“So it would seem.” He paused before he shared a thought he’d had only in passing. “Nothing says I have to open a practice here.”

Her eyes flew open. “But that’s your plan.”

He shrugged. “Plans change, and all I’ve done so far is start to look for office space in Butler. I could just as easily look for a job in New York. I’m already licensed in both Vermont and New York, so I can work in either place.”

“But is that what you want?”

“I’m finding that what I want is changing by the hour.” He continued to caress her soft skin as they talked, which was how he felt her shiver.

“Are you cold?”

“No… I’m… overwhelmed.”

“Too much too soon?”

“Of course it is,” she said with a husky laugh. “It’s way too much way too soon, but you won’t hear me complaining. This has been… It’s been amazing.”

“Same here. I’ve never done anything quite like this.”

“Like what? Jumping into bed with someone you only just met?”

“That, but the rest of it, too. I never talk about my father—with anyone—and you’ve gotten me to talk about him several times. I didn’t even hesitate before sharing the whole ugly tale with you. That’s not something I do.”

“Same with the stuff I’ve shared with you.”

“This is way more than an off-the-charts physical attraction for me, Emma.”

“It is for me, too.”

“So what now?”

Her deep sigh answered for her.

“Do we try to make it work and see what happens, or do we say it was a great week and leave it at that?” Grayson asked.

“What do you want?”

“You’re answering my question with a question,” he said, tracing the outline of her sexy mouth with his fingertip.

“If I could have anything I wanted…”

“What would you want?”

“This. You. Us. Together. Somehow…”

“Me, too.”

“Soooo…”

“So we’ll give it a whirl and see what happens?”

“I’m scared to get so involved with you and not have it work out. I’m already in too deep to walk away without it hurting like hell. What’ll happen a few months down the road if it’s not working out—”

He kissed the words right off her lips. “Let’s not expect it to go bad. Let’s expect it to go right.”

“If it were just about me, I could do that. But it’s not just about me.”

“I know that, Emma. I care about Simone, too. When I heard she’d gotten hurt… I couldn’t stand to think of her in that kind of pain. I want to get to know her better and spend time with both of you. That’s all I know right now. I want more.”

Before she could reply, a whimper came from the next room.