A little different than the trip down. Then she had been avoiding Damien. Now she didn’t want to let him go, knowing this was it. Their last few hours together. But they weren’t talking about that. Damien was telling her about his apartment and the renovations he was making to it, taking down some walls to open up the space.

She was content to just listen to him, interjecting an occasional comment or thought, but mostly she just wanted to feel his nearness, the rumble in his chest as he spoke, the rise and fall of his breathing. The way he squeezed her waist to emphasize a point as he talked.

“Where will you live after the baby is born?” he asked.

“Since Caroline’s getting married and moving to the Upper East Side, I’ll have the room to myself. And Jamie and Allison swear they don’t mind sharing an apartment with a baby, but I don’t know. It seems like a lot to ask of them, with all the mess and the noise. We’ll see how it goes after the baby is born.”

“They must be good friends.”

“They are. The best.” Mandy stifled a yawn, ready for a nap. She was getting addicted to the midday naps she’d been taking on this trip. “I met Jamie in my shop when she was looking for a gift for her niece. She needed another roommate, and we hit it off. That was three years ago. Jamie and Allison went to NYU together, and Allison went to high school in Connecticut with Caroline, so they’ve all known each other awhile. I was the latecomer to the group and yet I feel like we’ve been friends forever.

“You’ll like them,” she said without thinking, sleepy.

“I doubt I’ll ever meet Jamie and Allison, Mandy.”

That jerked her out of her semislumberous state. His words were a harsh reminder of what the rules for their relationship were. Rule number one—there was no relationship.

“You’re right.” She gave a forced laugh. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m just tired.”

She could feel the force of his stare on her, but she refused to look up at him. She didn’t want him to see the neediness she knew would be reflected in her eyes. They couldn’t get involved, she knew that. And if he changed his mind, she might not be able to resist changing hers.

But she had to resist. This was not the time for her to embroil herself in another relationship with a man when she had a baby to think about.

She knew that. She did. But knowing it and liking it were two different things.

“If we could…” Damien kissed the top of her head. “I want you, Mandy, I do. Very much. But I can’t…and I want more for you than I can give you.”