Later that evening, I picked Lindsey up from her apartment and brought her back to my house. I was excited about making dinner and giving her my surprise.

  As we walked in the door, she stopped suddenly. “Oh, here’s that picture you wanted to see of me with pink hair.” She rustled through her purse and pulled it out.

  I looked at it and smiled. “You were in high school here? You were adorable.”

  “Thanks. I was going for the rebellious look, but it didn’t really fit me, did it?”

  “Not at all. But that’s a good thing. I like you just the way you are.” I held up a hand. “Hold on. I think I know where the alligator picture is.” I ran upstairs and retrieved it from an office drawer and then brought it back to her.

  “Okay, I never thought I’d say this,” she said, “but the alligator is kind of cute. I love baby animals.”

  “So, can you picture yourself holding one in the future?”

  “No. It may be cute but…no.”

  I laughed. “Never say never.”

  “In this case, I’m pretty confident I will never hold a reptile.”

  “We’ll see.” I held back a smile. “Hey, are you hungry?”

  “Starved.”

  “Good. Let me get started on dinner.”

  We headed to the kitchen, and I gestured for her to take a seat at the breakfast table while I chopped green onions for a salad.

  “Can I help with anything?” she asked.

  “Nope. I’ve got it.” I lifted the green onions onto the blade of my knife and dumped them into the salad bowl full of spinach leaves.

  “I can’t believe you cook.”

  I cracked a smile. “Why? Because I’m a guy?”

  “No, because you have enough money to hire someone to do it for you.”

  I shrugged. “Cooking relaxes me, actually. I don’t do it all the time, and most of what I make is pretty basic, but it’s one of the things that puts me in a good mood after a long day.”

  “I wish I could say the same. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate being in the kitchen or anything, but it’s not something I love.” She inhaled. “It smells delicious by the way.”

  “Good. We’re having spaghetti, but I promise it’s not sauce from a can.”

  She put her hands up in the air. “Hey, you can make it from a can if you want. I won’t have a problem.”

  “Believe it or not, it’s not that difficult to make your own sauce.”

  “Are you sure I can’t help you? I feel useless sitting here while you do all the work.”

  “Well, if you want, you can chop mushrooms for the salad.”

  She joined me at the kitchen island, and I handed her a cutting board and knife. “Chop these mushrooms and put them in the bowl when you’re done.”

  She immediately began chopping like a pro.

  “Wow. You do that like you mean business.”

  She laughed. “It comes from working at a restaurant. The faster I move, the sooner it gets done.”

  “Did you always know you’d work at your family’s restaurant?”

  Her expression tightened, and I knew I’d hit a sore spot. “Mom and Dad always encouraged me towards restaurant management. They said it was a sure thing since I would inherit from them.” She kept her gaze trained on her task. “And they were right. Business is good. It is a sure thing.”

  As I watched her closely, something tugged at my heart. She was used to settling, used to doing what others wanted. It was just a gut feeling I had. “If managing the restaurant wasn’t an issue, what would you do?”

  She looked up in surprise. “But it is an issue.”

  “Just pretend it’s not. If you could do anything you wanted, what would it be?”

  She bit down on her bottom lip and considered. “Well, I know I told you this on our second date, but I used to want to be a paramedic. Over the years, I’ve heard it’s a high-stress job. That wouldn’t suit my lifestyle, but I’d love to become a nurse instead.”

  I nodded. “I know we spoke about this before, but maybe you should tell your parents. They wouldn’t want you to just settle.”

  She lifted a shoulder and glanced away. “Life is about settling. We can’t always have what we want.”

  “Is that how you feel? That you’re settling by dating me?”

  She looked at me startled. “No. Are you kidding? You’re the first person I’ve ever dated where I didn’t feel that way. I’m shocked you’d even think that.”

  “I haven’t let my mind go there yet. Just asking.” I smiled to reassure her. “Just trying to get a sense of how you feel about me.”

