“Good morning, sweetheart.” Her cheerful voice made him crave to have her near.

“It would be if my girlfriend was still in bed with me,” he grumbled, feeling as surly as he sounded. “Where are you?”

Sarah sighed. “Chicago. I left you a note.”

“I got it. The one that says you’re going home. I thought that was here with me.”

“Let me explain.” She gentled her voice to soothe him. “I’m sorry I left in the middle of the night like that. I wasn’t feeling well.”

He sat up in bed and wiped his hand over his face, wishing his brain would boot up faster. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“Just a stomach thing. I felt a bit queasy, got some water, watched you sleep, which made me think even more that you’re adorable . . .”

Okay, he loved hearing that.

“Then I checked my messages.”

He wished she’d gone back to bed with him instead. “And one of them said you needed to be in Chicago to put out some fire that only you can handle.”

“Yes. Because it’s for Andy’s Antics. My new computer game is coming out this Christmas and the company I hired to test and debug it notified me that some nerd hoping to impress me and build his reputation broke the contract and changed my game. With the debut so close, and my reputation on the line, I had to take care of this in person.”

Luke raked his fingers through his hair. “That sucks. I’m sure it pissed you off to find out someone hijacked your game.”

“Yes, it did, because I had to leave you and the boys to take care of it.”

“I wish you were here.”

“Me, too, but since I had to leave for this and I’ll fly back in to San Jose, I thought I’d stop by my office and put out a few other fires there. I went over a few résumés on the plane ride here and I asked Abby to set up some interviews while I’m in the office, so I can hire some help, and actually sleep six or eight hours a night. With you. At home. In your bed.”

“Our bed. And I’m sorry. I woke up with plans for us and you weren’t here. And I wanted you to be.”

“That’s very sweet. It means so much to me. I hope you know I’m trying to figure out our life.”

“I know you are. You asked for time, and I’ll give it to you. But I won’t stop missing you when you’re gone.”

“I’ll be back before you know it. The boys are with Margaret, but maybe if you have time, you can give her a break and take them riding. I left her a note telling her what was going on. She has my car in case she wants to take the boys somewhere, or if you want to bring them to the ranch. Their car seats are inside.”

“How’d you get to the airport?”