Patrick woke to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and a note on the pillow.

Went to church. Coffee is on. Will make breakfast when I get back. xo Mary

The last time Patrick had stepped foot in a church had been for his wife’s funeral. Her death had shaken whatever faith he might’ve had in the Almighty, and he’d kept his distance from God ever since. Church seemed to be an important part of Mary’s life, though, so maybe it was time to reconsider his stance on the matter.

Whatever it took to make her happy, and if it made her happy to go to church, he could certainly sacrifice an hour out of his week for her.

While he waited for her, he took a shower and got dressed. He checked out the books on her shelf—mostly mysteries and biographies—and examined the photographs that were interspersed with books. Mary with an older couple that must be her parents, groups of friends and one of a much younger Mary with a guy that made him unreasonably jealous. In every photo, her smile shone brightly, her inner joyfulness on full display.

He loved that about her. It was one of many things he loved about her. He withdrew his cell phone from his pocket and called up the photo the jeweler had sent him yesterday of the ring he’d designed for her. Vincent, the jeweler, had taken his requests and crafted them into a stunning ring with an emerald-cut, three-carat diamond surrounded by a nest of smaller diamonds that continued around the band. All told, the ring was five carats of flawless diamonds, but it wasn’t gaudy. It was perfect and one of a kind, just like the woman it’d been made for.

A car door closing outside had him returning the phone to his coat pocket. When Mary came in, her cheeks rosy and flushed from the cold, Patrick was at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and the morning paper from Burlington opened to the business section.

Her smile lit up her face, and a rare feeling of absolute contentment came over him at the sight of her. It’d been so long since he’d felt the way he did with her that he’d almost forgotten what it was like.

“How was church?”

She removed her coat and hung it on a hook in the foyer. “It seemed unusually long today. I wonder why.”

“I can’t imagine.” Smiling, he held out his hand to her and brought her down on his lap, wrapping his arms around her and breathing in the refreshing scent of her hair.

“It could be because the devil himself was waiting for me at home.”

He laughed and nuzzled her neck. “Did you pray for me?”

“I have since the day I met you.”

Stunned to hear that, he raised his head to meet her gaze. “What do you ask for on my behalf?”

“I ask God to keep you safe in that tin can you fly around in as well as on your travels around the world, and when I’m missing you, which is most of the time, I ask Him to bring you back to me.”

“Mary,” he whispered, moved to his soul by her sweetness. “Sometimes I feel like I don’t deserve you.”

“Don’t say that.” Her hand on his face compelled him to look at her. “You deserve me and you deserve to be happy, just like everyone else.” Then she kissed him, and all thoughts of whether he deserved her were replaced with the burning need she inspired in him every time she was close to him.

“You know… I’d go to church with you if you wanted me to.”

“You would? Really?”

He nodded.

Smiling, she kissed him. “That’d be nice.” She kissed him again. “Are you hungry?”

“Mmm,” he said against her lips. “Starving.”

“For food?”

“Among other things.”

“Which do you want first?”

“You,” he said. “Always you.”

Without another word, she got up from his lap, took his hand and led him back to bed.

“I have to go soon,” Patrick said later that afternoon. They were still in her bed, where they’d been all day except for a trip to the kitchen to make sandwiches that they ate in bed.

Mary held on tighter to him as he ran his fingers through her hair. “Not yet.”

“I’ll be back on Friday for the wedding.”

“That’s five whole days from now.”

“It’ll go by quickly. And we’ll have almost two weeks together.”

“I can’t wait. Did you decide where we’re going?”

“How does Martinique sound?”

“To someone who hasn’t been anywhere, it sounds divine.”

“It’s beautiful. You’ll love it. A friend of mine has a house with a pool right on the beach. He was happy to lend it to me in exchange for a weekend at my place in Vail next winter.”

“You have a place in Vail?”

“A condo. I like to ski.”

“Do you have other homes?”

“Nope, that’s it. I don’t feel the need to collect houses, although I can stay at any of my hotels whenever I want, so it’s like I have homes all over the world.”

“Why aren’t we staying at one of your hotels on our trip?”

He dragged his finger down her arm. “Because I want to be completely alone with you, and if we’re at one of my properties, it’ll turn into business for me. I don’t want that. This trip is all pleasure and no work.”

Filled with anticipation for the trip, Mary rested her head on his chest and sighed with contentment. The only thing that stood in the way of her complete contentment was the fact that he had to leave—again. It was becoming harder all the time to let him go, to miss him between visits, to rely on daily phone calls that were no substitute for the real thing.

