He watched her sleep for a while, and as the clock on her dresser ticked quietly, forcing time along, Craig knew with a bone-deep certainty that he could watch Rain sleep forever and never be bored.

Years ago, before his dad died, Craig got up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water and found his mum asleep on the couch, lit up only by the fire glowing in the fireplace. His dad was sitting in the armchair opposite just watching her sleep.

He’d gestured to Craig to be quiet and followed him into the kitchen.

“What are you doing?” Craig had whispered in teenage boy confusion.

“Just watching your mum sleep.”

“Why?”

His dad had given him this knowing, secretive smile. “Because I like to watch her sleep. One day, son, you’ll know you’re in love when you can sit and watch your woman sleep for hours and never bore of it.”

At the time he remembered thinking he’d be lucky if he found what his parents had found in each other, although he’d never have said something so sappy out loud. But his dad seemed to know what he was thinking anyway, giving him that smile again before ruffling his hair and sending him back to his bed.

Craig felt a well of emotion rise up in his throat at the memory. His dad had been gone a long time and he’d made peace with that loss a long time ago too. But there were moments when the grief was sharper, tasting more bitter some days than others.

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.

I wasn’t sure if the distraction of him was good or not. What I did know was that when I was with him I felt free in a way I hadn’t felt. Ever.

That was profoundly terrifying because as well as the sensational sex, no man had ever made me feel so valued.

I stood in my doorway that morning, a mug of coffee in one hand and a tea in the other and I stared at him as he slept in my bed on his stomach. He really was goddamn handsome. The kind of goddamn handsome that still kicked up butterflies in my belly when I looked at him.

“You’re staring,” he muttered, which made me jump, hot tea spilling down my left hand.

I hissed in a breath and Craig’s eyes flew open.

“You alright?” He pushed up from the mattress, apparently fully awake.

I nodded, scowling at him as I wandered over to hand him his coffee. “Do you make a habit of pretending to be asleep?”

Taking my cup of tea out of my hand and putting both his coffee and it on the bedside table, Craig took my injured hand in his and said, “Do you make it a habit of watching me sleep?” He kissed the hot skin and looked up at me. “I think you’ll live.”