  She picked up the mushrooms and placed them into the bowl. “I’m surprised you haven’t figured that out already. It seems obvious to me. The day you came to pick me up for our first date, I stared at you like a love-struck puppy. I was completely out of my element when it came to you.”

  Her words washed through me like a warm sunny day. She was so open—so honest, and it didn’t feel like she had an agenda behind the words. I was starting to fall for her, and I had a feeling she was falling for me as well.

  A timer went off, and I checked the spaghetti noodles. “This is done. We can bring everything to the table.”

  For the next twenty minutes, we ate and talked about church and family and what we’d been learning in God’s Word. The more I got to know Lindsey, the more I saw what a rare woman she was. It was then that I realized she hadn’t settled. Not at all. She was used to putting others’ needs before her own, and that didn’t make her a doormat. It made her one of the kindest, sweetest, genuine women I’d ever met. I decided at that moment that I’d do whatever I could to support her dreams.

  We finished eating and then brought the dishes to the sink.

  “We can leave all this here. I’ll finish it up later,” I said.

  “No way. You cooked. Let me at least do the dishes.”

  “Nope. You’re a guest. Guests don’t do dishes.”

  She put a hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes. “Hopefully, I’m more than just a guest.”

  I laughed. “When you put it that way…”

  “I won’t be able to rest until we take care of these dishes.” She had a look on her face that said she wasn’t kidding around.

  “All right. We’ll do them together.”

  She rinsed the dishes while I stacked them in the dishwasher.

  “Hey, can I ask you something?” she asked.

  “Sure, go ahead.”

  “Not to bring up a negative subject, but there’s something that I’d like to know.”

  “All right, shoot.”

  “I believe you weren’t hanging out with Brittany like she said, but did you ever have feelings for her?” The corners of her mouth dipped down the slightest bit.

  “Never.”

  “Never?” she asked, doubtfully.

  I frowned. “Why do you sound so surprised?”

  “Because she’s beautiful. It’s hard to believe you’ve never thought—”

  “She’s Allen’s girlfriend, so I’ve never considered her that way before. But even if she were available, I still wouldn’t be interested. I’ve observed her enough over the years, and she and I don’t have much in common.” I rearranged the plates in the dishwasher. “I know what I want, and she’s not it.”

  “And what do you want?”

  “A woman who loves the Lord and cares about her family above all else. Someone real. Someone who’s not afraid to let her hair down and be herself.” I stopped what I was doing and met her gaze. “I want to be with a woman who would stick by my side, even if I lost everything.”

  Her eyes misted. “That was beautiful. I wish I could record you and listen to it over and over again.”

  That struck me as funny, but I didn’t smile because her expression was serious. It made me realize how much she cared. “I’d be happy to oblige if you want.”

  She flashed a lopsided grin. “You’d actually do that for me, wouldn’t you?”

  I nodded.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t make you. Just knowing you would is enough.”

  We stared at each other for a long moment, and my pulse increased. I leaned down and kissed her gently, tenderly, just for a few seconds. Her lips were soft and sweet. Everything about her was sweet. Her breath caught when I pulled away.

  She smiled, and it lit up her entire face. “That was unexpected.”

  “Good. Don’t want you thinking I’m predictable. Now, on to that surprise I told you about.”

  She held two fingers to her lips like her thoughts were still on the kiss. “Ohhh, I can’t wait. What is it?”

  I led her to the living room and gestured for her to have a seat on the couch. After setting up the Blu-ray, I pulled the sleeve jacket of The City Nurses and held it up. “I got a copy of the next three episodes.”

  She squealed and then placed both hands over her mouth like she couldn’t believe it. “How did you get this? They haven’t released those episodes yet.”

  “I did my research and found out who the producer is. After that, I called him up and…money talks.”

  “Gray, that was so sweet of you.” Her eyes misted again. “It was a very thoughtful thing for you to do. I love this show.”

  “So, I did well?”

  “Yes, it’s perfect.” She got up and gave me a hug. “I can’t believe you remembered I like this.”

