Rason & Eliza - Cee Bowerman Page 0,17

and I had sat at the diner talking until they were ready to close for the night. Then we’d walked to the parking lot and talked for at least another two hours with both of us sitting on my trunk while we leaned against the back window and watched the stars.

I’d thought he was going to kiss me before we left, but he didn’t. I hoped it was because he wasn’t sure how I’d react, rather than him not being attracted to me.

I’d talked to him about my family and friends. I had opened up about my hopes and dreams and things that even my last three boyfriends put together didn’t know. He’d shared with me how badly he felt that things with Robin had ended the way they did, but I’d helped him realize that her problems weren’t of his making. She had deeper issues than just jealousy and heartache over their breakup.

He’d admitted to me that he’d noticed me years ago at the bookstore, but just didn’t know how to approach me. I’d admitted that I’d always wanted to talk to him, but I’d never found the courage.

We’d realized that we knew some of the same people, and we talked about our relationship to them. Rason knew my brother and sister and was amazed when I told him that we’d just recently found each other.

He’d asked me if I thought about adopting a child of my own. I said I wanted to have two kids and adopt two more, and he’d nodded as if that sounded like a good idea to him. He told me he’d like to have a daughter and name her Mai after his mom and a boy named Charles after his father. When I’d suggested he could name a daughter Charlotte and call her Charlie in honor of his dad, he’d laughed and told me that was a great idea.

We’d made plans to get together this evening after work for dinner and then go to his house. We needed to go over the books I’d found for him so we could get his vines to bear fruit before it was too late for his mom to use it for her holiday celebration.

He’d told me quite a bit about his parents and how his house was a mixture of his mom’s culture and his dad’s easy going personality. I’d tried hard not to cry when I talked about losing my dad a year ago and then cried anyway when he reached out and touched my face with his eyes full of sympathy.

After watching him from afar for years, I’d fallen head over heels for the man in the span of just one evening. I hoped with all my heart he’d started to feel something a little like that for me too.

“And you know what happened then?” Mom asked, yanking me out of my thoughts.

“What?”

“The detective married her and then realized she’d actually committed the crime!”

“Did he divorce her?”

“No.” My mom sighed. “He was too in love, I guess. He did turn her in though. The epilogue said he quit his job and moved closer to the prison where she was serving her time so he could visit.”

“That’s some dedication right there. At least he’s safe from the disposal, I guess.”

“True, but I don’t understand how she did it. My disposal gets clogged when I try to put potato peels down it. Maybe I should call a plumber.”

“And tell him you want a disposal that can get rid of a body? Really, Mom? You and Mesha need to get together about this topic..”

I could see on Mom’s face that her wheels were turning. I just shook my head when she asked, “Do you think she got the idea out of a book?”

◆◆◆

The doorbell rang and I jumped as if I’d been electrocuted. He was here! I wasn’t ready!

I sprinted down the hall, vaulted over Morris, my orange tabby who thought the best place to nap was stretched out across the hallway, and then skidded to a halt in front of my door. I took a deep, cleansing breath as I looked out the peephole to make sure it was Rason.

It was him. And he looked so good. He was wearing a baseball cap, and sunglasses. He looked at the peephole for a second and then glanced around before he looked back.

I thought about what my mom said this morning and realized this is probably what it was like to swoon over a man.

Rason was definitely swoonworthy.

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