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My plans for the evening had come together relatively easy thanks to a few kind townsfolk and one of her best friends
who had been very accommodating with my requests. By the end of the evening, Ashton would be putty in my hands, and I would finally be able to get her out of my system. As long as the weather held together, the night would be perfect. Unfortunately, my patience was being tested by low heavy clouds that had moved in over the horizon as the day progressed.

"
We better head out," I said, dropping a quick kiss on each of her closed eyelids. "Hopefully, the weather cooperates," I added.

"
Why, where are we going?" she asked, slightly confused. Her eyes were still cloudy with passion that tested my already shaky restraint. "I thought we were going back to my place," she added, sounding disappointed.

"
I have something else planned," I answered, smiling at her disappointment.

"
Oh, okay. Where are we going then?" she repeated.

"
You'll have to wait and see," I said, dropping my voice so it would come out mysterious. I placed my finger against her lips when she tried to say something else. "It's a surprise."

"
I hate surprises," she griped, climbing into the passenger seat.

"
You're a chick, how can you hate surprises?"

"
Because, you never know what's going to happen."

"
Hence the word surprise," I teased.

"
Why don't you tell me, and then I'll act surprised," she cajoled.

"
Um, how about NOT," I answered, pulling onto the dirt road I had driven down just a few hours prior.

"
I think you took a wrong turn. I'm pretty sure this road belongs to Mr. James and doesn't lead anywhere," she piped in as I continued to drive slowly over the ruts in the road, trying to avoid the tree branches on either side of the narrow lane.

"
It's all good," I reassured her, lacing my fingers through hers.

"
Oh shit, this is the time when you're finally going to add my boobies to your trunk."

"
You got me. Surprise," I teased.

The trees surrounding
the vehicle closed in tighter around us, scraping against the sides of the Range Rover in one last-ditch attempt to keep us out before opening up to a clearing with a large lake bordering the property. Ashton gasped beside me when she took in the sight in front of us. I had to admit, we'd done a great job creating the effect I wanted. The clearing was illuminated by multiple lanterns that hung from the low branches of the towering trees. Candles sat on the ground, flickering in vases and surrounded a large quilt that had been spread out on the ground. I smiled at the overall effect. Ashton's friend Tressa had outdone herself.

I
'd been hesitant to employ her help, afraid she'd tip Ashton off on the surprise, but she'd proved to be a godsend. She jumped in wholeheartedly at the chance to help me surprise Ashton. Her ideas were sound, and I let her run with them.

"The clouds kind of screwed up my whole plan for a picnic beneath the moon, but you get the idea," I said proudly.

"What are you trying to do to me?" Ashton asked, looking awestruck at the scene before us.

"
I figured I owed you for last night," I said, linking my fingers through hers so I could drag her to the waiting blanket and picnic basket perched on top of it. "This way we can knock two of those items off that list you have," I added as she looked completely transfixed by the lanterns.

"
Two?" she asked with a catch in her voice.

"
A canoe ride beneath the stars," I answered, pointing to the aluminum canoe I'd finally been able to track down. "I'm hoping the clouds will give us a break," I added wryly.

"
This is too much," Ashton said, not looking ecstatic like I had pictured she would be.

"
What do you mean, sweetheart?" I asked, placing my hands on her shoulders.

She shrugged them off.
"This," she said, pointing to the picnic. "And that," she added, pointing to the canoe.

"
Why is it too much?" I asked confused. Sure, I might have gone a little overboard for this date, but the end result would make it all worth it. Somewhere between deciding not to turn her over to my client right away, and making her mine, I decided I wanted to get to know her better. I wanted to know why she had run. I had to know why her eyes occasionally clouded over with hopelessness, and what lurked behind the passion that flared up in those same eyes. She was like a rare treasure that begged to be discovered and explored.

"
Because, we're not a couple," she said. "We're not even lovers yet," she added through gritted teeth before turning and stalking off for the vehicle.

"Hey, wait.
I know we're not," I said, snagging her hand after she'd only taken a few steps. "But that doesn't mean we can't get to know each other and enjoy the time we have together," I said, cupping her face with my hands. "I just want to enhance what we have going on here."

"
You're trying to make me fall in love with you," she said with trembling lips. She looked as if she was fighting back tears.

"
I've already been down the heartbreak route, and have no plans to travel it ever again, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to enjoy what we have going on here. You yourself have to admit that the connection between us is more than lust," I said, pulling her closer. "I say let's explore it and just enjoy it. There's no reason we need to rush any of this. We can let the anticipation build up before we finally let it crash over us. I've taken the next few weeks off from work. Spend them with me," I pleaded.

"
This was supposed to be just an affair," she said, her eyes shining brightly with unshed tears.

"
And that's what it will be. That doesn't mean we can't have fun discovering each other along the way."

"
What if you fall in love with me?"

"
You keep asking that. Trust me on this. My heart is too hardened to ever love again," I said, running my hand up the side of her face. Pulling her close, I placed my lips to hers, probing with my tongue until she opened her mouth fully. Our lips caressed each other until the rigidness in her arms disappeared and she melted against me. "Tell me you'll spend the next few weeks with me," I said, pulling back despite her protests.

Her answer was a small nod before she brought my mouth back to hers.

