“I knew we’d have something in common. I love to run, too.”

“Yeah, I remember you mentioning running that night at dinner. You lift weights, too.”

“Do you?”

“No, sadly.”

“Do I sense your face scrunching up?”

How in the hell did he know that? “You got me.”

“Why not weights?”

“I hate to count.”

“Cate, that makes no sense. You’re majoring in accounting.”

As soon as he says it, we both crack up. “I can see it now. Cate Forbes, the accountant who hates to count. Want me to make you a sign? It could say, ‘Cate Forbes, CPA. I Hate Counting’!”

“That really is bad, isn’t it? I’m going to suck.”

Suddenly, we’re both quiet, but then his voice comes to me and he says, “Uh, I could say something to that comment, but I think I’ll refrain.”

Again, I get those warm shivers and goosebumps erupt all over my skin. “Hmmm. I’m not sure what to say now.”

“Then let me do the talking. Can I just say I’m really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow?”

“So am I.”

“I’d better go. A text just came through from the hospital.”

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow. And be safe driving.”

“Always. Have a nice evening, Cate.”

I stand there, cradling my phone.

“If you could only see the smile on your face,” Jenna says, interrupting my thoughts. “My girl Cate, I do believe you have it bad for that man.”

Do I? I’m not sure because I have no comparators. I can’t count dickwad. He never evoked deep feelings, other than humiliation. There have been others that I’ve dated, but none of them even stick out as memorable. It sounds like I’m a loser, now that I think of it, but it’s only that no one ever captured my attention. Not until Drew.

“He certainly has my attention, I’ll give him that much.”

“Will you give him more? I’ve never seen you interested enough to be concerned about your girlie bits. In all honesty, Cate, I wondered a time or two if you batted for the other team.”

“What?” Oh my god! I can’t believe she said that.

“Don’t get mad about it. But damn, you get hit on all the time, but never take anyone up on it.”

She does have a valid point. “I don’t because none of them interested me. Well, there was dickwad.”

“Yeah, and I thought after him, since that was such a disaster, that maybe he pushed you to the other side.”

I can’t believe Jenna thought that. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

She picks up a chunk of her hair and twirls it. “I figured you were trying to work it all out.”

“Let’s get one thing straight. I’m a man fan. Until I met Drew, I never ran across anyone that fired me up. Maybe I’m too picky.” That’s what I’ve always thought anyway.

She shoots me a sly smile. “Well, Drew has certainly stoked the fires enough for you to buff Louise up.”

“Okay, no more Louise talk. That’s something only for me to know.”

“You like him a lot, don’t you?”

“Yeah. I had more fun on that date than I’ve ever had with anyone.”

“Including me?” She winks.

“Different kind of fun, Jenna.”

Drew arrives at exactly one. He looks better than good dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. When I open the door, the first thing he does is wrap his arms around me and kiss me. I love the feel of him against me.

“You look beautiful.”

I’m wearing jeans and a long-sleeved top. It’s nothing special, but he makes me feel that way. “Thanks. You look great yourself.” I lean in for another kiss. “Did you bring your stuff up?”

“No, I left it in the car. Let’s go. I want to take you to this place I love. I brought lunch.”

“Oh, okay.” He suggests I bring a jacket or sweatshirt. We hop in his car and take a drive out into the country. It’s the first week of October so the weather is cool. It’s a lovely day and Drew drives us to a really neat old timey covered bridge. He pulls off the road and in the back of his car is a backpack that has our lunch.

“I picked it up from this great deli in Indy. Downtown Indianapolis has great cafés and delis. One thing I love most about the place. I hope you like sub sandwiches.”

“I love everything. I’m easy to please, Drew.”

We walk a bit and find a great place to plop ourselves down. He spreads a blanket and hands out the food. He’s right. The subs are great. They bake their own bread every morning, he tells me. While we eat, he talks about medical school and how he didn’t know what type of doctor he wanted to be.

“How did you know? About being a doctor I mean?”

He shrugs. “I just did. Ever since I was a little kid.”

The sun’s rays are streaming through the trees and they create a halo effect around Drew. His hand brushes through his thick waves, pushing them back off his forehead, and I’m struck at how his face looks like it’s been painted. His brows form perfect arches over his startlingly blue eyes, and they sparkle as he speaks. It’s then I realize I could gaze at him for hours on end.

“What?” he asks.

I shake my head, smiling. “Nothing. You are lucky. Not many people know what they want out of life. And you knew at such an early age.”

“I know. I do count myself as one of the fortunate ones. At first I thought I wanted to do sports medicine. Orthopedics. But then during med school, I did my first rotation in oncology and I was hooked, just like that.” He clicks his fingers.

“It doesn’t scare you? Working with cancer patients?”

“No. Why?”

“Like maybe you’ll get close to them? I can only imagine how my heart would get broken.” I rub my chest, thinking how it would ache.

“Ah, I see where you’re going. I look at it from a different perspective.” He reaches out and brushes the backs of his fingers across my cheek.

“Which perspective is that?”

“Cancer isn’t what it used to be. There are so many different treatment options and sometimes patients can live years with it. So I look at it as a way to prolong or extend lives or cure the disease. And if I get close to the patient in the process, then that makes it all the more special. Mind you, I’m still in my residency. I have to do a fellowship in oncology before I’ll be able to practice it. And then if I want to specialize, it may be another year after that.”

He must be brilliant. Not only is he hot, he’s kind, smart, and sweet, too. I stare at him with what I imagine is a goofy assed smile on my face.

“Can I tell you something?” he asks.

“Sure.”

“I worked long hours this week and traded today with someone so I could spend it with you. All week, you’re the only thing I could think of, Cate.” He grabs my wrist. “Come here.”

We’re facing each other with our legs crossed. I’m not sure I know what he means.

He pats his leg. “Right here. I want you on my lap so I can kiss you.”

I unfold my legs and move over to his lap. I don’t want to smash him, so I climb on top and wiggle around until I’m properly seated. I finally look up at him and he wears an amused expression.

“You won’t crush me. I’m a fairly large guy, Cate.”

“But I’m not some tiny petite thing either.” Almost before the words leave my mouth, he pulls me against him, his mouth landing on mine. My fingers thread through his hair, something I’ve been dying to do since he walked in my apartment, and he does the same to mine.

Drew’s kisses are mind blowing. I don’t know if it’s because I’m not very experienced or because he sparks the fire down below. Either way, I heat up. And not just my mouth. Things get seriously hot between my legs. My belly tightens with a need so forceful I end up squirming around on his lap, trying to quench the burn. There isn’t a way to do it so I end up wrapping my legs around him and pressing myself against him. Am I dry humping him? Crap, I need to rein this in. I pull my mouth away from his and it takes enormous effort.