  “Do you want to watch an episode?”

  She laughed. “Sorry, but I’m not leaving until we see all three.”

  I grinned. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  Chapter 16

  Lindsey

  Several weeks passed, and, even though Destiny and I weren’t on the best of terms, things had calmed down a little. Jason disappeared from both of our lives—and that was a good thing. She finally started talking to me again during our Sunday dinners, and Aunt Marsha had stopped making public comparisons of the two of us. Still, our relationship hadn’t completely gone back to normal, and that saddened me. Destiny had hurt me in more ways than one, but she was family and I loved her. I just wanted the tension to disappear.

  It was a Sunday evening, and I was putting on a coat of red lipstick that matched my red sleeveless dress when I heard the doorbell ring. Taking one last glance at myself in the mirror, I smiled. Tonight was the night. I’d finally mustered up the courage to invite Gray to come to Sunday dinner to meet the rest of my family.

  Maybe I was ready to overcome this hurdle because Gray had made me feel secure about his feelings for me, or perhaps it was that I’d grown enough to realize I had a lot to offer and didn’t need to compete with Destiny anymore. Whatever the reason, I wanted this to happen. If Gray was going to remain an important person in my life, he needed to meet my family.

  Despite my newfound confidence, I hadn’t told him what happened with Jason or Ethan. A small part of me wondered if I’d ever find a man who preferred me over Destiny, and I saw it as a test. An opportunity to prove one way or another if Gray was the man for me. If he got through this dinner without falling for Destiny, he was a keeper.

  Okay, maybe I’d oversimplified it a little.

  But still, I needed to know how they would interact. And for the record, I really believed he would continue being the man I had come to look up to and admire. He had integrity and character, and I didn’t expect that to go away just because Destiny waltzed into the room.

  I answered the door, and Gray stood before me looking even more handsome than usual in a pair of black slacks and a light blue button-down shirt he’d rolled up to his elbow.

  “Hi.” He grinned as he took me in. “You look beautiful.”

  “Thanks.”

  As we walked to his car, a light breeze carried the scent of his cologne, and it had a woody smell like pine and cedar mixed together. He’d driven a silver Porsche today instead of the truck. I remembered our first date and how I’d thought he owned the black Porsche only to find out we were headed to the pickup truck instead. Funny, he actually did own a sports car after all. He opened the door for me, and I slid in.

  Once we were on the road, he took my hand and interlaced his fingers with mine. We didn’t say anything the entire way to my aunt and uncle’s house. It felt nice to be at the stage where we could sit quietly and not feel the need to talk.

  When we reached the house, Gray parked and turned to me. “This feels monumental somehow. Like a benchmark.”

  If he only knew.

  I nodded, butterflies already lining the inside of my stomach. I wanted to think positive, and I really did believe it would turn out all right, but a thread of anxiety caressed my skin like the sweet promises of an enemy. Letting out a breath, I got out of the car and stiffened my back. It would be fine.

  We walked through the doorway, hand-in-hand, and Mom was the first to greet us. “There you are,” she said with an excited lilt in her voice. “We were just about to put the food on the table.” She hugged me as if we hadn’t just seen each other yesterday, and then she turned to Gray. “It’s so good to see you again. We’ve been looking forward to this day for a while now.”

  Gray took her hand with a wide smile. “The pleasure’s all mine.”

  Warmth flooded over me. He had such a way about him. I could tell Mom thought so too because she looked at him like she was ready to welcome him into the family.

  Something about this felt familiar—too familiar—almost as if we’d done this before. But I knew it was just my mind playing tricks on me.

  “Come meet the rest of the family,” Mom said with nervous excitement. One would have thought she was introducing my fiancé, not my date. Wait. Hadn’t I had similar thoughts before? I shook my head to clear it, hoping my nerves would fall away as well.

  “This is my older sister, Marsha,” Mom said, winking. “Age before beauty.”

