A/N: Part II has made its debut. Thanks for reading! ^_^

It was a new year and although I kicked off this year with a few bumps in the road; refreshing the blood bond with Eric, Ryan's final death on my hands, and an almost pregnancy with Dermot, I'm determined to keep myself on the right track regardless. It was only days before Valentine's day so I still had time to right anything that has already gone wrong in my life.

And try my best to stay far away from Eric unless its absolutely necessary.

Just as Lizzy and I was about to get into my car, a crimson truck pulled up my driveway. I didn't recognize it. The tinted windows were a shade darker than most. And it sure as hell stood out since it looked way too nice to be in this town.

Uh oh…what now? I mentally groaned as I anticipated this out of town visitor.

"Izzy, baby, get in the car and wait for me." I told her.

"Okay mommy." she said, gripping her bunny, she did as she was told.

"You're a very hard person to get a hold of." Mr. Gorgeous said as he jumped out of his truck with a half grin. "Even in this really small town."

"I should've known I was going to be expecting a visitor the moment that damn butterfly wandered into my living room yesterday." I said as I placed my hands on my hips, "Stalking me now, are we?" I said with a tilt of my head.

He flashed me his million dollar smile as he walked up to me, "Well, you said you'd let me take you out. If I remember correctly." he said, glancing over to Lizzy. "Is she yours?"

I cocked a brow to him, "If I say yes, will you jump back in your truck and go home?"

He chuckled, "Ouch." he winced as he waved to Lizzy. "I'm too late, aren't I?"

I looked at him and sighed, "Sorry." I quickly apologized. "Mornings are never really my thing."

"Guess we got something in common." he said with a smile that was melting me inside.

Oh sugar.

I watched him carefully as he shoved one of his hands in his pocket and rubbed the back of his neck with the other.

Too bad Amy wasn't here to witness this small gesture, it would leave her panting and breathless...and wet. I thought. Like me.

I cleared my throat, "Let me tell you what, I'll cancel my morning plans for a pre date."

His lips curved upward, "Pre date?"

"Yup." I nodded. "As friends. So no funny business, alright?"

He chuckled softly as his shoulders rose and fell in rhythm. "So I have one chance to make it or break it to impress you?"

I grinned at him, "Oh no, honey." I said with a shake of my head. "Not just me." I said, nodding to Lizzy who was waiting patiently for me in the car.

He laughed, "Okay." he said, kicking up some dirt. "You're on." his grin widened as he stepped closer. So close, in fact, I could smell him. "My truck or yours?"

He is much too big to be in this car. He would look like Bowser in Mario Kart. I concluded as I mentally laughed to myself.

I glanced back at Lizzy. "Yours."

"Mommy, I thought we were going to play with AJ." she said from her car seat behind me as we pulled out of my driveway.

"We were but mommy's new friend here changed our plans." I said as I turned to her. "By the way, where are we going?" I asked, turning to Mr. Gorgeous.

His profile was just as breathtaking. I liked the way he furrowed his brows as he drove, clearly maintaining concentration on the road.

He glanced at me, "Since I don't live here and don't know much about this town, I thought that we could have a picnic. Or do you have something in mind?"

I made a funny face to Lizzy before turning around, getting a laugh from her.

A picnic should be interesting.

"Oh…so this picnic…" I said, turning to him. "…will there be real food or are we going to be like Peter Pan and the Lost Boys and pretend to have a feast?" I asked, sarcastically pointing out the fact that he's planning a picnic with no food.

He shook his head as his lips curved upward, "You know, I heard they turned that book into a movie but I never seen it." he said. "I was planning on stopping by Merlotte's and taking the food to go…" he said, stealing another glance. "…but we could have it your way and pretend to be feasting."

I laughed lightly, "I highly doubt Sam makes food to go." I told him. "Turn around."

"What? Why? You forgot something?"

"You ask a lot of questions." I said. "But yeah, I forgot some things."

"This is your place?" he asked as he took a look around the kitchen. "I don't know what I was expecting but from the outside, I wasn't expecting it to look like this."

"Thanks." I said as I reached into my icebox to retrieve some raw boneless, skinless chicken, "Are you thirsty? Its going to be awhile."

He shook his head, "Nah, I'm good."

"Mommy, can I watch TV?" Lizzy asked.

"Yes." And with that, she walked out of the kitchen. "We cant stay out too long, just so you know." I told him as I seasoned the chicken. "My oldest is in school right now."

