“So, it’s hard to know where to start,” she said, twisting toward me on her cushion and tucking her feet under her. “I’m still very much thinking and feeling the same way I felt this morning when we had our talk on the back porch. And sitting here next to you tonight, I just keep thinking… ‘This is Tommy. You can’t do this with Tommy.’”

What was this feeling? Disappointment? I brought my glass to my lips once more to hide whatever the feeling was.

“But then I remembered this afternoon in my study. The way you were with me, and how it felt to hold your hand and that almost kiss last night. Just our lips brushing together. It was more intense than any real kiss I’ve had in years, and…I don’t know, Tommy. I don’t know if I can do this… I just… I think…”

“You just think what, Darcy?” I asked softly. “Do you think you need a little push?”

“Yeah?” she said with a shrug.

I laughed and shook my head. “That sounded a little bit like a question and not an answer.”

“And you sound a little mean,” she said with narrowed eyes. “And shouldn’t it be a question? This is not who I am. I’m a good woman—”

“Good to who, Darcy? From where I’m sitting, you’re good to everyone but you.”

She recoiled a little. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I don’t?” Now would be a good time to shut up. I was probably in danger of saying too much, but she said she wanted a push, so I’d give it to her. “Maybe you’re so used to hearing lies that the truth sounds foreign to you.”

“And what’s the truth?” she asked.

“The truth is that you’re a good woman who settled for a shallow puddle of a man and then wondered why you found no depth there. You’re a good woman who isn’t good to herself. Or to know when or how to grab something good when it’s being offered.”

“And you think that good thing is you?” she asked with a raised brow.

I shook my head. “I don’t know, Darcy. I know that I want you, but you have to make that decision for yourself. Which was part of the reason why I asked you to make that list.”

“You and this list,” she groaned. “A list of the ways I want and need to be pleased by you doesn’t change the circumstances. I’m not that woman, Tommy. I’m not some desperate—”