Alex sat on the edge of the bed and put on the boots he wore on the bike. “Don’t do that until you’re sure you feel better.”

“I feel much better. Good enough to work.” She raised herself up on one elbow. In the faint early morning light, he could make out her silhouette as she watched him get ready to go. “So when we go on this date of yours, do you think we could take the bike?”

He turned to face her. “Is that what you want?”

“Uh-huh.”

“You gotta wear jeans or long pants, and it’s awfully hot.”

“You don’t wear jeans when you’re on the bike.”

“That’s because I’m an idiot, but I don’t take chances with passengers.”

“So you have a lot of passengers?”

He cuffed her chin playfully. “Not one since I moved home.” Leaning over, propped on his hands, he kissed her one last time. “See you later.”

“Have a good day at the office.”

“Pray for rain.”

“I’m praying. Enough already with this heat. If it’s sucking the life out of me, I can’t imagine what it’s like for you working outside in it.”

“It sucks.” He kissed her again and then one more time, lingering with his lips barely touching hers. “Okay, this time I’m really going.”

“This time I’m really letting you.”

Even though her sweet kisses had him hard as a rock, he bounded down the spiral stairs with a smile on his face. How many hours until he could see her again?

***

For a long time after she heard his motorcycle start and drive away, Jenny lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. She’d told Alex she felt better, and physically she was less sore and achy than the day before. But emotionally… She felt battered by the reoccurrence of a dream that always had the power to crush her with the reminder of what she’d lost.

And that she’d said Toby’s name out loud while Alex was with her… God, what he must’ve thought. He’d been kind and understanding, but Jenny knew the time had come to tell him the truth about her past. It wasn’t fair to keep such a thing from him, especially when they had mutual friends who knew. If she didn’t want him to hear about it from someone else, she needed to find the courage to tell him herself.

It occurred to her that it hadn’t been all that difficult to divulge the details of her past with the other men she’d dated in the years since she lost Toby. This was different, she acknowledged. Alex was different. Their connection was more significant, which made it that much harder to tell him what he needed to hear.