Charlotte sat in a chair in her Abby’s bedroom and watched her sister sleep. They’d spent the last week in the hospital and, even though everything had gone smoothly, it was such a relief to be home. Her mother was asleep, leaving Charlotte to watch over Abby.

She’d burned through her Kindle library and browsed for something new to read.

A car door slammed. She went to the window and peeked out behind the simple white curtains. A white BMW sedan sat in the driveway. She watched as the driver’s door opened and a man stepped out.

She gasped as she recognized Ryan.

Ryan? Here? At her mother’s house?

He was looking around. She dropped the curtain and stepped back.

Ryan was here!

Suddenly spurred into action, she dashed to the bathroom, ran a comb through her hair, and brushed her teeth. She was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt. But he’d seen her in less.

The doorbell rang. With her heart pounding in her ears, she reached the front door and held her hand on the doorknob. Counted to ten.

She opened the door. He was standing with his back to her.

“Ryan?”

He turned, took off his sunshades, and grinned at her. “Charlotte.”

“What?” Her words got tangled as her heart melted at the sight of him. “How did you find me?”

“It wasn’t easy. I think might have broken a few rules.”

“You?” She smiled. “I can’t believe you would break any rules.”

He shrugged.” Stranger things have happened.”

“But why?” Her brow furrowed. “Why are you here?”

“I probably should have called first. But…” He looked a little sheepish. “I wasn’t sure what to say.”

She leaned her cheek against the edge of the door.

“And I’m not sure I know what to say now. Except… they said you had a family matter to take care of.”

“I did.”

“Can I come in?”

“Sure. It’s kind of a mess. We just got home from the hospital.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

“Come in.” She gestured toward the couch. Moved the pillows and a blanket to the chair.

He sat on the sofa and patted the seat next to him.”

“Do you need anything? Water? Coffee?” She offered.

“No. I’m good.”

“I don’t think we have any coffee anyway.”

“Charlotte.”

She looked at him.

“Sit. Please.”

She sat down next to him.

“Are you okay?”

She took a deep breath and released it before looking into his sky blue eyes. At the man who should not be in her house. “I’m okay now. It’s been a rough time.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want you to know.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You. Dallas. Skye Travels. Allowed me to escape the reality of it for a little while. If you knew about it, you’d ask me about it. And it would have been more real than it already was. I needed that little escape.”

“Can you talk about it now?”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “My little fifteen-year-old sister had a kidney transplant last week.”

“Oh Charlotte. I didn’t know.” His genuine expression of concern brought tears to her eyes. “How is she?”

“She’s home – here - now and doing well. We just have to be careful, you know.”

“I can’t even imagine. How are you holding up?”

He was the first person to ask her that. “I’m tired. But I’m okay. Thanks for asking.”

“What can I do to help?”

“I wouldn’t even know where to begin. We just got home last night.”

“I can stay for awhile... If you want me to.”

An image of his girlfriend flashed through her mind. Seeing him here. Like this. She’d all but forgotten that he was engaged. “I couldn’t impose on you like that.” She looked at the floor, batting away the tears. She’d barely had time to process what had happened with Ryan over the last week. That, along with the stress of her sister’s surgery was suddenly overwhelming.

“Charlotte.” He put a finger under her chin and gently nudged her to look up at him. Into those deep blue eyes that scattered her thoughts every time. “I’m here because I want to be with you.”

“Sariah…”

He shook his head. “Sariah is no longer in my life.”

“What? She’s your fiancé.”

“Not any more.”

“I don’t understand.”

“We broke up.”

“No.” She stood up.

“You made me realize that she and I weren’t right for each other.”

“I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“If it hadn’t, I would have been locked in a loveless marriage.” He stood up to stand next to her. “You saved me.”

A smile played about her lips as they gazed into each other’s eyes.

“There’s something I’ve wanted to do again.”

“What’s that?” Her breath came out in a whisper.

He put a hand on her cheek and lowered his mouth to hers. His lips touched hers ever so lightly.

She sighed. And he pressed his lips firmly against hers.

This. This is what she’d longed for since the moment she first saw him.