Page 67 of Perfect Enough
“I would love that,” I said—then wrung my hands together nervously. “But, Josh, I don’t want you to think I’m expecting anything from you.”
He winked, took my hand, and guided us down the sidewalk toward his truck. “As you said earlier, there are other things we can do.”
My face heated even more. “I did say that, didn’t I?”
Laughing, he replied, “Indeed, you did.”
The drive back to Josh’s house was filled with conversation. It was so easy to talk to him, and I found that I wanted to share parts of my life that I didn’t usually like to talk about with anyone.
“Did you go to counseling after your father’s death?” Josh asked when there was a small break in the conversation.
I drew in a breath and slowly let it out. “I didn’t. I think I should have, though.”
“It’s never too late, you know. My uncle Brock founded a place in Hamilton with counselors who specialize in just about everything. His first wife, Blayze’s mother, had suffered from depression. There’s a community center there as well. There are lots of fun things for kids to do, and there’s even an arena, where my uncles have done a few charity bull rides.”
“It’s amazing that your uncle started something so amazing for the community.”
“Yeah, it means a lot to him. To the whole family. But like I said, there are some great grief counselors, if you ever want someone to talk to. Or at least, I’ve heard my uncle talking about how wonderful they are.”
I took his hand in mine and gave it a light squeeze. “Thank you, Josh. I have to admit, it’s refreshing to have someone willing to speak so openly about mental healthcare. I wish my father would have known someone like that.”
Turning, I stared out the passenger window as we drove in silence. Had my father sought out help for his mental health issues? I suddenly wanted to ask my mother, but I wasn’t sure she’d be open to discussing it. Sighing, I made a mental note tocheck into making an appointment. I could also talk about my mother’s sudden need to control my life…and my need to please her to the point that I’d made up a fake relationship.
“You’re thinking pretty hard over there, Soph.”
Letting out a soft laugh, I replied, “Yeah, I guess I am. I think you’re right about going to talk to someone. Not just about my father, but my need to lie to my mother about us just to get her off my back. That wasn’t healthy.”
He lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed it softly. “But it brought us together, so it couldn’t have been allthatbad.”
Smiling, I nodded as I felt another piece of my heart fall to this man.
I leaned against the counter, a glass of wine in my hand, as I watched Josh bend down to pull our dinner out of the oven. I’d never in my life met a man like Josh Shaw. Funny, caring, intelligent, self-reliant, and oh so sexy. He was like the perfect man all wrapped into one, and I had to take a moment to thank the stars above he’d found his way into my world.
He set the dish on a cooling rack and glanced at me. “I hope you like these.”
“Barbecue chicken enchiladas. They sound good and they smell even better.”
When he winked at me, my heart somersaulted in my chest.
“Where are the plates?” I asked, as I rinsed my wine glass and put it in the dishwasher.
“Behind you in the first cabinet on your left. Silverware is in the drawer below.”
I handed him two plates and brought silverware to the table. “What would you like to drink?”
“I’ll have a beer.”
Reaching into the fridge, I grabbed two and brought them over to the table as well. When I returned to the kitchen, Josh was putting enchiladas onto our plates.
“Do you want any extra sauce?” he asked. “I can heat some really quick.”
With a shake of my head, I replied, “I’m okay without it if you are.”
“Sounds good.”
We both took our plates and headed to the table. Once I sat down, I quickly took a big bite of the delicious-smelling food. My eyes practically rolled back into my head as I savored the mouthful.
“Josh! Oh my gosh, this isso good. Where in the world did you learn to cook like this?”