Like now, when he’d just realized he’d fallen in love for the first time and his dad would never get to meet the woman he loved.

The urge to wake Rain up and tell her he loved her was so strong he had to physically hold himself back from doing it. Rain was skittish and he knew she had her reasons, so he’d be patient. He’d wait for the right time to tell her that he was crazy about her.

A sound in the distance drew his attention. A vibrating noise. Coming from the hallway.

It took him a moment to realize it was his phone in the pocket of the jeans he’d discarded in the hallway last night.

Trying not to wake Rain, Craig slipped out of bed and crept out into the hall. He found his phone and discovered a missed call from his mum.

He shoved on his boxers and jeans and called her back.

“You alright?” he asked quietly.

“Aye, I just haven’t heard from you in a couple of days . . . and well . . . I was a bit worried you’re upset about me and Drew?”

Craig flinched. Her question was just bad timing considering his dad was on his mind. It was strange to think of his mum with some other man, especially knowing how much his dad had loved her, but he also knew it wasn’t fair to begrudge his mum companionship. “Not at all, Mum.”

“Why are you whispering?”

“I’m not whispering. I’m just being quiet.”

“Why?”

He glanced down the hall at Rain’s bedroom door. “Because I’m with the reason you haven’t heard from me in a couple of days.”

“Oh?” She sounded curious and also like she was trying not to sound hopeful.

Craig grinned. “I’ve found her, Mum.”

His mother sucked in her breath and after a few seconds of silence said, “You’re not messing with me?”

“Nope.”

“Craig,” she said excitedly. “That’s wonderful. What’s her name? What does she do? What’s she like? Where did you meet her? When do I get to meet her?”

He laughed softly so as not to wake Rain and wandered into the living room where she’d have less chance of hearing him if she was awake. “Her name is Rain Alexander. She owns her own clothing company. She’s amazing, she makes me laugh, and she’s absolutely stunning. I met her at work a few weeks ago. And she’s a wee bit shy about getting serious with me because she’s been hurt in the past so I’m taking it slow, which means it’ll be a while yet before you meet her. But as soon as she’s ready I’ll bring her around for dinner.”

“You sound happy,” his mum said, and he heard the tenderness in her voice. “I’m glad for you, son.”

“Aye, I know. Me too.”

“Well I’ll let you go. Tell Rain I said hi!”

He chuckled. “I will do. I love you, Mum.”

“I love you too.”

He hung up and turned around, surprised to find Rain leaning against the doorway wearing nothing but his shirt, and it was all buttoned up wrong so he could see plenty of skin. Unbelievably, after all their antics the night before, he wanted her again.

She gave him a small smile. “That was sweet.”

“What was?”

“You telling your mum you loved her like that.”

“I said it because it’s true and it makes her happy to hear it.”

“Oh.” She shivered in exaggeration and pouted her lips comically. “You’re making me want you again.”

He laughed. “Are you mocking me?”

Rain gave a light laugh and shook her head. “In all honesty, no. I think you’re charming, Craig Lanaghan.”

He felt her words sink into his chest and clutch on hard. “Mum says hi.”

She blinked in surprise. “You told her about me?”

“Of course.”

Not seeming to know what to do with that, Rain looked anywhere but at him. “Do you fancy some tea or something?”

“I fancy taking you back to bed.”

Her gaze flew to meet his. “That’s all we’ve done . . .”

He read the anxiety in her expression and decided if he didn’t want her thinking all he was after was a good fuck, he needed to start treating her like he was serious. “Right now we’re going back to bed. Tomorrow is my night off . . . we’ll go on a real date again.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Is that a promise?”

He strode toward her, no longer able to be in the same room with her and not touch her. He hauled her into his arms, crushing her to him. She came into him happily, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as he said, “A promise I intend to keep.”

Rain

There were a number of moments over the last few weeks where I stopped and asked myself, “How on earth did I let this happen?”

“This” being my relationship with Craig. Because that’s what it was spiraling into. An actual relationship. Just like he’d said he wanted. And just when I’d start to remember all the other important things in my life, Craig would turn up on my doorstep, making everything but him disappear around me.

“You have an annoying habit of distracting me,” I’d said to him last night while we lied in bed after making love.

Last night was a Wednesday, it was a week since he’d ravished me against my hallway wall, and jt was one of his nights off work. He spent most of the day and the whole night with me.

“Good,” Craig had replied, rolling me onto my back to have his wicked way with me. Again. Not that I was complaining. I’d gotten more orgasms out of this one man than my four boyfriends before him put together.