Ashton

I was
a goner. I knew it the moment we pulled into the clearing and I saw what he had done. Unintentionally or not, he was slowly chipping away at my resolve to treat our relationship casually. It was if he saw through my carefree facade where I contemplated one-night stands and treated affairs like I was ordering dessert. Somehow he had figured out I wasn't that kind of person. He was offering to take it slow, and obviously planned on wooing me if the scene before me was any indication. It was like a fairytale. What girl didn't dream about a candle-filled evening with a man who made your pulse race and your heart skip a beat? The problem was I shouldn't want any of it. More accurately, I shouldn't be allowed to want it. I tried to leave, but somehow, standing in Nathan's arms with him begging me to stay with him for a few weeks crumbled my resolve.

"
Let's eat," Nathan finally said, breaking the kiss.

"
Okay," I answered, letting him lead me to the heavy quilt that was stretched on the ground in front of us. I sat down and watched as he unpacked the large picnic basket, doing my best to hide my surprise when each new item he pulled from the basket seemed to be a favorite of mine. There were chocolate-covered strawberries from Haley's Delectable Eats bakery, several varieties of cheeses and crackers, artichoke dip and pita slices and a bottle of my favorite wine.

"
You did your homework," I said, trying for blasé. I didn't want to admit what his attention to detail meant to me.

"
I may have had help," he chuckled, popping the cork off the wine and pouring me a glass.

"
I suspected as much," I said, sweeping my eyes around. "Tressa?"

"
That would be the one. She jumped at the chance to help me out."

"
I bet she did," I said, smirking at him.

He laughed.
"She's a character, for sure. I don't think she has a shy bone in her body. I got the whole lowdown on her ex and the new guy she's going out with this weekend," he said wryly, shoving a cracker in his mouth.

I laughed.
"Yeah, Tressa's not shy by a long shot. And her ex is a total douche," I added.

"
He sounds like it, and his mom doesn't sound like much of a winner either. I'm not sure what I would have done at his age if my mom tried to cockblock me," he said just as I was taking a sip of wine. His words made the wine go down the wrong tube and I choked, nearly covering him in a combination of wine and spit.

Nathan pounded me on the b
ack as I coughed like an eighty-year-old smoker. "Not cool to say something like that when I'm trying to drink," I chastised in between coughs. "You gotta give a person warning."

"
Sorry," he said, laughing again. "Anyway, your friend is better off now. At least I think so."

"
That's what I told her. We've all gone out together a couple of times and he was always very overbearing where she was concerned. It irked me that he kept such a tight rein on her. No girl deserves to be treated that way."

"
You sound like you have personal experience in that area?" he asked casually, though I sensed something more in his tone.

"
Me? Hell no," I said, reaching for a chocolate strawberry. "I may have not dated much, but I'd never let a guy treat me like that. If anyone tried to control me like Jackson did with Tressa, I would have sent him packing instantly," I added, looking up at him. I was surprised to see his eyes had narrowed and he was studying me critically. I instantly regretted my openness. He didn't need to hear about my love life or lack thereof. It was as if I had erected a flashing sign above my head with the word "inexperienced" in big red letters for the world to see.

The silence between us stretched
on as he moved his eyes from mine and studied the water behind me. I had the uncomfortable feeling he was contemplating what he was doing with someone with my adolescent experience. Maybe we had reached the point where he was missing the sophisticated and experienced ladies he was used to dating. I felt I should say something. Offer up some kind of reassurance that I wasn't a complete prude or anything, but I kept my lips sealed, waiting for him to break the silence.

After what seemed like an eternity
, he finally shifted his eyes back to me. "So, you've never been in a relationship you couldn't wait to get out of?" he asked with intensity.

"
No," I answered, puzzled. I knew the fact that I was twenty-two and had no prior experience to brag about could be construed as unusual, but it shouldn't put me on trial. "It's not like I'm a leper or something," I finally said sarcastically, done with the way he was looking at me.

"
Of course not," he answered. "It's just unusual that you don't have one crummy relationship to complain about."

"What the hell does that mean? Maybe
I was too busy to have a real relationship. Maybe my sights were focused on finishing college early so I didn't invest much time in dating," I answered truthfully. Not to mention that for the longest time my only goal was to make up for the year I was forced to repeat in high school. Watching my fellow classmates graduate without me had been a tough pill to swallow, so I made it my goal to get my college degree as fast as I could. Free time became a novelty once I entered college and submersed myself in as many classes as my counselor was willing to allow me to take. Even summers merged together with the rest of the school year as I pushed on without taking any breaks. I went year-round with the goal of graduating a year early. My hard work paid off too. Three years after graduating from high school I had my bachelor's degree in hand, but by then it didn't matter.

"
I see," Nathan said, interrupting my thoughts.

"Why is it such a bad thing that I've never had my heart broken
?" I asked, sick of the way he was acting.

"It's not
," he answered, reaching for my hand. "It just surprised me," he added, smiling at me.

"
What about you? Who broke your heart?" I probed.

"
What makes you think my heart's been broken?"

"Well, the way you're acting for one. Besides that, y
ou've mentioned going down the heartbreak route a couple times," I said, studying his features that had gone hard in the flickering candlelight. "If it makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to talk about it," I said quietly.