. Very kind.”

“Are you still in touch with them?”

She nodded. “I send them a Christmas card every year. I called and told them I was getting married, but I knew they wouldn’t be able to come. It’s too far for a weekend.”

“I’d like to meet them one day.”

“I’m sure you will. They’re nice people, and they seemed to truly care about me.” She stepped closer to him, even as she worried he’d reject her. “I’m really nervous about being alone with a man I’ve only known for a few hours, and I’m even more nervous knowing we’re going to be making love tonight. I just felt like you should know that.”

Dillon smiled, looking down at her. “I appreciate that information.” He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. “Do you want the tour of the house?”

She shook her head. “Not right now. Why don’t I put my things away, and we can…I don’t know what we can do? What do you do in the evenings?”

“I read or watch television. I love sports. If you weren’t here, I’d probably be watching the Braves today.”

Jean shrugged. “You watch the Braves, and I’ll read a book. Problem solved.”

He looked at her for a moment. “Seriously? You wouldn’t care if I watched baseball on our wedding night?”

“If you don’t care if I lose myself in a romance novel, I won’t care if you watch baseball. Sounds like a fair deal to me.”

“Very!” He stroked her cheek with the back of one finger. “I think you’re going to be the very best of wives.”

“Because I’m willing to let you watch sports? It gives me a chance to do what I want. I don’t expect you to be all attentive to me, because you just met me. It’s not like we’re a love match.”

“Not yet, anyway.” He leaned down and brushed his lips softly against hers. “I’ve been wanting to do that since the first time I kissed you.”

“Really?” Jean was surprised. She’d never had a boyfriend. She was so shy and withdrawn. No man had ever attempted to kiss her or even really flirted with her. Or if they had, she hadn’t noticed. It was hard for her to think of herself as desirable.

“Why does that surprise you so much?”

She shrugged, shivering as his hands stroked over her shoulders. There was something about his touch that made her knees turn to Jello. “I’ve never really dated.”

“Why not?” He was shocked. She was too pretty to have never been asked out.

“I never had the courage. I know it’s silly. When I was in school, I spent all my time studying. Then after I graduated, I spent all my time working. I’ve met few people I didn’t work with here in Atlanta.”

“How long have you lived here?”

She shrugged. “Not long. A few years.”

He shook his head in disbelief. “You have work friends, though, right?”

“I have people I talk to at work. Does that mean they’re work friends?”

“And you go out and get dinner after work on occasion? Go out and dance?”

“I don’t think stockbrokers go out. I’ve worked sixty hours per week since I moved here. Every minute I’m not at work, I’m doing laundry and studying the market, trying to make sure I have a good understanding of my job. It’s been my whole life.”

“And you’re going to keep doing that now that we’re married?”

“It’s part of the job. I won’t be seen as serious if I stop.”

He sighed. “I don’t want my wife working that much. What happens if you’re not seen as serious?”

“I’m passed over for promotions.” Please tell me I have to stop working so much. I don’t know what I’ll do with my time, but tell me you want me to spend some of it with you.

“Would that break your heart? I can’t imagine never seeing my wife. What about when we have children? Do you even want children?” Until a few hours before he hadn’t been certain he wanted them, but now he knew he did. He’d thought about them a lot since he’d met her.

“It wouldn’t break my heart. I do want children. That’s why I wanted to get married. Maybe not this month, or even this year, but within five years for sure. I can’t imagine anything more fulfilling than raising children.”

“Then you’re willing to cut down on your hours at work?”

“You mean now? Or when children come?”

“I guess when children come.” He was disappointed that she didn’t want to spend more time with him, but maybe that would change as they got to know one another better. He hoped so.

“When children come, I will definitely slow down.” She was sad that he hadn’t wanted her to slow down now, but he didn’t know her well enough to care about what she did with her time. “Why did you decide to contact Dr. Lachele? What made you want to marry?”

He frowned. “I’d really rather not talk about that at the moment, if you don’t mind.” He still felt like Uncle Larry had betrayed him.

