He drew her closer, their eyes locked.

“What are we doing?” she mumbled, fighting the urge to pull away.

“Nothing wrong.”

“Max…”

He kissed her, full lips hard on hers like he was done waiting, and the gasp that escaped her was almost embarrassing. She’d never been kissed before. She’d never been close enough to a guy to get anywhere near a kiss. Now Maxwell Oliver’s lips were moving on hers in a way that stirred a feeling deep in her belly.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. He groaned, and she loved the way that sounded. He smelled of humid summer boy sweat and, for some reason, that made her want to kiss him harder. Her lips parted, everything tangled, and, with his gauzed hands, he effortlessly lifted her body and shifted her onto his lap. The kiss was the anticipation of Christmas morning doused with a day in the blazing sun. But when his bandaged hands fluttered beneath the hemline of her T-shirt, she jerked away, her back hitting the steering wheel.

“Whoa.” She blinked, mouth still open, still feeling his lips.

“Yeah, whoa.” The look in his eyes said he didn’t want to stop.

And maybe she didn’t want to either. But they had to. This wasn’t real. This was a stress reaction. This was adrenaline. This was a heightened emotional response to an extreme event. Wasn’t that what she’d learned while working at the hospital?

“You’re upset. We’re both upset.” She shook her head.

Max looked confused. “What? This is the first time I haven’t been upset in weeks.”

“No, I mean, you’re upset about your mom and what’s happening to her. Everything’s mixing together.”

“I am not mixed-up.” He moved for her lips once more, yearning in his eyes, but she pulled away.

He sank back with a sigh.

“I’m trying to be considerate,” she said.

“Of me? I don’t need you to protect my innocence.”

“I’m not. It’s just…” She had to get off his lap. She couldn’t think while sitting on him, while being so close. She moved back to the passenger seat, and he frowned. “Max, a few weeks ago, we’d never even spoken.”

She stared at her lap.

“Is that what this is about? I know I was a jerk. But now—”

“Now you’re in a life-and-death situation. Your family’s on the line, and you don’t know what you’re feeling. This is an acute stress reaction….”

“Stop talking like a doctor!” He smacked the seat, then winced from his injuries. She reached for him, instinctively, but he pulled away. “This isn’t some medical thing; at least it isn’t for me. I like you, Vera. I want to be with you.”

It was as if his words spilled inside her and watered the bits of her soul dried and withered from seventeen years of loneliness. He didn’t know how much she wanted to feel these feelings, but…

“You’re overthinking this.” He leaned toward her. “This isn’t sudden. It’s been growing, ever since we started hanging out. Don’t you feel it?”