‘‘Good.’’ Grace picked up the drink she’d neglected and drank deeply. ‘‘That’s good.’’

‘‘Still, he’s got a terrific butt.’’

‘‘Oh, Julie.’’ Grace bit her lip to keep from giggling and sent a meaningful look toward her daughter.

‘‘She’s not listening. So, anyway, how’d I get started on this? Oh, yeah, I’ll keep Aubrey for you if you want to go out.’’

‘‘I, well, thanks.’’ She was trying to decide if she wanted to get well off the subject of Ethan Quinn, or linger on it, when she heard a knock and saw him standing at her front door.

‘‘Like magic,’’ Julie murmured, and romance bloomed in her heart. ‘‘You know, why don’t I take Aubrey over to see Mom for a while? I’ll just keep her and feed her dinner.’’

‘‘But I don’t have to leave for work for nearly an hour yet.’’

Julie rolled her eyes. ‘‘So make good use of the time, pal.’’ Then she scooped Aubrey up. ‘‘Want to come to my house, Aubrey? See my kitty cat?’’

‘‘Oooh, kitty. Bye, Mama.’’

‘‘Oh, but—’’ They were already sailing out of her back door, with Aubrey calling for the kitty and waving madly. She looked at Ethan again, staring at his face through the screen, then lifted her hands.

He decided to take it as an invitation and stepped inside. ‘‘Was that Julie who ran off with Aubrey?’’

‘‘Yes. She’s going to let Aubrey play with her kitten and have dinner over there.’’

‘‘It’s nice you have someone like Julie to look after her.’’

‘‘I’d be lost without Julie.’’ Puzzled, Grace angled her head. He was standing awkwardly, a hand tucked behind his back. ‘‘Is something wrong? Did you hurt your hand?’’

‘‘No.’’ What an idiot he was, Ethan thought, offering her the flowers he had held behind him. ‘‘I thought you might like some.’’ He wanted, desperately, to find ways to make up to her for the way he’d treated her in the woods.

‘‘You brought me flowers.’’

‘‘I stole some here and there. You may not want to mention it to Anna. I got the tiger lilies off the side of the road. They’re blooming thick this year.’’

He’d picked her flowers. Not store-bought flowers but ones he’d stopped and selected and plucked with his own hands. On a long, trembling sigh, she buried her face in them. ‘‘They’re beautiful.’’

‘‘They made me think of you. Almost everything does.’’ And when she lifted her head, when he saw that her eyes were stunned and soft, he wished he had more words, better ones, smoother ones. ‘‘I know you only have the one night off now. I’d like to take you to dinner if you don’t have any plans.’’

‘‘To dinner?’’

‘‘There’s a place Anna and Cam like up in Princess Anne. Suit-and-tie place, but they claim the food’s worth it. Would you like to?’’