pink sheets and comforter.
“It’s lovely,” Lucas said, sounding amused.
“My ex-husband’s mother used to come and stay with us for weeks at a time. I decorated this room for her,” she explained.
“I’m just glad I don’t have to sleep on the couch,” he told her.
“You have your own bathroom,” she said, waving toward the door in the corner.
“Even better.”
“Good night, then,” she said, stepping back out into the corridor.
He caught her hand and pulled her close. “You’ve been terrific so far,” he said in a low voice. “I can’t thank you enough for everything you’re doing for me.”
The kiss didn’t last for long, but it left Terri feeling breathless and confused. When Lucas released her, she stumbled the last few steps to her bedroom and shut the door tightly behind her. Leaning against it, she took several shaky breaths, waiting for her heart rate to slow again.
After carefully locking the door, she got ready for bed and crawled under the covers. Sleep was going to be difficult, she knew, but it seemed as if her Sunday was going to be a trying one. She needed to sleep.
“Hey,” Lucas said from the living room doorway the next morning.
Terri was curled up on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, grading quiz papers. “Good morning,” she said.
“It is still morning, anyway,” he replied, glancing at the clock.
He was wearing one of Harold’s mother’s old bathrobes that had been left in the bedroom closet. It was pink with purple dots and Terri tried to tell herself that he looked ridiculous in spite of the surge of desire that raced through her.
“I was going to wake you soon. You said we’re supposed to be meeting your mother at noon,” she said, trying not to wonder what he was, or wasn’t, wearing under the robe.
“Yes, which means I should get a shower and get ready.”
Terri nodded. It was eleven and she’d been trying to decide how best to wake him for several minutes. He disappeared back into his room and Terri found the sound of the shower another distraction. She knew exactly what he’d be wearing in the shower.
He found her in the kitchen half an hour later.
“Coffee,” he said happily.
She poured him a cup and handed it to him. “Where did you get those clothes from?” she asked, surprised to see him wearing a button-down shirt and casual pants.
“I keep a change of clothes and a few overnight essentials in my briefcase,” he explained. “I take my briefcase just about everywhere I go.”
She nodded. “That makes sense.”
“You look lovely,” he said, his eyes moving up and down her body in a way that made Terri blush.
“Thanks. We should go.”
He shrugged. “My mother is never on time for anything.”
“That doesn’t mean we should be late.”
He tapped on his phone and then grinned at her. “The car will be here shortly,” he said. “Did you want one for your use?”
“A car with a driver? No, thanks. As much as I’d love not having to drive anywhere, I can’t imagine using a chauffer to get around town. What does he do while you’re grocery shopping?”
“I don’t grocery shop,” Lucas told her.
“Really? Someone does your shopping for you?”
“Yes, although I mostly eat out. If I want to cook or have food in my apartment, one of my assistants takes care of the shopping.”
“Weird,” she muttered as Lucas’s phone buzzed.
“The car is here,” he told her.
The drive to the Riverside didn’t take long. Lucas led her to one of the private dining rooms, shutting the door behind them once they were inside.
“I forgot the Riverside has a Sunday brunch buffet,” she said as she poured herself a cup of coffee from the pot on the table in the corner.
“I can have a buffet set up in here, if that’s what you want,” he offered.
“Oh, goodness, that sounds like far too much trouble. We can order off the menu, can’t we?”
He nodded and then crossed to the table and poured his own coffee. Terri noticed that his hand was shaking as he did so.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine, really,” he said unconvincingly.
Without thinking about what she was doing, she pulled him into a hug. “It’s going to be okay,” she said, patting his back. “We’re in this together, whatever happens.” Still not thinking, she tipped her head up and pressed her lips to his.
“Lucas? I suppose I should have been expecting this sort of behavior from you,” the voice in the doorway felt like a bucket of cold water as it