“What’re you thinking about, sweetheart?” His hand continued to slide up and down her arm, sending waves of sensation rippling through her.

“That I miss you and you haven’t even left yet.”

“That’s my line.”

“It’s our line.”

Patrick rolled them so he was on top looking down at her. He studied her for a long, charged moment before he joined his lips with hers, giving her sweetness and nearly unbearable tenderness as he loved her one last time before they had to say good-bye for now.

Afterward, he held her close to him while their hearts pounded in unison. “I love you so much, and I hate to leave you.”

“I love you, too, and I hate to let you go.”

“Five days, and then I’ll be back.” With one last kiss, he got up to take a shower. Thirty minutes later, he was dressed and ready to go.

Mary got up, pulled on a robe and walked him to the door. “Thank you for the best surprise ever.”

Resting his hands on her shoulders, he looked down at her. “I loved every minute of it.”

“Call me when you get home?”

“I’ll probably want to call you long before then.”

“I’ll be here.” She hadn’t done any of her usual Sunday chores, but what did she care when she’d gotten an entire day with Patrick? If she had to go to the diner for lunch tomorrow, then so be it.

“I’m going to tell Cameron about us the next time I see her. If that’s okay with you.”

“That’s more than fine with me.”

His sexy half smile made his gorgeous eyes twinkle. “I feel guilty for being here and not seeing her.”

“You’ll see her next weekend. She’s excited to have you here for the wedding—and Christmas.”

“I told her I’m going to stay at the Butler Inn so I’m not crowding her and Will, but I hope it’s okay if I stay here with you.”

“I’d be disappointed if you didn’t. I’ll wait to decorate my tree until you get here.”

“That’ll be fun. I haven’t decorated a Christmas tree in… Well… ever.”

Mary laughed. “Let me guess, someone does that for you, too?”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” He rested his forehead against hers. “Tell me I have to go.”

“Patrick, you have to go.”

“I don’t want to.”

She slid her arms around his waist and held him close.

“That’s not making it easier for me to leave.”

“I’ll let go in a minute.”

He wrapped his arms around her and held her as close to him as he could get her.

“You’ll drive carefully, won’t you?”

“I will. Don’t worry.”

“I’ll worry until I hear you’re safely home.”

“When I call you, Sweet Mary, I’ll be safely back in the city, but these days, home seems to be wherever you are.” He kissed her like it was the first time all over again, and she returned his kiss with the desperation that came over her every time he had to leave. “Mmm. If I don’t stop now, I won’t be able to.” He kissed her quickly, one last time, then hoisted his bag onto his shoulder and dashed off into the encroaching darkness that arrived early this time of year.

Mary watched him get into a black Lexus SUV with New York plates. She watched him pull out of the driveway and drive off toward town on his way to the interstate that would take him away from her. After she closed the door, she leaned against it for a long time, thinking about the offer he’d made her and realizing that with every good-bye, it became harder to remember all the reasons why she’d hesitated to jump at his offer of a life together.

Yes, everything would change, but hadn’t it already? She barely remembered what life was like pre-Patrick. It was a whole lot less exciting than post-Patrick had been, that was for sure.

The phone rang, and expecting it to be Patrick, she answered on the first ring.

“Who’re you waiting to hear from, honey?” her mom asked.

“I happened to be standing right next to the phone when it rang. How’re you?”

“We’re good. The weather is great, and Daddy is playing golf with Mr. Wilson and some other friends. I had some time to myself, so I figured I’d give you a call. I’m not catching you at a bad time, am I?”

Mary curled up on the sofa and pulled a blanket over her lap. “No, this is a good time. I had a friend here, but he just left.”

“A friend or a friend?”

Mary took a deep breath and said, “The latter.”

“Mary! Since when? Who is he? What’s his name?”

Mary laughed at the barrage of questions. “Since October, and does the name Patrick Murphy ring any bells?”

A gasp preceded a sputter. “As in the billionaire?”

“The one and only.”

“Start talking, young lady, and don’t leave anything out.”

Since Mary had been dying to tell the people that mattered to her about Patrick, she told her mom about meeting him at Will and Cam’s wedding, how they’d danced and connected in a way she hadn’t with anyone else in years. She mentioned the flowers he’d sent, the phone calls and her trip to New York. “We went to the World Trade Center memorial and the Empire State Building. We saw Hamilton and ate at the Rainbow Room.”