"Oh." he said softly, leaning against the counter with one hand in his pocket. "Should we wait then?"

I paused, placing one hand on my hip as I turned to him. "I know I have like a lot of baggage, but exactly how late are you planning on keeping us out?"

He quickly lift his hands in surrender as he flashed me his signature smile, "I don't mind your kids, honestly. I was only asking." he said. "What time is your curfew?"

"Elena is usually home around three thirty, four." I said, now placing the chicken in the frying pan.

"Listen, if you don't want to go out with me, you can be straight up with me. You don't have to use the kids as an excuse." he said, stepping forward.

He was a few feet away but his presence took up the empty space making it hard for me to breathe.

Oh sugar.

I gulped, "Will you stop that?" I groaned. "If I didn't want to do this, I wouldn't be standing here making us something to eat at this picnic of ours." then I turned to him, "What do you see in me anyway?"

He thoughtfully looked at me, "Its not what I see." he said with a twitch of his brow. "I'm drawn to you."

I bit my lip, "Tell me about yourself." I said, feeling stupid that I brought it up and trying now to change the subject as I grabbed two apples, quickly rinsing them under the water. "Do you have kids of your own?" I asked. "Family, maybe?"

"I don't have any kids. Not with my busy schedule." he admitted. "I don't have a wife or an ex wife either for that same reason."

I began coring and dicing the apples before placing them in a container as he spoke.

"Wait, then why are you-" I stopped. "Never mind."

"Want me to help you? I feel useless just standing here doing nothing but talking." he said, closing the gap with one long stride. "I can be useful in the kitchen. I use to help my mom cook."

I glanced up at him, "Sure, you can watch the chicken while I cut up these." I told him.

I went back into my icebox and retrieved two carrots and the bunch of green onions, placing them on the counter. I reached into the cabinet above for the package of pecans, placing it beside the container of diced apples.

"I have a brother, he's a few years younger than me but we don't see much of each other anymore." he said after a long moment.

"Lucky you. I'm an only child." I said. "Hold on, do you have any allergies?" I asked him just before opening the package of pecans.

"You mean food allergies?" he asked. "No, I don't, so you don't have to worry about killing me." he joked.

I let out a light laugh as I shook my head at him, "You shouldn't joke about that. I wouldn't be the same if something happened to you because of what I fed you." I groaned as I placed a handful and a half of pecan pieces into the container with the diced apples.

He chuckled, "Sorry. You're right." he apologized immediately. "Enough about me. What about you?"

"I have two daughters, Elizabeth and Elena. No siblings because my mom died when I was…" I paused, stopping midway of peeling the carrots. "…a baby." I said. "But my dad, he remarried just recently and are expecting twins."

"Wow, twins?" he said, flipping the chicken.

I nodded, "Yeah, maybe he's making up for lost time?"

"I know this is personal, but your girl's father, he's no longer in the picture?"

I began grating the carrots as I nodded. "Yeah. Single mom here."

"My mom had to raise my older brother on her own for many years." he said. "And she did a great job."

Strange, he only mentioned his younger brother. I wonder what happened.

I shrugged, "Its not easy. But we manage." I said, adding the grated carrots to the container. "And my friends are a huge help too." I added, now running my knife through the green onions. "I'm sorry, I cant wrap my head around the fact that you're still single, looking the way you do." I said, putting the knife down as I turned around, leaning against the counter.

He turned around, glancing down at himself, "Its not that hard to imagine. I just don't have time."

My eyes narrowed, "Yeah…and yet here you are making time." I said. "You're not some psycho killer right?"

He laughed this velvet throaty laugh as his Adams apple bobbed against the base of his throat. "You're very paranoid. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"Well if you knew what I just went through not too long ago, you would understand."

His laugh died away as his eyes darkened, "Someone tried to kill you?"

I bit my lip, "Lets not talk about it." I said. "Lets save that for another day." I told him, turning back around.

"Oh, so there will be another day?" he said, I could hear a smile on his lips.

I rolled my eyes as I added the chopped green onions to the container. "I guess."

After the chicken was cooked and cooled, I diced them and added it to the container. Then I added mayonnaise and salt and pepper to taste. I didn't want to make the sandwiches yet so I packed the container, a loaf of whole wheat bread, and roman lettuce to go.

We stopped by the Piggly Wiggly to get us drinks before heading to a grassy area Gorgeous discovered.

"I can see why you like it here. Not only does this town have history, its beautiful too." he said in a voice slightly distant as if he was thinking of a memory.

