The thing she found most attractive about him, however, was his kindness, especially during the days leading up to Jenny’s wedding. He’d understood how difficult it was for Erin to see her beloved brother’s fiancée marry another man, even though she was thrilled for Jenny and Alex. Slim had provided the kind of support she would’ve expected from a longtime friend rather than a new one, and he’d helped to get her through what might’ve been a crisis otherwise. No matter what else happened between them, she’d always be thankful to him for that.

She took her hair out of the messy bun it had been in last night and brushed it until it fell in soft waves past her shoulders. After brushing her teeth and putting on a bra under her T-shirt, Erin crept down the stairs, taking a subtle glance at the handsome man still sleeping on her sofa, before continuing on to the kitchen to make coffee. While she waited for the coffee to percolate, she gazed at the collage of family pictures on the fridge, zeroing in on Toby’s smiling face. He’d be gone fifteen years later this year, but to her it might’ve been fifteen minutes. She missed him desperately, even after all this time.

It had taken a while, a couple of years, actually, for her to realize she would simply never get over losing him. So she’d stopped trying, which had freed up the emotional energy she’d spent railing at the circumstances under which he died. She smiled back at him now, thankful for the photos, the memories, the reminders that he’d once existed and had been closer to her than anyone, other than Jenny, of course.

Though the photos were displayed in a tidy arrangement, Erin straightened them as she did every morning, in a pattern of left to right. Left side first. Always. Keeping up that ritual and many others was the only way to prevent further catastrophe, or so she told herself. Her obsessive routine was interrupted when an arm slid around her from behind and whiskers scraped against her neck.

“Morning.”

A shiver of sensation traveled down her backbone. “Morning.”

“You forgot to kick me out last night.”

“So I did. You were tired after flying all day. I didn’t have the heart to kick you out.”

“That’s awfully nice of you to say since you haven’t even let me buy you dinner yet.”

Erin gave his belly a playful poke with her elbow. “I’m beginning to think this dinner date is never going to happen.”

“Oh, it’s happening. Tonight, in fact.”

“I have plans tonight.” She poured two cups of coffee. “How do you like it?”

“Black is good.”

With his hands on her hips, he turned her to face him. “What are these plans of which you speak?”