“Mmm,” she said, smiling at the sensual promise in his tone.

“Jenny?”

“Yes?”

“I haven’t felt this good in a really long time, and it’s not just because of the sex, which is amazing. It’s everything. It’s you.”

She raised her head to look at him. “Me, too. I’d started to wonder if…” Catching herself before she could make an overly revealing statement, Jenny shook her head.

With his hands on her face, he compelled her to meet his gaze. “What were you wondering?”

“I can’t say it.”

“Yes, you can. I want to hear it.”

Jenny licked her lips and watched his eyes zero in on the movement of her tongue. “I wondered if I’d ever feel this way again.”

“And how do you feel exactly?”

“Hopeful.” She said the first word that came to mind, but it summed things up rather well.

“I do, too. Except… The situation with my mom and everything… The timing is a bit tough for me. Nothing about the life I’m living now was part of my grand plan.”

“What was your grand plan? Before your mom got sick.”

He sighed and combed the fingers of his right hand through his hair. “I had an incredible job working at the US Botanic Garden. My degree is in horticulture, and I’ve had some success with breeding rare orchids. It was satisfying work that I enjoyed.”

“Is there any reason why you couldn’t do that here? I mean, maybe it wouldn’t be the same exact thing you were doing before, but do you have to be in Washington to do whatever you did with the orchids?”

“I was working under a grant, so that was a big part of it, but the grant was mine, not the Garden’s.”

“Maybe you could reapply and relocate your program? Just thinking out loud.”

“Maybe,” he said, seeming intrigued by the idea.

“From what I know about dementia, your mom could live in this condition for a long time, and I already know you won’t want to be far from her. I bet she’d hate to be responsible for you and Paul putting your lives on hold indefinitely because of her.”

“I know she’d hate that, because in her rare moments of clarity, she’s said as much.”

“Why are you cutting grass in the broiling heat if you have a degree in horticulture?”

“Because it’s what’s needed at the moment. We had a rough couple of weeks with my mom earlier in the season and fell behind on everything. My dad used to say when you own the place, there’s no such thing as too good for any job. He’d say that when my brother and I would bitch about the owner’s sons having to cut grass.”

“I like his attitude.”

“The business has been successful, but he was always humble. He never forgot where he came from.”