I cocked my head to the side, "What makes you think I'm not from this town?" I asked, heart skipping.

He turned to me and smiled, "You do realize you don't have that Southern accent that everyone here has, right?"

I released a huge sigh of relief, "I didn't even notice that anymore." I laughed. "Where are you from?" I asked him, leaning back on my hands. "You have an accent yourself. Are you from Australia?"

He leaned forward, "Why don't we save that for next time?" he suggested.

Gorgeous is really pushing this 'next time'.

"Mommy, can I feed the fishes?" Lizzy asked, shoving the last piece of her sandwich in her mouth. "Please." she pleaded with her mouth full.

I frowned at her, "Honey, what did I tell you about speaking with your mouth full?" I partially scolded her.

She looked down as she slowly swallowed her food. "That isn't lady like and its very very very rude." she said with a pout.

I sat up straight, grabbing the loaf of bread. "You can feed the fishes, just don't get too close to the water, alright?" I told her as I handed her a few slices of bread. "And stay close."

"Thank you mommy!"

She jumped up, snatching the bread from my hand and ran toward the swamp.

"You're a great mom…" he whispered as he watched Lizzy throwing pieces of bread into the water. "By the way, this chicken sandwich is amazing." he complimented, turning back to me.

"I learned mostly everything from my grandmother." I said. But before he could ask, I continued. "She died years ago, though. Long before any of my girls were born."

"I'm sorry to hear that." he said sympathetically. "What do you like to do with your free time?" he asked. "I mean, when you're not busy with your girls."

I stretched out, laying on my side as I looked up at him. "I don't work at Merlotte's anymore, you know that right?"

He nodded, snorting out a laugh. "Yeah, I found that out not too long ago." he said. "And it was a pain in the ass trying to get any info on you. Its like everyone there were on guard."

"Yeah, that topic has to wait." I said. "It's the reason why I quit."

He nodded, "Right."

"But for now, I'm working with a friend of mine. He has this survey company and I'm like his assistant."

Liar.

"Okay, but Isabelle, I asked you what do you do on your free time." he said, stretching out himself, facing me as he laid on his side. "What are your hobbies? I saw a piano." he said. "Sorry, I didn't mean to spy." he quickly apologized.

I waved that away, "No, its okay. Really." I reassured him. "But I do play the piano. Honestly, I haven't touched that in over a year." I said. "I like to do anything, really. Anything that requires my hands. I like to paint too. In Lizzy's room, there's a mural that I made for her while I was still pregnant to her." I told him. "But even that, I haven't had much time to myself. You know, being a single mom, I have the work of both parents." I said, pushing away the sadness that lingered. "The one thing that I have kept up with is my small garden. I love orchids."

He raised a brow, "Really?" he chuckled, "I'm not saying this to sound cheesy, but orchids are one of my favorite flowers. After gardenias, of course." he said with a huge smile. "Where I'm from, gardenias are grown in the wild, surrounding a small pool of water. It has a small waterfall but I don't know where the water comes from…" he said. "…and on hot days, it's a beautiful place to swim. Oh and the smell of gardenias…" he sighed. "…I wish I could show you it one day."

"Sounds beautiful."

He glanced down at his watch and quickly sat up. "Oh, I have to get you back." he said. "I didn't realize we've been here for as long as we have."

I reached forward, grabbing his arm to look at his watch and gasped. "Fudge." I groaned. "I hope Elena-"

"Push." the older woman told me as I bent forward in the soothing, cold water. "Its time to push."

I glanced around and rested my eyes on Beau who was behind me, holding my hands.

"You're strong. You can do it." he whispered in my ear. "You're a lot stronger than you realize."

I closed my eyes as I inhaled the smell of gardenias before I began pushing.

"You okay?" he asked, shaking me gently. "I lost you there for a few seconds."

I pulled away, nodding vigorously. "Yeah, sorry. I was-" I jumped up, still smelling the beautiful flowers in the crisp air. "We should go."

What the hell was that?

Luckily when we got home, Elena hadn't arrived yet. I thanked Beau for the outing and promised him some one on one time the next time he was in town.

But after he left, I couldn't get that vision out of my head. I laid awake that night hoping that what I was seeing was through the eyes of his late wife or something.

It wouldn't be the first time. I've had a vision through Cristiano's wife once just as she went into labor.

Maybe he lost both during childbirth years ago. It would also explain why Gorgeous has drowned himself with work.

Great…the only men I seem to attract are the ones with tortured souls.