“Spectacular,” she agreed. She handed him his shorts.

“Really? So soon?”

“If Maya wakes up, I can’t have her finding a naked stranger on the sofa.”

“I don’t exactly think I’m a stranger to her. Anyway, how do people with kids ever manage to have a sex life?” he grumbled, stepping into his shorts and retrieving his T-shirt from the floor.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Babysitters?”

“I’m pretty sure Ava doped me up with children’s Robitussin back in the day,” Joe said. He replaced the sofa cushions and leaned back to watch as Letty scurried around the room picking up her discarded clothing.

“Do that topless hula thing again, will ya?” he asked.

“Not tonight, dear,” she said, tossing the Hawaiian shirt at him. She slipped into the bedroom and when she emerged she was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt.

“Aw, man, I was thinking maybe we could take a shower together,” Joe groused. “There goes my fantasy.”

“Would you settle for a glass of wine?” She went into the kitchen, found the bottle she’d opened earlier, and poured two glasses.

He touched his glass to the side of hers. “Here’s to promising beginnings,” she said, smiling at him over the rim of the glass.

“Here’s to babysitters,” he countered.

“Can I ask you something?” he said, a little while later. He was stretched out on the sofa, with his head in her lap.

“Mmm-hmm.”

“What changed your mind? About me? I mean, I’m not just another cheap, easy piece of meat, you know.”

“What if I said I couldn’t resist your boyish charm? You know, girls get horny too.”

He picked up her hand and kissed the back of it. “Seriously, Letty. Are we going to be a thing? Or not? I keep getting mixed signals from you. You know, tomorrow, God willing, you’re not gonna have to worry about Evan Wingfield anymore. You can pick up the pieces and put your life together—however you want it to be.”

“I know,” Letty agreed. “But I’m afraid to get too far ahead of myself. What if something goes wrong? I mean, really wrong?”

“Then we’ll fix it. And it won’t be me rescuing you, I promise. It’ll be us fixing it together.”

She chewed her bottom lip. “I want to buy into that dream. I want to be able to give Maya the things Tanya and I never had—a home, a real house with a yard and a cat, or maybe a dog. I want her to start school in the same town every year, with friends she won’t be ashamed to bring home for sleepovers.” She shrugged. “I guess I want stability. But I don’t know how to make that happen—especially after all we’ve both been through these past few years.”