Dan’s voice grew thick and Renee felt her own eyes prickle. “I didn’t want to even consider finding someone else after Meggie passed. But it’s been a few years now, and I’m ready to try. I wouldn’t have asked you out, and I certainly wouldn’t have slept with you, if I wasn’t.”

“And you like me?” The sentiment still felt too good to be true. Renee felt every muscle in her body tense as she waited for his answer.

“More than like,” he affirmed after a pause. “I admit it threw me off—how to act around you at work. But maybe we could, you know, figure that out.” He coughed into his fist and raked a hand through his hair while studying the ceiling as if the words he wanted to say were printed up by the crown molding. “I want to see where this goes. I want us to be a part of one another’s lives and not just here in the office. I want to help you make dinner and take you out on the boat with Moe. I want to bring you coffee in bed and hold you while you fall asleep. I want to experience life, all of it, with you.”

Chills ran through Renee’s core. She could picture it so clearly, and the images made her heart threaten to burst. Without thinking, she moved toward him. She dropped to her knees, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, brushing her lips against his.

But he pulled away.

“What?” she murmured, more confused than ever. “What’s wrong?”

He held her forearms as he spoke, as if she might leap at him once more should he let go. “We’re both too wound up right now. I want to know you’re sure about me before we start this, really start this.”

Every part of her body was shaking with nervous, excited energy. “But I…I think I am sure.”

“I don’t want you to think. I want you to know.” He moved his hands down her arms. He interlaced their fingers, squeezing her palms. “A relationship needs to be built on trust, on communication, right? The fact that you questioned my intentions and feelings so early on? I don’t think that’s the best start for us, babe.”

Babe? She stared up at him, still curled in the space between his knees. Oh God, was she a babe?

“I realize that’s going to take some time, for you to build up that sort of trust in me. I’m willing to wait for you. I just can’t wait forever.”

Renee nodded. She understood.