M

y plan had always been to take her to Mo’s for lunch, but I expected more of a fight in doing so. When I’d found her in her office it was clear she was exhausted. Her normally clear eyes were bloodshot, and I could tell there were dark circles hidden underneath her makeup.

If I’d had my way, I would have taken her right back to her condo and made her go to sleep, but I knew that would never fly. So, the fact that she fell asleep in my truck was kind of perfect.

The highway to Seaside was a straight shot and since it was a Tuesday afternoon in the middle of spring, there was no traffic, so it was smooth driving all the way there. In fact, I arrived in the beach town and then continued driving around for another hour, making laps up and down the coast just to get her as much sleep as I could. But eventually my stomach growled so loudly I was afraid it would wake her up.

As soon as I put the truck in park and turned off the ignition, Rose roused.

“Oh my God,” she said sleepily. “Did I really fall asleep in your truck?”

“Indeed. But you needed the nap. Feel better?”

“Yeah,” she replied as she sat up slowly and adjusted her skirt. She flipped down the visor and checked her hair. She looked perfect to me, but I was sure she probably saw something entirely different.

“I guess I just needed a twenty-minute power nap.”

I let out a laugh. “You were asleep for almost three hours.”

“What?” she cried. Her frantic gaze slammed into me and then she looked out the window of the truck, apparently for the first time. “Is that the ocean?”

I had to laugh at how surprised she was.

“The Pacific, the last time I checked.”

“You drove me to the beach?”

“I probably would have told you that’s where we were going, if you hadn’t fallen asleep.”

“Probably?”

“Okay, maybe not. I figured I could get far enough out of town before you really started asking questions and by then we’d be closer to the beach than the city so there’d be no point in turning back.”

“This was the plan all along? To kidnap me?”

“This wasn’t an abduction, sweetheart. I told you we were going to get the best seafood around.”

“I thought ‘around’ meant by the river. You know, twenty minutes from my office.”

“You have to admit, food at the coast is better than food at the river.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never been to the coast,” she replied, irritation heavy in her tone.

“You’ve never been to the coast?”

She exhaled loudly and turned to me again.

“No. I grew up in Arizona. Landlocked. We never traveled. Not far, anyway. And I’ve never taken the time to drive to the beach since I’ve lived in Oregon.”

“But it’s an hour and a half away.”

“I realize that. I don’t have a car. I’m a busy woman. It wasn’t high on my priority list.”

“You’ve got a lot of lists, don’t you?”

My words seemed to catch her off guard.

“Maybe,” she replied, her voice softer than it had been just moments before.

“Tell you what, whatever list you’ve got me on, throw it away.”

“What?”

“I know you’ve categorized me already. Put me on some list. Do not date. Do not fuck. Do not associate. I don’t know which, but I know you’ve already written me off.”

“Aiden,” she said, her tone apologetic and soft. “It’s not you—ˮ

“Oh, I know it’s not me. If it were up to me, I would have already had you. We’d be past this strange game of denial you like playing. So today, I want you to just forget your lists and let me be in charge.”

“I don’t have you on a list,” she argued lamely.

“Yes, you do, sweetheart.”

“Why do you always call me that?”

“Because it bothers you. And because I’m hoping if I call you that enough, eventually you’ll let me. Maybe even one day like it.”

She didn’t respond, so I continued.

“So, give me the rest of today. Just today. Let me take over and show you how great it can be to not be tied to some arbitrary list of dos and don’ts.”

I held her gaze and could see the deliberation in her eyes. She wanted to give in, to let me take over, but something told me handing over the reins was hard for her. She needed to be in control, for whatever reason. But maybe, if I got her to let go a little, it would make her want to hold on a little too.

“Fine,” she finally said on a breath, pretending like she was doing me a favor. “You have the rest of the day.”

“Okay, first order of business is lunch. You hungry?”

“Promise you won’t order for me?”

“I’ll let you order, but if you make a bad choice I have the option to override.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

Rose managed to order one of the best items on the menu, so I didn’t scold her, but I did enjoy watching her stare at the ocean.

Mo’s was an Oregon coast staple and the location we were at had huge picture windows along the west wall and we got a great table.

“It’s hard to believe there’s someone who’s never seen the ocean.”

“Well, believe it. Have you ever seen the Grand Canyon?”

“Can’t say that I have,” I admitted.

