He’d seemed restless, bored, which made her uneasy. She’d ducked her head and hurried to Tobias’s stoop without speaking to him, and he hadn’t said anything to her, either. She was relieved about that. Already uncomfortable coming here so late, she hated that she now had a witness to her visit.

But who was Carl going to tell? He didn’t know her sister or Terrance. He’d just returned to town after a long absence, and they’d moved here while he was living elsewhere.

In any case, she was dying to see Tobias again.

When he came to the door, she could hear the TV behind him, but she could tell she’d woken him up. She wasn’t surprised; it was nearly two in the morning. She’d spent the past hour, ever since she and her sister and brother-in-law had come back from the bar, pacing in her bedroom, trying to talk herself out of sneaking out of their house like a teenager. She could’ve texted him if the only thing she was interested in was apologizing.

She wanted more than that.

“Harper.” He blinked as if she was the last person he’d expected.

“Can I come in?”

He pushed the door wider, making room for her, and she shivered as she brushed past him. His house smelled like he’d just pulled a fresh load of warm laundry from the dryer.

She liked being here, she realized. She felt good here, had wanted to return ever since she’d left. There was no question that Tobias was a bit rough and unpolished, but she liked him, too. The tattoos. The long hair. His simple, minimalist approach to life. She supposed it didn’t hurt that he was gorgeous, too.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Suddenly a little nervous, she drew a deep breath. “Yes, everything’s fine.”

He rubbed a hand over his face, obviously trying to shake off the last vestiges of sleep. “Then…what’s going on?”

“I’m not sure,” she said. “I just…had to see you.”

“You want to…talk?” he guessed.

Closing her eyes, she kneaded her forehead. “No, not really.”

“So…”

She dropped her hand as she looked up at him. “You’re all I can think about. It’s crazy. We don’t even know each other that well. And yet…”

Now he was fully awake and watching her with far more interest. “And yet?”

“I’m dying to touch you, and I’m dying to feel your hands on me.”

“Then what the hell took you so long to come back?” He sounded almost angry. But she had reasons—good ones. She just didn’t want to think about them right now. She only wanted to think about him, the way he tasted and smelled and how his body felt against hers.

“My situation. My children. The fact that I’ll be leaving soon. All of it.”