"It's freezing out there." I gripped Jeremy's hand through our gloves and snuggled closer to him. "Let's just get a sandwich and soup at that cute little bistro over there. There's no way I'm eating in the park."

"Where is your sense of adventure?" He smiled down at me, setting the butterflies in my stomach dancing around. How in the world a handsome man like him could like a simple girl like me was a mystery, but I wasn't going to fight it. I couldn't. I'd wanted him too long.

"In the bedroom," I replied very matter of factly.

He laughed and released my hand to pull me closer. "You're too sexy for your own good, Angel."

"Yeah?" I wrapped my arm around his lower back and snuggled against him. "When do I get to see Austin again, Jer?"

"Soon." He smiled down at me. "I'll set something up. I want to take it slow with him. I haven't dated since Laila died."

"So, he doesn't know about all the blind dates your mom sends you on? I mean, you haven't had any of them make it past the date phase so that they meet your family?"

"Hell, no. Have you seen the women my mother sets me up with?" He laughed and leaned over to kiss the side of my head as we walked up the bistro. He released me and opened the door. "Let me tell you some of these stories over lunch."

I laughed. "I'd love that."

"I bet you would." He popped my butt playfully and moved up behind me in line. "Bad girl."

"Only for you," I mumbled and wrapped my arms around his arms as he held me tightly from behind. The warmth of being in his arms was everything I thought it would be and then some. The sound of his mother's voice filled my head, and I thought about telling him about my brief conversation with her.

She didn't like me. I didn't have to analyze it. She'd been really blunt at Thanksgiving.

"Bailey, right?" His mother gave me the once over as she tilted her head to the side. The look on her face was less than pleasant, almost like she'd eaten a lemon.

"Yes, ma'am." I forced a smile.

"I don't know what you're doing here, but I hope it's just because you're Rhys's little sister and you needed a place to be for the holidays." She pursed her lips as her eyes darkened.

"Um... Yes?" She'd caught me off-guard. I'd always been more than good enough for my own family, but it was odd standing there feeling like less than for Jeremy's mother.

"You do realize that Jeremy isn't interested in anyone under the age of thirty, right? He's looking for a mother for Austin, not a part-time girlfriend to fix his male yearnings."

"Of course." I reached up and brushed my hand over the top of my head. "I'm just a friend."

"Good. Keep it that way." She turned and busied herself with the kitchen as I stood there in mild shock. It took me a second to get my legs working so I could get the fuck out of the kitchen and away from her.

"Miss?" The guy at the counter smiled. "You ready to order?"

"Baby?" Jeremy leaned around and smiled at me. "You okay?"

"Oh yeah. I'm good." I moved up and ordered before pulling out my check card.

"Not a chance." Jeremy pushed my hand away as I went to give the guy my card. "You don't pay when I'm here. Did your parents not raise you right, girl?"

I smiled and rolled my eyes before walking over and finding a booth. I sat down and let out a short sigh. Jeremy's mother did not approve of me, though I'd done nothing to deserve it. I couldn't help that I was six years younger than him, which didn't seem like that big of an age gap the more I thought about it.

"Hey. What's up with you?" He handed me a drink and moved to the other side of the booth. "You went from being here with me to lost in your head. Talk to me."

"No. I'm good." I took the cup and took a small sip. "Tell me about your family, Jer. I know you have Nina and your mother, but where's your dad? Rhys and I never really talked about your personal life or anything. I want to know about you."

"Yeah, sure." He glanced down at his drink and smiled. "My dad was everything. So fun and full of life. My mom is a bit of a rich sourpuss at times, but my dad was all fun and games."

"But your dad was the only one that made all the money in your family, right? I remember Rhys telling me that your mom stayed home." I smiled as Jeremy looked up. His warm brown eyes drew me in deep, and I wanted to move to the other side of the table. "He was jealous. You know both of our parents worked all the time, so we had to fend for ourselves."

"I was lucky that Dad made it in business." He nodded. "Mom stayed home and kept the house and watched after us, but she came from big money. Her family owns billions of dollars of real estate in Europe and Greece."

"Oh. That makes sense." I sat back as the server delivered our sandwich/soup combos. "So your dad grew up wealthy too?"

"No." Jeremy picked up his spoon and smiled at me. "You praying or am I?"

"Um. You." I bowed my head, a little surprised by his desire to pray. Was he religious?

He went through a short, but beautiful blessing. The sound of his deep voice talking to God was a little much for me. It pushed my desire to know him more, to be loved by him, to belong to him a little farther along.

"So my dad was a scrapper," he started. "Born in the lower middle class and had to earn everything he got. He was smart as hell and figured out how to create a business selling a specialized pipe to water companies." He shrugged. "When he died, he'd amassed a few billion dollars in wealth through various properties, his company, and investments."

"Oh. Wow." I leaned over and blew on my soup. "I had no idea it was to that level."

"Yeah, but I told my mom and Nina that I don't want any of that money."

"Why not?" I took a small bite of my soup and watched him. Money was the least of my concerns. It was in abundance everywhere, but it took a toll on those who went after it with fervor. I wasn't interested in paying the price it demanded. So I lived my simple life, as did my parents.