“Oh, Mary, it sounds wonderful.”

“It has been. He’s amazing.”

“You sound like a woman in love.”

“I am.”

“Mary… Now you’re going to make me cry! I never expected to hear all this when I called to check in.”

“I haven’t meant to keep it from you. It’s just that it’s still sort of new, and I haven’t really told anyone.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me, honey. You’re a grown woman with your own life. It sounds like you’ve been experiencing a bit of a fairy tale.”

“I have been.”

“So if he lives in New York and you live in Vermont, how will that work long-term?”

“Patrick has asked me to come live with him in New York. He wants me to travel with him and be with him all the time.”

“Oh,” her mom said on an exhale. “Wow. What did you say?”

“I told him I’d think about it, and I am. I’m thinking about it.” Pretty much all the time, not that she told her mother that.

“I’m afraid I’ll sound terribly old-fashioned if I express concern about you giving up your life and your home and job for a man without a real commitment.”

“He’s very committed to me, Mom. He drove twelve hours round trip to see me for one day when the weather was too bad to fly. When he went to the Orient last month, he sent me something every day so I wouldn’t forget about him while he was gone. He told me he loves me weeks ago, and he tells me every chance he gets how much he wants me in his life.”

“Does he make you happy, sweetheart?”

“Happier than I’ve ever been—until I start thinking about where this is heading or how he’s going to change my entire life. Then I start to feel nervous and a bit panicky.”

“Daddy and I would love to meet him.”

“We’re going to the Caribbean on vacation after Christmas. I could ask him if we could stop in Sarasota on the way to see you.” As she said the words, she hoped that Patrick wouldn’t mind the extra stop.

“It’d be terribly expensive to fly out of your way like that.”

“He has his own plane, Mom,” Mary said with a laugh.

Her mother laughed, too. “Yes, I suppose he does. This is all a lot to take in. I’m sorry if I’m not saying the right things. You took me by surprise with this big news.”

“Trust me, it’s a lot for me to take in, too.” Mary almost choked on the double meaning behind her statement. Patrick was a lot, in more ways than one, but she loved him anyway. “For what it’s worth, I really think you guys will like him.”

“We’ll look forward to your visit. Just let me know when so we can make sure we don’t make any other plans.”

“I’ll talk to him tonight and email you.”

“Do you mind if I tell Daddy your news?”

“I don’t mind.”

“I hope you know how happy I am to hear that you’ve met someone who is so good to you. You deserve it.”

“Thanks, Mom. Love to you and Dad.”

“Love you, too. I’ll look for that email.”

They said their good-byes, and Mary had a moment of panic, wondering what Patrick would think about stopping to see her parents on their way to the Caribbean. She decided she couldn’t wait until later to ask him if it was all right, so she called his cell phone.

“Hi, sweetheart. Miss me already?”

“You know I do. Where are you?”

“Almost to Rutland. What’re you up to?”

“My mom called, and I told her about you.”

He was quiet for a moment, and then he said, “Did you now?”

“Uh-huh. She said they’d like to meet you, so I told her maybe we could stop to see them in Sarasota on our way south? If that’s okay with you. If it’s not—”

“Mary, sweetheart, of course it’s fine with me. I’d love to meet your parents.”

“Oh, okay,” she said, exhaling a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

“Please don’t ever hesitate to ask me for whatever you want.”

“I’m still getting used to this.”

“This meaning me?”

“This meaning all of it—you, me, us.”

“You can have all the time you need to get used to the fact that I’m crazy in love with you and fighting the urge with every passing mile to turn around and come back to you.”

When he said things like that, her heart beat so hard and so fast that she felt like she was hyperventilating. “When we go on our trip,” she said, “do you think we could talk some more about what you asked me, about coming to live and travel with you?”

“Yes, Mary,” he said softly. “We can definitely talk about that. In fact, there’s nothing I’d rather talk about.”

“Will you call me when you get home so I know you got there safely?”

“It’s apt to be late.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Okay, honey. I’ll call you when I get home.”

“Patrick?”

“Yes?”

“Please drive carefully.”

“I will. I promise.”

Mary put down the phone but kept it close by until he called around midnight to tell her he was home. “I wish you were still here with me,” she said.

“You have no idea how much I wish that, too.”

“I really do love you, Patrick.”

“That makes me so happy, because I really love you, too. Get some sleep, and I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

Mary fell asleep with a smile on her face, hugging the phone to her chest.