“Are you beating yourself up?”

“You could say that.” Why was it so easy to be honest with her? Why was everything so easy with her?

“Don’t.”

“I can’t help it, Kate. I shouldn’t be letting this happen.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” she said stiffly.

“Sweetheart, it’s got nothing to do with you. You’re absolutely perfect, but I was almost twenty-eight when you were born. How do you expect me to forget that?”

“You’re the only one making an issue out of it.”

His laugh came out harsher than he’d intended. “Do you honestly think I’m the only one who’ll make an issue out of it? Are you really that naïve?”

“I guess I am.”

He knew he was hurting her, but maybe it was better now instead of later when the stakes would no doubt be higher. “Have you spent even one minute imagining what your father would have to say about this?”

“Why would he have to know? I’m not going to tell him. Are you?”

“Oh yeah, I’m going to call him up and say, ‘Hey, Jack, your daughter’s got a man in her life, and oh, by the way, it’s me.’ I imagine that would go over really well with him.”

“I don’t know why you’re getting so upset over a couple of simple kisses.”

He swore under his breath when he realized she was crying. “If you think those kisses were simple, you’re more naïve than I thought. Go to bed, Kate. It’s late, and you’re tired.”

“I’m sorry you’re mad with me. I don’t want you to be mad.”

All the fight went out of him. “I’m not mad at you, baby. I’m mad at myself. I should’ve known better than to let this get so out of control.”

“So you don’t want to see me anymore?”

She sounded heartbroken, and he hurt, knowing he had done that to her. “I didn’t say that. Let me call you tomorrow, okay? Get some sleep.”

“I’ll try.”

He ended the call and tossed the phone into the passenger seat with a growl of frustration. What am I going to do? When she asked if he didn’t want to see her anymore, a shaft of pain had sliced through him. As he admitted to himself that the thought of never seeing her again was unimaginable, he realized he was in love with her—completely, totally, ridiculously in love.

“God,” he groaned. “What the hell am I going to do?”

Kate tossed and turned until about three when fatigue took over, and she finally slipped into a restless sleep. She was awake again at eight. At eight thirty, she reached for the phone to call Jill.