“You were badly injured yourself. There was nothing you could do for them but get better so you could keep their memory alive.”

His softly spoken words went straight to her heart. “That’s such a sweet thing to say. Thank you for that.”

“I’m feeling a little out of my league here, but then again, I always did with you.”

Surprised to hear that, she said, “Why?”

“Come on,” he said, laughing. “You were far too good for me. Still are.”

“That’s not true. I was never, ever good enough for you.”

“We can agree to disagree.”

“I don’t know how you can say I was too good for you when I walked away from what we had without a word.”

“All right, if you insist. I’ll agree you’re not good enough for me, but I’m willing to overlook your deficiencies.”

Astounded, Sydney let her mouth fall open, which made him laugh. And then he leaned in to take advantage of her open mouth, chasing the thoughts from her busy mind.

His lips moved gently over hers, as if he was afraid to scare her away by taking too much.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and let her tongue wander into his mouth, seeking him.

That seemed to spark something in him, and his kiss went from gentle to fierce. All of a sudden, he pulled back. “I’m sorry,” he said, breathing hard. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

“I wanted you to.”

“Syd, I want you so much. Not just tonight, but every night. The last thing I want is to rush you or push you into something you’re not ready for.”

“I set us back a bit tonight, huh?”

He pushed himself up on an elbow. “No, baby,” he said, brushing the hair back from her face. “It’s not your fault. It’ll take the time it takes. Look how far you’ve already come.”

“Sometimes it seems like I haven’t come very far at all. Other times, I feel closer to my old self again, which of course makes me guilty. How can a mother ever feel like her old self again when her children are gone forever?”

“Trust me—I saw you last summer. You’re a thousand times better than you were.”

“That’s right,” she said, smiling. “You were ‘visiting’ me back then.”

“I couldn’t stay away.”

She reached for him, and he snuggled into her embrace, his lips brushing against her forehead. Sydney smoothed her hand over his hair, comforted by his warmth, his scent and his calm, quiet demeanor.

“Luke?”

“Hmm?”

“Will you make love to me?”

His entire body went still, and she swore he stopped breathing.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to,” she said after an uncomfortable moment of silence.

He took her hand and directed it to the front of his gym shorts.