As she considered Abram’s assessment, she realized just how wide the gap between her past and her present had become. He obviously recognized it, too. Although she’d never come right out and said this to her family before, she felt it was time to be totally transparent. No. Never.

“Hey.”

Startled, she looked up to find Seth filling the doorway. “Sorry, I...I didn’t hear you coming.”

He jerked his head toward her phone. “Don’t tell me Kouretas is causing trouble again.”

“No, it’s not him.”

He carried the cup of coffee he’d brought up into the room and put it on the nightstand before sitting next to her on the bed. “Then, is everything okay?”

“Of course.” Putting her phone down in favor of taking a sip of coffee, she forced a smile. “I was thinking... It might be fun to go shopping today.”

“Did you say shopping? As in leaving the house and going to a store? Or are you talking about ordering online?”

She could understand his shock. “I mean going out. It’s too late to have anything shipped, and I’d like to get your mother a gift for Christmas.”

“Wow. Now you’re just getting cocky,” he said jokingly.

“I don’t want to let the accident hold me back. She was the one who told me not to let it, remember?”

“My mother’s always got good advice.”

“I’m going to take it.”

He reach out to touch her face and ran a thumb over her bottom lip. “Thanks for last night.”

Tia had enjoyed it, too. Just the way he was looking at her right now made her want to pull him back into bed. Which was frightening. She couldn’t remember feeling this way about anyone else.

If she wasn’t careful, she was going to have a hard time letting him go. “Want to go shopping with me?” she asked.

“Sure.” Still holding her chin, he pecked her mouth. “As long as we go for a run first.”

That effectively dispelled the moment.

“Ugh! You can’t be serious.”

“We’re setting healthy habits, remember?”

“Tomorrow will be soon enough to start,” she grumbled.

Playfully pushing her back onto the bed, he pinned her down while tickling her, making her laugh so hard she didn’t have the strength to even try to fend him off. “Are you ready to go running today?” he challenged. “Huh? What do you say?”

“Okay,” she finally gasped so that he’d stop and let her catch her breath. “Yes, I’ll go today!”

Running didn’t turn out to be nearly as bad as Tia had expected. She enjoyed being with Seth no matter what they were doing, and he was especially charming when he was coaching and encouraging her. He was also eager to take a shower with her when they got back, which made the effort well worth it.