“Last night? The kiss? I’m sorry about that, but you were standing so close, and you smelled so good—” He bit his lip and looked down into his cup again. “I’m making excuses. I took liberties. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“It’s okay. It’s more than okay,” I said, echoing his words. “I think you know that I liked it.”

A frown creased his brow, and he nodded. “And I think you know I liked you watching me this morning.”

“God… This conversation isn’t going the way it was supposed to.”

“How was it supposed to go?” he asked.

“I was supposed to acknowledge that we’re both feeling a sort of…pull toward each other. And then circle around to why we can’t act on it. Except now, I’m just thinking…”

“Thinking what?” he asked.

I raised my head and finally looked him in the eye. “I’m just thinking about what you said and wondering if it was true.”

“What? That I’ve been coming for you for years? Yes, Darcy. Yes.”

That three-letter word…god, how did he make that three-letter word sound so filthy and suggestive? And years? Scott was right. He did have a crush on me — then and now.

I licked my lips and shifted toward him in my chair. “Listen… I think we both know that that this thing can’t happen.”

“This thing? Can you name it? Call it what it is? I…I think I’d like to hear it,” he asked haltingly.

“That kiss last night…me watching you in the shower this morning. We can’t let this go any further than it already has. You’re my son’s best friend, and I don’t think you want to test your relationship with him in that way. We can’t cross this line, Tommy,” I whispered. I swallowed hard and realized that even talking about how we couldn’t act on it had made me slippery wet. God, the wrongness of it, the wrongness of wanting him like this, made my hunger for it even more delicious.

“It’s really hard to talk about a line we can’t cross when what I want is on the other side, knowing that you want it, too.”

“Tommy, you can’t...we can’t...” I looked around, afraid that someone overheard him. God. I really wanted to be kissed right now. Needed to be. “Jared would be upset and disgusted with both of us. And honestly! I’m old enough to be your mother—”