“Oh, no, that’s okay,” Mary said in a rush. She didn’t want him to ask her that. Couldn’t handle him asking her that. Not when the answer was such a big fat, sparkling God, yes. Not when she was one hundred percent certain that in order to get herself to fall asleep in her big bed tonight, she was going to be pretending that she was in John’s bed. One night had been an experiment. Two nights was suicide.

“Are you sure?”

“I’ve been texting with Tyler and Fin. Kylie’s at a sleepover tonight, so they agreed to come sleep in my guest room. I’ll have plenty of company.”

“Right.” John took a long drink from his lemonade, his eyes avoiding hers. “Great. That makes sense.”

“They should be here in half an hour or so. Will you stay and have dinner with us?”

His eyes finally landed on hers again, and she was both warmed and shaken by how familiar his gaze had become to her. Those icy blues no longer seemed cold and distant to her; they seemed bright and defined by their almost unknowable depth.

“No,” he said resolutely. “No, I think that if you’re all right, then it’s time for me to get back to reality.”

He finished the rest of his lemonade in one huge gulp and rose to put his glass in the dishwasher. Mary was still sitting on the couch and sipping her drink, mulling over his definition of reality. The last day and a half certainly had an unreal quality to them, defined by pulsing, uncommon emotions. Everything from the fear during the break-in to the giddy euphoria of John’s proximity had made her heart race. Maybe he was right. Maybe none of this was how real life was supposed to be. Real life was predictable and even.

Mary’s real life didn’t involve Ruth and it certainly didn’t involve John’s bed.

Maybe he was right. Maybe it was time to at least attempt to go back to normal.

She sighed and stood and met him at her front door. She refused to linger over the cheek kiss she gave as a goodbye to everyone special in her life. It was brief.

“Thank you, John, for everything.” She opened her mouth to say more, but he shocked her by pulling her to him in one fierce, firm hug. It didn’t last any longer than her cheek kiss had.

“There’s no thanks necessary, Mary. Truly.”

And then he was down her stairs and gone.