Sean parked his car in the driveway behind Rachel's SUV, as she entered the garage and waited as she exited her car before he got out. Rachel grabbed her briefcase, purse, and carry-out container from the car and waved at Sean to follow her as she closed the doors to the car and the garage moving to the entrance of her home. As she opened the door and stepped inside she motioned Sean's big frame into her home upon closing the door she turned on the lights then moved to the security panel beside the door to disarm the alarm, Sean barely had time to take in the gleaming hardwood floors and stainless steel appliances of Rachel's huge gourmet kitchen, as she motioned for him to follow her past the formal dining room which held a heavy looking cherry wood table and full place settings for ten. At a glance both the kitchen and the dining room looked like something out of Better Homes and Gardens with the lovely décor and the beautiful green plants placed strategically around the rooms.
"You have a lovely home, Rachel," Sean said as she led him through a small hall and down a few stairs into a sunken den complete with a plush L-shaped sectional earth tone brown in color, Bose entertainment center, a 60 inch flat screen smart T.V., a stone fire place, and a bar set up near the rear entrance. She turned on the track lighting in the room and the soft white floor lamp in an opposite corner of the room. "This room is always a little chilly so how about a fire to take off the chill?" Rachel offered as she shrugged off her jacket and hung it on the coat rack just inside the entrance. Sean agreed removing his own jacket and hanging it beside Rachel's, as he followed Rachel's progress around the room he took in the built in book shelves filled with books lining the walls on either side of the Bose entertainment center. Rachel moved to the opposite wall where the stone fireplace was located, pressed a switch and magically a fire appeared in the hearth. Turning to Sean Rachel smiled at his slightly raise eyebrows silently inquiring about the instant fire.
"Its gas and electric," Rachel explained, "automatic for an easy start up I just flip a switch and viola! I hate having to build a fire in a real wood burning fireplace. Besides a wood burning fireplace would permanently stain the stone tiles surrounding the hearth."
"Have a seat, Sean," Rachel invited, "Would you like something to drink? I have Sprite, white wine, or fruit juice," Rachel said as she moved to inspect the contents of the mini fridge located behind the bar.
"What are you having?" Sean asked.
"I think I'll have some white wine," Rachel answered.
"Then I'll have some wine too," Sean said.
Rachel pulled out a chilled bottle of Verdi white wine from the fridge and grabbed two wine glasses from the rack then exited the bar area to join Sean on the sectional near the fireplace. Handing the bottle to Sean, Rachel set the glasses on the table facing them and moved to the entertainment system to grab the remote and select her favorite Pandora station. The track lighting and warming fire cast a cozy inviting glow to the room. Rachel's Pandora choice played all her old favorites from the 80s and 90s collection of hits she had. Soon Anita Bakers' Angel was wafting through the surround sound system and Rachel turned retracing her footsteps back to the sectional. Sean handed her a glass of delicious chilled Verdi as she took a seat beside him on the large sofa.
"Thank you," Rachel said then took a sip of her wine as she watched Sean settle comfortably back into the cushions and took a sip of his glass of wine.
"This is very good," Sean said complimenting the wine they drank. "You have a lovely home, Rachel, you must be very proud of it, Sean continued.
"Thank you. I am very proud of my home. I put a lot of work into it," Rachel responded. "So Sean what else do you do besides giving scary females swim lessons?" Rachel questioned.
"I used to play football for the NFL but an injury to my neck and shoulder forced me into retirement a few years ago. The swimming started in college but was also therapy for my injuries and I have known Jared for years. When he told me he was looking for a swim instructor I decided to help him out," Sean said hedging on the truth a little. He wasn't quite ready to tell Rachel everything just yet.
Sean, catching a glimpse of the photos on the mantle of the fireplace and on the walls here and there, stood to inspect them. Most of the pictures were of Rachel's children in varying stages of growth from infancy to the young adults they currently were. There were a few of the children's father and clearly her son favored his father but her daughter was the spitting image of Rachel. Rachel watched silently as Sean moved from picture to picture waiting for him to ask the evitable questions.
"You have a lovely daughter and a handsome son, Rachel," Sean said after a few moments of perusing the family photos. "You must be truly proud of them as well."
"Yes, thank you, I am," Rachel agreed. "They kept me from losing my mind when their father died. I kept myself together for them. If not for my children I probably would have crawled right into that grave with Tony. It is amazing how much time can change things. I'm happy now but at the time I never thought I would be again," Rachel shared.
"I am 36 years old and the one thing I regret the most is not having a few kids of my own, heck I'd have settled for one," Sean said sincerely. "I was almost a father once a long time ago, however that was a mistake. The child's mother just wanted money and thought she could get it from me by claiming I was the father of her child. I later found she was pregnant but it wasn't my baby," Sean confessed.
Rachel could see the memory still affected Sean so she sat her glass down and joined him at the fire he stood gazing into. She took his glass and set it on the mantle of the fireplace and gave him a hug. Surprisingly the hug was not sexual considering the roller coaster of arousal they had both been on since they bumped into each other earlier. The hug was soothing, just the right kind of balm to dissolve some of the hurt that still lingered from the long ago paternity suit. Sean returned her hug, wrapping his big arms completely around Rachel while laying his head on hers as he cradled her head in the center of his chest. Rachel could hear the soothing thud of Sean's heart beat as they stood holding each other.
"I'm sorry," Rachel apologized for the hurt he had suffered at the hands of a gold digging female who did not deserve the love Sean had held in his heart for her. Instinctively Rachel knew Sean had loved this woman and he had been hurt deeply by her betrayal.
Deeply affected by Rachel's apology for something she had not done, Sean pulled back tilted her head up and kissed her just as the song Computer Love by Cameo started up. Soon they were kissing and swaying to the music thoroughly tuned in to one another. As Sean released Rachel's lips to take a breath he let the slow sexy beat wash over his body and they began a slow bump and grind to the music. The sexy beat started a slow burn between them as they gazed into each other's eye and danced in front of the fire. Sean knew he wanted this woman and Rachel was convinced she needed this man. Sean pulled Rachel in closer and wrapped those big sexy strong arms around her pulling Rachel into his massive chest and Rachel quickly squashed the feeling of homecoming she had as Sean marveled at how good it felt just to hold her in his arms. And they danced this way from one slow jam to the next talking and learning more about each other. In hushed tones, they communicated verbally, physically, and emotionally on all levels. Discovering their likes and dislikes Sean became even more fascinated by this woman and he wanted her. At some point they ended up on the huge brown earth toned sofa talking and laughing with each other until the wee hours of the morning. Sometime during the night Sean pulled Rachel closer to his side as she told him about her family, their family catering business, and her aspirations to one day write a romance novel. Sean eventually told Rachel all about his NFL career and his ownership of the fitness centers. He'd decided, during their time together, to come clean about who truly he was and Rachel understood everything but eventually they both became tired and fell asleep in each other's arms on the big comfortable sofa in Rachel's family room. Sean stretched out his long frame pulling Rachel's lush sleeping form practically on top of him with her head lying on his chest and his arms firmly wrapped around her to keep her from falling, both fully dressed except for his shoes and Rachel's boots that had been removed earlier for the sake of comfort. And that's just the way they were, the next morning much to Rachel's pleasant surprise.