The doorbell chimed an intricate melody inside the house. Even the Greene’s doorbell was high-end. Footsteps sounded inside and the door swung open.

“Hello?” A blond woman peered at him curiously.

While the coloring was totally different, Des guessed immediately that she was Gracie’s older sister. They had the same sweet smile and heart-shaped face, the same petite features.

“You must be here for Gracie,” she said with a knowing smile.

“Des.” He stuck out his hand and she accepted it readily.

“I’m Emmaline.” She held the door open for him and motioned for him to follow. “Gracie didn’t mention you were coming to lunch.”

He stepped through the door and tried to block out the expensive surroundings. The scent of fresh flowers filled the house, the clink of cutlery came from the next room. Low voices talked. It sounded like an intimate group.

“It wasn’t planned and I don’t have an invitation.” He watched Emmaline’s face, waiting for her to challenge his presence, but instead she shrugged.

“No need to worry about that.” A gentle hand landed on his arm. “I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you.”

He swallowed, heart pounding as they walked through the near silent house. The place was like a museum—filled with old things that probably never got used, though the place was clean as a hospital.

“Who was it?” A voice demanded as they stepped into the dining room. “Who are you?”

The woman’s sharp tone threw him straight back into the past and her eyes raked over him as though he were a bug to be picked from her clothing. Gracie sat to her left, her dark hair pinned loosely on her head. Her eyes widened and she looked from her mother to Des and back again.

He opened his mouth to speak but Gracie stood.

“Mother, this is Desmond Chapman.” Her hand fluttered by her side, smoothing the fabric on her dress.

“Mrs. Greene.” He stuck his hand out and the older woman looked at him for a moment before accepting.

“Perhaps we should take this outside.” Gracie went to move but Emmaline forced her back down into her seat.

“I’m sure whatever Desmond wants to say will be relevant to everyone here,” Emmaline said, giving her mother a stern look.

He cleared his throat. “I came here to let you know that Gracie has been living a lie.”

Three sets of eyes locked onto him with the same cautious gaze. Gracie tilted her head and fidgeted with a cloth napkin.

“She’s an amazing girl who’s been putting herself into a box that doesn’t fit her. She’s been chasing a dream that isn’t hers. She’s been trying to find something by looking in all the wrong places.”

“Des?” Gracie looked as though she was about to jump out of her chair but Emmaline’s hand remained firmly on her shoulder.

“You’re so much better than those guys you date. You deserve more than to be a tick in someone’s box. You deserve to be loved, not because you know how to make a good dating profile but because you’re funny and sexy and just this side of crazy with all your rules.”

“I’m not sure why you’ve come here to give my daughter dating advice.” Mrs. Greene narrowed her blue eyes at him. “I would think Gracelyn is perfectly capable of determining who is suitable for her.”

Gracie’s mother had an imposing air despite her small frame and stooped posture. Her face lacked the softness of her daughters’ but curiosity danced in her eyes. She watched him, assessing.

“Mother,” Gracie protested. “I—”

“Enough, Gracelyn. I want to hear what this young man has to say.”

All eyes turned to Des, the tension in the air so thick it could have been sliced with a knife.

“You don’t have to like me or think I’m right for Gracie. But I love your daughter very much. I’ve been stupid enough to let our differences hold us apart. But I don’t want to do that anymore.”

It was so quiet the chirping of birds outside floated through the house. Gracie gaped at him, her cheeks flushed the same rosy shade as the flowers on her dress.

“I want us to be together.” He looked directly at Gracie. “I stuffed things up. I know, but I want to fix it.”

“What do you have to say about all this, Gracelyn?”

Gracie drew a deep breath. Moment of truth. Was she going to stick with what she knew? Des’s heart hammered in his chest, adrenaline pulsing through him with each furious beat.

“I think Des deserves to have his say,” she said, her voice measured. “I want to hear him out.”

She drew her shoulders back but stood frozen to the spot. Emmaline clapped her hands together and her mother nodded. Was it his imagination or did the older woman stifle a smile?

“Very well.” Mrs. Greene shooed them away with both hands. “Take the conversation outside. Some of us are trying to have lunch.”

Gracie walked around the side of the table. She placed a hand on her mother’s shoulder and the older woman held it for a moment before turning back to her meal. Not a word was passed between the two of them, but Des could sense a change in the air. Forgiveness.

He followed Gracie through the side door, stepping out into the Greene’s courtyard. The summer air was mild but a cool breeze lifted Gracie’s hair, scattering her curls around her shoulders. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips moist. Around her slender legs, the skirt of her dress swirled, tempting him with flashes of thigh.

“You’re certifiably crazy, Des Chapman.”

“I messed up.”

“We messed up.” She let go of his hand and turned to face the sprawling view of the garden. “Maybe we should have kept our distance.”

“No.” He grabbed her by the arms and spun her around. “I’ll admit it, I was angry.”

“Oh, really?” A faint smile crossed her lips.

“I was hurt when you left that morning. Really hurt.”

Her lip trembled. “I was frightened of all the things you offered me—passion, the most amazing sex I’ve ever had, a real relationship. For the first time in my life I had something real… and it was terrifying.”

She blinked, her dark lashes glistening.

“I want real.” He reached up to cup her face with his hand.

Her skin was soft against his palm. The breeze blew her hair around, tickling him. He ran the pad of his thumb across her lower lip.

“At least with all those other guys, if I failed then I wouldn’t lose much. You were not a safe option, Des. We had this incredible friendship that somehow blossomed into more and the thought of losing that was…”

Her lip trembled and the desire to kiss her raged through Des’s body. She was so close to him, so open and vulnerable.

“It’s scary,” she said.

“I know.” He brought his forehead down to hers.

“But I don’t care anymore.”

“Why the change of heart?” He had to know. He needed her to feel the same way.

“It was something you said to me. You said I was a woman, not a child, and that I had to do things for me.” She ran her hands along his arms, the gentle scrape of her nails sending shivers down his spine. “Being with you is the best thing I could ever do for myself and I know I can make you happy.”

“You absolutely can, Gracie. You’ll make me insane first, but there’s not a shred of doubt in my mind that you’ll make the happiest guy on the planet.”

“I love you, Des. It scares me half to death but I love you.”

She’d laid it all out for him. God, she’d even said she loved him. She hadn’t come outside with the intention of saying the l-word but it felt so natural it slipped out before she had time to consider the repercussions. Realization shook Gracie to the core. She did love him. She loved him like she’d never loved anyone before… and that meant that the stakes were even higher than she’d thought. She had everything to lose, but she couldn’t walk away, not now.

Des’s strong jaw, lined with stubble, looked sharp as a razor. His thick, black lashes and full lips looked as though they’d been sculpted with her fantasies in mind. The T-shirt he wore did nothing to conceal the hard, muscular chest and toned stomach beneath.