Rachel was ready when Adiel came by for her Saturday afternoon. She noticed that he looked relaxed and even more handsome than ever. He was wearing a hunter green button-down shirt and faded jeans and his dark wavy hair against the rich green of his shirt took her breath away for a moment. When he saw her he smiled and she felt goosebumps on her arms. What was wrong with her? It was just Adiel and it was the middle of the day. It had been a strange week though, to put it mildly.

“Did you do anything fun last night?” he asked as they drove toward the lake.

“I went out with Cameron and her friend Ashley. We made the rounds along Main Street and ended up at Figs. It was a fun night, but a little weird too. People came up to me everywhere we went to tell me how much they love the show.”

“Did you get any more requests for autographs?” He sounded amused.

“Yes! Five different people and one of them was one of my former customers from the cafe. How weird is that?”

Adiel laughed. “I’m not surprised.”

“I know. You did tell me it would happen. What about you, did you do anything fun?”

“I went over to Ben’s for game night. He had a bunch of guys over to play poker.”

“That sounds like fun. How did you do?”

“I’m not very good at poker. Which is probably why they always invite me. It’s always a good time though.”

Adiel pulled up next to Bryan’s truck and they walked over to his office. Bryan came out to greet them and led them to the two homes along the water that were available for rent.

“These are brand new, and available immediately. The market has been a little soft for the higher end homes, so I’m open to renting short-term or even with an option to buy. I’ll unlock both of them and leave you to wander around. I’ll be right outside if you have any questions.”

He unlocked the first house and they went in.

“It smells new,” Rachel said as she walked toward the white kitchen with it’s gleaming subway tile backsplash, marble counter tops and stainless steel appliances. There was an L-shaped center island that faced the lake. A six burner gas stove sat in the middle of the island, so you could cook and watch the water ripple on the lake at the same time.

“I love this,” Rachel said as she ran her hand over the cool, smooth marble of the island.

“It’s pretty slick,” Adiel agreed. He walked on into the living room/family room which was just through the kitchen and also faced the lake. It was a large, roomy space, but still had a cozy feel to it. There were three big bedrooms upstairs and a loft area that could be used for an office. There was also a full walkout basement with a patio. It was a great house with lots of usable space but not too big. Although it did seem big for one person, Rachel supposed.

They went to look at the second house and it was just as nice and a little bigger, with four bedrooms. The layout downstairs was almost identical and the basement was finished.

“I could fit a pool table down here or even put a big screen TV on that wall.”

“You could have a man cave. Though your whole house could be a man cave.”

Adiel laughed. “That’s true.”

When they finished touring the house, they went outside and found Bryan sitting on the dock, staring out at the water. He turned when he heard their footsteps and stood up.

“What did you think?”

“They’re both amazing. I definitely want one of them, I’m just not sure which one.”

“Fantastic. Why don’t you give me a call early next week and we can go from there?”

“Sounds good.”

“Are you in a hurry to get home?” Adiel asked as they drove away from the lake.

“No, what did you have in mind?”

“Well, you might laugh at this. But I went fishing this morning and caught a big striped bass. It’s all cleaned and ready to cook but it’s a lot of fish for one person. Want to join me for dinner? I’ve got a good indie film lined up to watch. We can discuss it after and see if we agree.”

It sounded like the perfect night to Rachel. “I’d love that. Do you need help cooking the fish?”

“Do you know how to cook fish?”

“No, not really. Ok, I’ve actually never cooked it. But it can’t be that hard right?”

“I was just going to keep it simple and throw it on the grill. How about you mix the salad? I’ve got one of those bags of lettuce, and you can just toss it in a bowl.”

“I think I can handle that.”

It was still early when they got to the Copper Cottage, so they decided to watch the movie first, then worry about dinner. Rachel settled comfortably in one corner of the comfy leather sofa and Adiel sat on the opposite side. He turned the movie on and they spent the next hour and a half caught up in an interesting and somewhat controversial drama with a twist at the end that neither one of them saw coming. So they had a lot to talk about as they cooked dinner.

Once everything was ready, they took their plates outside to the porch and ate on the two rockers. The fish was cooked perfectly and was flaky and light. Adiel had a bottle of white wine that he opened and they both had a glass while they enjoyed sitting outside and watching people go by and leaves rustling in the breeze.

“I still can’t get over how peaceful it is here. Night and day difference from L.A.”

“You’re still not homesick?” she teased him.

“Not even a little bit. Honestly, I don’t miss anything about L. A. I’d be fine if this show goes for ten years or more. It almost feels like home here.”

He sounded surprised to say it, but Rachel understood. Riston often had that effect on people. It was a beautiful place to live. Idyllic in many ways with the cute small town environment where it often seemed like everyone really did know just about everyone in town. Rachel knew if she ever had to move to L. A., that she would miss Riston terribly.

“You look miles away. What are you thinking about?” Adiel asked.

“Kind of the same thing. Just how much I love it here. I’m feeling very lucky that I get to do this here.”

“Me too. Are you all set with your plate? Do you want any more?”

“No, I’m stuffed. It was so good though.” Adiel took their plates inside and Rachel helped him to clean up and put the leftovers away.

“It’s still early. Are you up for one more movie? And a little more wine?’

Rachel held out her glass. “Why not? It’s Saturday night. We can sleep in tomorrow, right?”

Adiel added a little more wine to both of their glasses and they went back into the living room. This time Rachel plopped in the middle of the sofa and stretched her feet out onto the ottoman. Adiel did the same and set his wine on the table next to them.

“So, what are we watching?” Rachel asked.

“It’s a director’s cut of a new film that won’t be out until the Christmas season.”

“Really? That sounds exciting? Is a friend involved with the film?”

“Yes. One of my film school buddies is the director and supposedly there’s already some Oscar buzz.”

“Wow.”

Adiel dimmed the lights and popped the CD in the DVD player. The movie was excellent but very suspenseful and Rachel was on the edge of her seat almost the entire time. She was a jumpy movie watcher and more than once she grabbed Adiel’s arm or leg when she was startled. Each time he laughed and then finally put his arm around her and pulled her close to him. That startled her too at first but then she relaxed and leaned into him several times instead of jumping after that.

Toward the end of the movie as the credits rolled Rachel felt goosebumps again as Adiel lightly ran his thumb down her arm, tracing small circles. It was almost as if he was doing it without realizing it and when the movie stopped, his thumb did too and Rachel missed his touch. She leaned into him a bit more and turned her face toward his and looked him in the eyes and what she saw there made her shiver. He was looking back at her in the same way. Wordlessly he leaned toward her and touched his lips against hers. His kiss was tentative at first but when she kissed him back, he pulled her closer and kissed her throughly, long and slow and when he finally pulled back, they were both breathless.

“Well, that was…um, that was pretty amazing,” he said.

Rachel smiled and pulled him closer. “It was. Let’s do it again.” And this time she kissed him first. They kissed for a long while until they both realized that they needed to stop and call it a night. Adiel held her hand as they walked outside. When they reached her house, he walked her to her door and kissed her again.

“Spend the day with me tomorrow?” he asked.

She nodded and felt like she was walking on air as she stepped inside and fell into bed. Kissing Adiel was every bit as good as she’d dreamed it would be and she couldn’t wait to do it again.