He moved carefully, hoping she would stay asleep for a while longer, but with their arms and legs curled around each other, he couldn’t help but wake her.

“Do you have to go?” she asked in that sleepy, sexy voice that got to him every time he heard it.

“Yeah. I lost all day yesterday, so I need to hit it hard today.”

“Drink lots of water.”

“Yes, ma’am. How do you feel?”

“Better.”

“Good.” He bent to kiss her. “Tonight, if I can get away, I want to take you on a date.”

“Oh…”

“Is that all right?”

“I…um, I thought you wanted to just…you know…have sex.”

“I want that, too.”

“I thought that was all you wanted.”

Alex wished it wasn’t still dark. He’d like to see her face for this conversation. “I’m not going to deny it started out that way. And I’m not going to deny I have my reservations about getting involved with anyone when my life is so unsettled. Despite all that, I like being with you.” He took her hand. “I like how I feel when I’m around you.”

She wrapped both her hands around his in a gesture that comforted him and reinforced his desire to spend more time with her. “How do you feel when you’re with me?” she asked, sounding a bit breathless.

“Calm. When I’m close to you like this, my mind stops racing for a little while, which is a very welcome relief.” He kissed her forehead and then her lips. “And then, other times, I feel anything but calm, but I like that, too. I like that a lot. So… Date? Yes?”

“Okay.”

“You aren’t convincing me it’s what you want.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I’d love to go out with you, but part of me enjoys the fact that no one knows about us. The minute we step foot in town together, people will know.”

“I don’t mind that if you don’t.”

“The thing I didn’t want to tell you last night… I’ll need to tell you about that before we go out, before someone else does.”

She sounded so sad and resigned that he almost regretted asking her to go out with him. Almost…

“Before we go anywhere, we’ll talk. You can tell me anything you think I need to know. Will that work?”

She released a soft but audible sigh. “Yes.”

“Whatever it is, I don’t want you to worry about telling me. Do you promise you won’t worry all day?”

“I promise I’ll try not to worry.”

“I suppose that’ll have to do. I’ll call you later.”

“Tell Paul I’ll check in with him at some point today to get started at the store.”