“All right.” Feeling like the conversation was over, she turned toward the door to go back inside. “I’m going to unpack my things, and grab my Kindle. Then you can take me to wherever you’re going to watch television, and I’ll read.”

“Sounds good. I’ll wait here for you.” He leaned against the balcony, looking out over the pool. In another month, it would be warm enough to swim there. He wondered if she enjoyed swimming. There were so many things he needed to learn about her yet, and he wasn’t sure how quickly that was going to happen. She was opening up more than he’d expected, considering how shy she’d seemed, but still he felt like she was hiding something.

Jean felt overwhelming sadness wash over her as she put her things away. Not only did he not want her to stop working so much, he wouldn’t tell her why he’d wanted to get married in the first place. She was sure it wasn’t a good idea to start a marriage with secrets, but how could she get him to tell her what he was thinking?

When she finished, she opened the sliding glass door leading out onto the balcony. “I’m finished.”

He stepped back inside and locked the door behind him. “There are three living rooms, but I prefer to watch television in the game room. Uncle Larry thought I needed a place to hang out with my friends, so he had this game room built.” He left the bedroom and led her downstairs and toward the back of the house. “He put it as far from his study as he could, because he didn’t want to hear the noise we made, but he wanted me to be able to bring friends over and have something to do.” He opened the door to a teenage boy’s dream room. “I loved it here. My friends would come over, and we’d play video games or foosball.” He walked to the far side of the room, where there was a lavish television viewing area. “We’d watch movies here.” He sat down on a couch with reclining seats on both ends, putting his feet up.

Jean frowned for a moment, wondering if she should be forward and sit in the middle, or if he’d prefer she sat down on the other end from him. Finally, she decided it would be best just to ask. She didn’t want there to be misunderstandings between them. “Would you rather I sat in the middle or at the other end?”

He looked up at her with surprise. “Where would you rather sit?”

She bit her lip. She wanted to sit close to him, but she didn’t think it was smart for her to just blurt that out. “I’d rather sit in the middle.”

He smiled, taking her hand and pulling her down beside him. “That’s what I’d rather too. Just do what you want to do. There’s no reason to be nervous around me.”

Jean shook her head. “If you think it’s that simple, you don’t know me at all.”

“I think that’s part of our problem. We don’t know each other at all. But we’re going to get there. And I’m going to enjoy every minute of the experience.” He slid his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer against him. “In a few days, you’re going to feel like you’ve known me forever.”

She sighed. If only it were that easy. She wished it was, but she knew herself. It would be awhile before she felt like she could even speak openly with him without being shy. “Do you have plans for tomorrow?”

He shook his head. “Not really. I thought we’d play things by ear. I love to walk on Sundays, so if you’re up for that, it would be nice. Or we can move some of your things over from your place.”

“I don’t have a truck. How will we move things?”

“I’ll call some friends. Have you started packing?”

She nodded. “I already have everything in boxes and ready to move. I’ve moved before, but I’ve never really had furniture or anything. It was more a few boxes of stuff. Now I have a whole household.”

“We’ll get you moved tomorrow afternoon if you want.”

“I have no idea what we’re going to do with my furniture.”

He frowned. They certainly wouldn’t need it. “Are you especially attached to anything?”

“Not at all. I just bought stuff as I could.” What he had was so much nicer. There would be no need for any of it at all.

“Then we’ll call a charity and have them take it away. There are a couple of women’s shelters in town. They’re always needing stuff for women as they’re getting back on their feet. I’ll make a call on Monday and they can have whatever you don’t want.”

“That’s not a bad idea, but I can’t be there during the day to wait for someone to come get it.” Jean hated that she had no flexibility with her schedule at all.

“Don’t worry about that. My life is very flexible. I’ll wait for them.” Dillon pressed a kiss to her forehead. “There are solutions for everything.” He picked up the remote and turned the TV on, immediately getting engrossed in the game.

Jean looked down at her Kindle, reading the book Erin had recommended. It was nice to have a weekend completely free from work. Maybe she could do it again sometime.