“Tomorrow,” he told Pete with a warning look.
“But—”
“Will this place fall apart if we don’t discuss this before morning?” Boone inquired impatiently.
Pete glanced at Emily, then grinned. “Nope. Enjoy yourselves.”
“No question about it,” Boone muttered as they walked away.
“Obviously he’s not used to you being on a real date,” Emily said, oddly pleased by the knowledge.
“He’s never seen me with any woman other than Jenny,” Boone confirmed. “It finally dawned on him just then that you must be special and that I had much better things to do tonight than going over one of his lists.”
“He’s good at lists?” Emily asked.
“He’s excellent at lists. Normally I consider that a plus. Tonight, not so much.”
“We’re free now,” Emily reminded him as they reached his car.
“Yes, we are,” Boone said, backing her up against it. “And I’ve been waiting all night for this.” He lowered his mouth to cover hers.
Emily felt his desire in that kiss and in his arousal. She gave him a gentle shove, tempering it with a grin. “Don’t you think it would be better not to start this till we can finish it?”
“My house?” Boone said, sounding dazed. “Definitely. Let’s go.”
He helped her into the car, practically raced around to jump behind the wheel, then peeled out of the parking lot.
“This takes me back,” Emily said.
“To?”
“A time when you couldn’t wait to get your hands on me.”
“Seems that hasn’t changed,” he said with a heated glance in her direction.
“Do you wish it had?” she asked, needing to know if there was regret blended with the anticipation.
He blinked at the question. “Seriously?”
“I really want to know. Are you sorry that these feelings aren’t dead and buried?”
Boone sighed. “Are you going to make me sorry?”
“I’m going to try like crazy not to,” she said, knowing that tonight when she told him her plans would be the first test. She also knew she probably ought to give him that information before they took this next step.
“Boone, wait,” she said as they pulled into his driveway, stopping him before he could exit the car. “There’s something you need to know.”
He regarded her incredulously. “Now?”
She nodded. “I have to go back to Los Angeles sooner than I’d expected.”
The light seemed to drain from his eyes at that. “How soon?”
“Sunday. I have an important meeting Monday.”
“I see.”
“I’ll be back, though,” she said hurriedly. “Probably by the middle of next week. Next weekend at the latest.”
“Okay.”
She reached out and put a hand on the tense muscle in his arm. “Can I explain why this is important? Will you listen?”
“I said I was going to give this a chance, so I suppose I have to,” he said, though he didn’t sound happy about it.
She told him all about Sophia and about this passion of hers for helping women escaping abusive relationships and in need of shelter. “This is the first time she’s asked me to be a part of one of her projects, Boone. I suppose I could have turned her down. I know she wouldn’t have held it against me, at least not for long.”
She met his gaze, willed him to understand. “I got to thinking about those women, about the fear that must haunt them, about the kids who have maybe never known a safe place to live, and I couldn’t say no. I just couldn’t.”
Boone closed his eyes, sighing. “No, you couldn’t,” he agreed. “I think if you were going back for any other reason, it would be different, but how can I object to you agreeing to something like this? It proves what a huge heart you have.”
Tears stung her eyes. “I was so afraid you wouldn’t see it that way, that you’d think I was being selfish and already going back on my word.”
“Oh, believe me, I wish I could think that,” he admitted. “It would make letting you leave a lot easier if I were furious with you.”
She nudged him in the ribs. “But now you’re maybe just a little eager for me to go and get back?”
He smiled at that. “Now I’m eager to get you inside and make the most of the time we do have.”
“I don’t suppose you’d want to meet me in Aspen in a few days?” she suggested lightly. “I’ll have to check in there and make sure things are progressing on schedule for the ski lodge. We could have some time together away from here.”
He smiled at that. “As appealing as that sounds, there’s B.J. to consider. I wouldn’t be comfortable leaving him with anyone here.”
“Not even Cora Jane? You know she’d love having him to herself, and Samantha will be around.”
He gave her hand a squeeze. “Next time, okay? When I’ve had a little more time to plan for a getaway with you. Anticipation’s part of the fun, right?”
“True,” she agreed. “But we’re good?”
“We’re good,” he assured her, then got out of the car.
When he’d opened her door, she stepped out and put her hand on his cheek. “Thank you for being so understanding.”
“Something tells me I’m going to get a lot of practice at that,” he said, a wry note in his voice.
She laughed. “As if you won’t test my patience from time to time.”
“I’ll do my best,” he said. “It ought to keep things interesting.”
She looked deep into his eyes as they stood on the lawn with moonlight streaming through the trees. “I don’t think interesting is ever going to be a problem for us. In fact, we may start to crave dull.”
“Not me,” Boone assured her, his mouth finding hers. When the kiss ended on a sigh, he added, “I’m just starting to realize that this is exactly the sort of excitement that’s been missing from my life.”
She leaned back into him, lifted her lips to his. “Happy to oblige,” she murmured.
And even happier that they’d weathered this first potential tempest. Since it struck at the very core of their past conflict, the resolution tonight seemed to bode well for the long haul.
* * *
Inside Boone noticed that the message
