She studied his face, then plunked herself down on her work stool with a heavy sigh. “Right now I have a pretty long list of other things causing me to lose sleep. Starting with you.”

He put his hand on his chest, eyes wide. “Who, me? I hope you mean that some pretty awesome memories are keeping you awake at night.”

The corner of her mouth quirked upward. “That’s part of it. I’m wondering if we should—”

“Do it again? Absolutely.”

“Mike, I’m serious. Don’t act like my boyfriend when I need my friend-friend.”

“Am I your boyfriend?” He winced, knowing they hadn’t defined what they were. “I’m sorry. This is...it’s going to take some getting used to. Figuring out how to separate the friends from the with benefits.”

She nodded, biting her upper lip. “That’s what I’m worried about. I mean... I’m worried about a lot of things. And when I’m worried about things, you’re the one I want to talk to. But when what I’m worried about is you...” He hated the sadness and confusion he saw in her eyes when she looked up. “Mike, I don’t know what to do.”

What he wanted to do was rush to her side and hold her. Comfort her. Kiss her. But she was right—they’d blurred a lot of lines when they’d slept together. And they needed to deal with that first.

“The last thing I want is for you to be worrying about anything to do with me. Let’s agree to operate from the position of being friend-friends first and foremost. No more hugs or kisses or...stuff...unless we both know and agree to be in boyfriend...” Damn, the word made him feel far better than it should. “Or girlfriend zone.” Yeah, that one felt pretty good, too. “We default to friend-friends unless otherwise noted. Agreed?”

She gave a quick nod, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze. “That sounds reasonable.” Then she looked up with a small smile that warmed his heart. “I’m not sure reasonable applies when it comes to the other...stuff. But we can definitely try to compartmentalize our two different relationships.”

He returned her smile, settling into his familiar role as her logical attorney friend. “The key is communication. We’ve always been brutally honest as friends. There’s no reason we can’t be the same way about...stuff. We’re not teenagers getting away with something. We are two very mature adults, and we’re capable of...how did you put it? Compartmentalizing.”

She huffed out a short laugh. “Easy on the very mature labels, pal. I don’t mind being called mature, but let’s not get carried away.”

“Fair enough. Now tell me exactly what has you so worried, point by point, and we’ll figure out how to deal with it.”