"I don't know. Maybe one day if my wife wants to have some of the finer things in life, I'll consider taking my inheritance, but I don't need it right now, and I don't want Austin growing up like mom did." He locked eyes with me. For a moment it felt like he was inviting me into that future.

I love you sat on the tip of my tongue.

"I see." I glanced down at my soup. "Your mother is trying to find you a wife then? I mean, with all of these random dates and stuff."

He chuckled. "Yes, but I won't be going on anymore, obviously. I have you." He reached across the table and squeezed my hand. "I had a really big fire today that I had to put out. There were several times that I had to run back into the building to save someone, and I couldn't get you off my mind."

"Cause I'm hot?" I crinkled my nose as he laughed.

"Oh, Lord. You are fucking hot, but we're going to have to work on your humor."

"Hey!" I smiled and pulled my hand back as he released it. "Thank you though. For telling me that."

"Tell me about the paint brushes I saw in the living room while I was making love to you a little while ago." He licked the side of his mouth as his eyes darkened just a little.

A lusty shiver raced through me. "Really? You're going to turn me on in a sandwich shop?"

"Baby, I'm going to work at turning you on in every place we go together." He lifted both of his eyebrows. "There's a small bathroom in the back if you need some help with-"

"I'm good!" My cheeks burned with embarrassment as I gave a nervous laugh and picked up my sandwich. "I love painting, but I suck at it." I shrugged. "It's been a hobby since I was little. My mom painted."

"Nice. I want to see some of your stuff, Bailey."

"No way." I shook my head and took a big bite of my sandwich.

"Hey." His expression softened. "I want in, okay? Not just into your body or your heart." He reached back over and intertwined his fingers with mine. "I want into your life."

My heart swelled in my chest, and it suddenly seemed so damn hard to get enough air into my lungs.

"Okay," I whispered and took another bite of my sandwich. We stared at each other, making small talk as we finished the meal. I had no doubt at all that this was what love felt like.

It was pure and sweet, sexy and wicked. It left me breathless and scared as hell to take another step forward.

"You ready to check out the art museum?" He wrapped an arm around my shoulders as we walked toward the gallery. Snow started to fall from above us in large flakes as we moved out onto the sidewalk.

I paused and lifted my face as I closed my eyes. "Yes, I'm ready. Just a sec."

He laughed. "So... wait or go?"

"Wait, then go?" I breathed in deeply. "I love the snow so much. It's refreshing."

Strong arms wrapped around me tightly. "So is being with you. I never thought I could move on from Laila, but there's a spark of hope inside of me."

"You loved her deeply, didn't you?" I put my hands on his forearms and locked gazes with him.

"I did. The day she died, everything changed. I kept thinking that the only way to set it right would be to die beside her." His expression tightened, and the pain on his face caused tears to blur my vision. "But I had Austin, you know?"

"Yeah. I'm glad you did." I moved farther into his arms and kissed his chin as he continued.

"I was a bastard though. I went into every blazing building I could in hopes of finding her ghost there, or maybe letting an accident take me out of my misery. As much as I wanted to live for Aus, it got harder and harder the lonelier life got." He reached down and brushed my tears away as they started to drop. "And then Mom with her stupid dating shit."

I smiled as he snorted and chuckled. "She was only trying to help."

"I know, and I went with it because of that, but no one was like Laila. That deep burning desire that used to live inside of me to get home to her, to hold her, to just be around her. It seemed like that feeling only belonged to her, which leaves me where now that she's gone?"

I reached up and cupped the side of his face. "I want to make it better for you."

He smiled and kissed my palm. "That was how I felt up until about a month ago."

More tears for me. "And then?" I squeaked out.

"Then I walked into a shit-hole of a restaurant in search of the date from hell, and this sexy little bartender was there. Damn, she was fine."

I laughed and pulled my hands down to rest on his chest. "It's all about that ass, hm?"

"It started that way." He brushed his nose by mine. "But then I realized who you were, and everything changed. I could trust you from the start. I know your heart. It takes so many factors out of the way, you know?"

"Don't make me fall deeper in love with you, Jer. I've wanted you all my life." I trembled against him as the wind picked up. "If this doesn't work, the fall is already too far for me."

"Nothing is going to stop this thing between us but me and you." He kissed me a few times. "And I'm willing to go all in."

I pressed my lips to his as someone honked beside us.

"Hey! Fancy meeting you here!" Ellen's voice filled up the space around us. "Get in. It's about to start snowing like crazy. I'll drive you crazy kids to wherever you're going."

"Saved by the bell." Jeremy opened the front door and smiled over at me. "Get in, beautiful. Let's finish our date and get back home."

"Or we could just go home?" I wagged my eyebrows and got into the car.

"Not a chance." He closed it behind me and got in the back.

I closed my eyes, and he and Ellen chatted it up on our way over to the Museum. Nothing could stand in the way of our love growing but him or me. Wrong.

His mother could, and something told me that she most certainly would.