  Okay, now I was losing my mind. It felt like I was reliving the day everyone met Jason, but that was stupid. Of course, things were similar. This was my family, and people tended to act in ways that were generally consistent.

  “Nice to meet you,” Aunt Marsha said, shaking Gray’s hand. “What a striking young man you have, Lindsey.” She flashed a knowing grin.

  Goosebumps broke out on my arms, and I forced myself to smile back at her.

  My cousin, Wyatt, stepped forward to shake Gray’s hand. “Hey, man.”

  Gray and Wyatt exchanged glances, respect showing on both of their faces.

  My dad and Uncle Bob came in from the other room, and each spoke with Gray for a few minutes. I couldn’t shake the familiarity of the situation, or the impending doom I felt in my belly like a bad case of food poisoning.

  “Where’s Destiny?” I asked, wanting to get this part over with. My heart picked up speed, and my stomach twisted with the anticipation.

  “Here I am,” she said, running down the stairs in an extremely tight white dress that left little to the imagination. It showed off every curve of her body in a way that screamed look at me. The dress dipped painfully low in the front and the length touched mid-thigh. She walked over to us with a swish of her hips and extended her hand to Gray. “Destiny.”

  Gone was the moody, sullen cousin I’d been dealing with for the past month. Her smile was bright and glowing, and her eyes sparkled with interest.

  Nausea swept over me, and it felt like everything slowed down at that moment. It was as if I was watching Destiny and Gray from somewhere else. Like we were in a movie and every expression, every gesture was being played out before me.

  I glanced at Gray to see his reaction. Surprise registered in his eyes as he took her hand. Oh, no. It was happening again. Her beauty surprised him, threw him off guard. He hadn’t expected that I would have a cousin so gorgeous that her very presence sucked the oxygen out of the room. A sick sensation coiled low in my gut, and I felt bile rising in my throat. A feeling much like despair hung over me like a dark cloud, ready to suffocate me.

  “Nice to meet you,” Gray said, shaking her hand. “Lindsey didn’t tell me you and Wyatt were older. For some reason, when she mentioned her cousins, I pictured younger kids.”

  Destiny winked. “Well, I’m definitely not a child.” She grinned, taking hold of one of his arms. “Man, your forearms are huge.”

  Gray cleared his throat. “I’m on the construction site a lot. Sometimes I join the crew when I have time.”

  “It’s nice to see a man who’s not afraid of a little hard work,” she practically crooned. Stepping closer, she batted her eyes and squeezed his shoulder. “I hope you don’t mind. I just had to see for myself how strong you are.”

  They exchanged a glance, and she gazed into his eyes longer than I was comfortable with. A pained expression crossed Gray’s features. It was unreadable—I didn’t understand what it meant—but it couldn’t be good.

  My entire body broke out in a sweat, and it felt as if my throat had suddenly become paralyzed, making it impossible to swallow. I could barely breathe.

  “Come to the table everyone,” Aunt Marsha said over the hum of voices. She glanced at Destiny, and a look of horror came over her features. She briskly walked over and whispered in Destiny’s ears. The two of them argued about something though I couldn’t make out a word of what they said.

  Gray took my hand and squeezed it. “You okay? You look pale all of a sudden.”

  I glanced up at him and forced a smile. “Yeah, I’m probably just hungry.”

  He looked at me with concern, eyes glistening with sympathy. Was he feeling sorry for me now? Did I seem pathetic next to my better-looking cousin? He smoothed a lock of hair behind my ear, and leaning down, kissed me gently on the cheek. “Have I told you how beautiful you are?”

  My vision blurred with tears, but I glanced down so he wouldn’t see them, and I refused to let them spill. “Yes, when you picked me up.”

  He pulled me in close and kissed the top of my head. Bringing his mouth to my ear, he whispered, “You’re the most beautiful woman in this room.”

  I grimaced. “No, no I’m not.”

  “Hey.” He lifted my chin, so I had to look up at him. “Everyone has their opinions. But in my opinion, there’s no one better than you.”

 

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