“It’s regional. If you’d lived in Arizona and hadn’t been to the Grand Canyon, that would be weird. So, I guess I understand what you’re saying.” She looked out at the ocean again, then said quietly, “It’s so big. Hard to wrap my mind around it.”

“That’s what they all say,” I said, smirking.

When she gave me a withering look, I winked at her. Luckily, she laughed.

“So, why Portland?” I asked when my crab melt was dropped off at our table. Her clam chowder looked just as good as I knew it would be.

“What do you mean?”

“What brought you here?”

“It’s a growing metropolis. There didn’t seem to be a very strong presence of established event planners, and I saw an opportunity.”

“Do you go back to Arizona often?”

“Not really. I don’t travel well.”

I had to laugh at her wording. “What in the world does that mean?”

“I am a terrible flier. Planes freak me out, so I only travel when necessary.”

“Why don’t you like to fly? It’s safer than driving.”

“No, that’s not true.”

“It is true. More people die in car crashes than planes crashes. By far.”

“Well, sure, but that’s simply because there are more cars than planes. Plus, you could theoretically survive a car crash. In fact, many do. But if you’re in a plane and it crashes, you’re dead.”

“Well, you have a point there.”

“Flying is so, I don’t know, out of my hands. There’s nothing to do to protect yourself. We all know those seatbelts aren’t going to save you. You’re literally putting your life into the hands of one person, hoping they do a good job of flying a plane. A PLANE!” she cried out, obviously very passionate about her hatred for flying.

“Okay, I’ll remember that you don’t like to fly. We can only ever go places you can drive to. Or wait, do you like boats?”

“Are you serious? At least in a plane crash your death would be quick and painless. Drowning is one of my biggest fears.”

“All right,” I said with a laugh. “No boats.”

She relaxed a little, her shoulders coming back down to a normal level, then she did something I’d remember forever.

She laughed.

She laughed and I couldn’t look away from her. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. Grumpy Rose was a sight to behold. Cantankerous and snippy Rose was one I’d gotten to know. But happy, laughing Rose? She was like a siren, calling out to me. The sound of her voice as she laughed, the way her face lit up when she smiled—I wanted to watch her laugh forever.

“Is your sandwich good?” she asked after a moment, still laughing lightly, smiling ever so slightly.

“It’s the best sandwich I’ve ever had,” I answered honestly.

Rose ate all her chowder and a piece of garlic bread, which I considered a victory seeing as how she didn’t mention carbs once. I had an unusual need to feed the woman, watch her enjoy her food. She had glorious curves in all the right places and I wanted her to stay that way. Hell, I’d like her even a little curvier, if it were up to me. I was smart enough to know it never would be.

“Ready to go?” I asked when we were both done.

“I don’t know. Am I?” she asked, smiling.

“I think so.” I dropped some bills on the table and then motioned for her to walk out ahead of me.

“We didn’t discuss one thing about your event in there.”

“Okay, let’s just get this part cleared up. Ready?” I gently grabbed her elbow and turned her to face me.

“Okay,” she said smiling brightly, making every part of me want to pull her closer.

“I’m game for anything. You plan to your heart’s content. Make it classy, fun, and about the cause. I’ll be good with anything you come up with.”

“Okay,” she agreed, even though she sounded a little unsure. “What if you don’t like what I plan?”

“What you described in the truck sounds fantastic.”

I couldn’t help it anymore. I placed my hands on her shoulders and ran them slowly down her arm. My heart sped up when she didn’t pull away.

“I trust you and I know you’re good at your job. If I couldn’t tell on my own, Riley has sung your praises enough for me to figure it out. You do what you do best, and I’ll do my thing. We’ll meet somewhere in the middle.”

“All right,” she whispered. “So, what’s next on the agenda?” She still didn’t pull away.

I looked down at her, letting my eyes trail up and down her body, not shy about it at all.

“First, we need to get you something different to wear.”

“I need different clothes?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I love this look on you, but it’s not exactly appropriate for what I’ve got in mind.”

She narrowed her eyes at me, clearly unhappy with not knowing what our plans were.

“Hey,” I said, laughing. “You promised me a whole day. We’ve barely made it through one meal.”

“Okay.” She sighed, trying to hide a smile.

She climbed into my truck and I shut the door behind her, smiling at the thought of her surrendering that one small part of herself to me.