Easy does it. Evidently Roxanne had morning regrets. It happened. Michael hadn’t dealt with that before, but no need to panic and think she was about to kick him to the curb.

Except he didn’t know a guy in the world who welcomed the phrase we need to talk. He gave her a smile, anyway. “Sure. I’ve started the coffee. I hope that’s okay.”

“That’s fine. Thank you. Coffee would be good.”

A kiss would be better, but he chose not to say that. She didn’t seem in the mood. He had been, but not anymore. He waited until she put on some fuzzy slippers before following her out the door.

On the way through the living room, she cast a furtive glance around. “Thanks for picking up my stuff.”

“You’re welcome.” He’d folded her jacket, her shirt and her bra and laid them on the couch. His jacket and hat sat beside her pile of clothes. A few minutes earlier, the arrangement had looked fun and cozy, something to joke about.

Since he’d been the first one up, he’d roamed her living room and admired her tech equipment. What a kick if he could be there when she was working on a project, although he wouldn’t want to interrupt the creative process.

He’d also taken a tour of the art on her walls. The ones signed Q. Sawyer had to be the scratchboard art she’d mentioned. Amazing detail. Michael could easily become a fan.

She also had some innovative free-form prints that looked as if they had been generated on a computer. He didn’t know enough to understand how they were made, but they were beautiful, filled with light and color. He’d looked forward to asking her about all of it. That discussion would have to be postponed.

She walked into the kitchen and took a couple of sturdy ceramic mugs out of the cupboard. “Do you like anything in your coffee?”

“Just black is fine.”

“That’s lucky. I have sugar but no cream.”

He chuckled. “What if I’d wanted cream?”

“I could have offered you a spoonful of chocolate ripple ice cream. Ingrid says that works okay. She likes cream.” She handed him a mug. “Or I could have run downstairs to the bakery. It’s open.”

“I smelled bread baking. What a great way to wake up in the morning.” The scent of freshly baked bread mingled with the sweet aroma of sex had given him a morning woody. He’d tamed it, but walking into the bedroom just as she pulled on her sweatshirt without a bra had resurrected his bad boy. Not a problem now, though.

The coffee was done. She poured them each a mugful and handed one over before heading toward her kitchen table. “Let’s sit here.”

He could be wrong, but he’d bet she wanted to avoid the living room, the scene of her first orgasm with him. Once she sat down, he took a seat. The chair fit him. So had the bed. Likely she’d bought generously sized furniture because she was tall, too.

She gripped her mug in both hands but didn’t take a drink. “First let me say, this is all my fault.”

“Fault?” He didn’t like the sound of that.

“You were ready to walk me to the door, maybe kiss me goodnight, and—”

“Definitely kiss you.” He took a sip of coffee. He needed the caffeine boost to get through this.

“But you didn’t expect an invitation to go upstairs.”

“No, but I was extremely happy about it.” The coffee was good. He drank some more.

“I know, and I apologize.”

He put down his mug. “Hang on. What’s all this about fault and apologies? Last night was wonderful. At least I thought so.”

Her gaze gentled. “I thought so, too. It was magic.”

That was more like it. “Good word. I agree.”

“But magic can make people act out of character, which is exactly what I did. I don’t have sex on a first date. That’s not who I am.”

He began to get the lay of the land. “Did it feel like a first date to you?”

“Not exactly, but technically it was. We’d interacted as business associates but we hadn’t spent time together socially.”

“Does that matter? Because of the business connection we’ve come to know each other a little, more than a little. It wasn’t like we met because of a dating app. I consider us friends.”

“I do, too, but last night we moved way beyond the friendship stage. That’s on me. I’m so sorry for that.”

He stared at her in disbelief. “Are you?”

Her cheeks turned bright pink.

If he could, he would have taken her hand, but she had them both wrapped around her coffee mug. “For the record, I’m not a bit sorry. You’re an amazing woman and if we skipped a few steps going from friends to lovers, so what?”

“It’s a really bad idea to do that.”

“Says who?”

She took a shaky breath. “I do.”

He drank more coffee to buy some time and fuel his brain cells. He didn’t know where this conviction came from and if he hoped to overturn it, he needed that information. “I don’t mean to pry into your personal life, but—”

“It’s okay. After I blew the call and brought you up here last night, you have that right. His name is Phil.”

Phil the asshole. Maybe that wasn’t fair, but if the guy had made her this gun-shy, he deserved the label. “What’s the story with Phil?”

“We met in college. Hit it off immediately, just like you and I have. The chemistry was off the charts. I thought we were soulmates. I think he even said something to that effect and I bought into it totally. Three weeks later he was gone.”

“Why?” Yeah, asshole.

She shrugged. “The flame was too hot and burned itself out. If something is meant to last, you need a slow build, a chance to get to know each other.”

“One bad experience doesn’t—”

“It does if you’re the one it happened to.”

The one who was badly hurt. Chances were that jerk Phil hadn’t shed a tear. His type showered a woman with attention, lured her into bed and kept her around until he needed a new conquest to feed his oversized ego.

Michael could cheerfully wring his neck. “I’m sorry you went through it.”

“Me, too. And I should know better. My parents were best friends long before they became lovers. Their marriage was something special because of that careful tending of the relationship before it became sexual.”

It would be stupid to continue an argument he was bound to lose. Her opinion was emotion-based—fear of repeating her mistake and love of her parents and their idyllic story.

And yet…she was attracted to him or she wouldn’t have invited him into her bed. He might have some hope of turning this around if he could be patient. He was in Eagles Nest for the duration. So was she. She wanted time. He could give her time.

She continued to clutch her mug as if needing something to hold onto. “The irony is that I really like you.”

“I really like you, too.”

“I can’t believe I did the very thing that could mess up our chances.”

“You didn’t.” He was wary of touching her but did it, anyway. Reaching across the table, he laid his hand on her arm. “We can start over.”

“Do you think so?” She looked adorably hopeful.

“It’s worth a shot. I’m not going anywhere. If you want to try some old-fashioned dating, I’m up for that.”

“Me, too.” Her throat moved in a slow swallow. “Thank you, Michael. That’s very…mature of you.”

He shrugged. “I’m just not ready to give up.”

“Where do we start?”

“I’m in charge at the GG for the next two nights. Bryce and Nicole are booked for a gig in Jackson Hole this weekend.”

“They are? That’s super.”

“I’m excited for them, but it means I’m tied up this weekend. I’m off Monday night, though. We could drive to Bozeman and see a movie if you want.”

“I’d love to.”

“You can pick which show, but I vote for something light-hearted.”

“That sounds perfect.”

“Then it’s a date. We’ll drive to Bozeman, grab some dinner, see the show and come back here. No funny business.”

“Okay. Great idea.”

It sounded like torture, but he’d go along. “You have to do your part, though. If you invite me up to your apartment after the movie, I guarantee I won’t refuse.”

“I know. Like I said, this was totally my fault.”

“Do me a favor.” He squeezed her arm and released his hold. “Don’t blame yourself for what happened last night, okay?”

“But I’m the one who—”

“It’s not all you. I set up what I hoped would be a special night. I wasn’t trying to get you into bed, but—”

“Clearly not or you would have tucked condoms in your pocket.”

“Not my style. Even so, I’d hoped you’d enjoy the evening and like me enough that maybe, in another couple of dates, you’d invite me up to your apartment. The truth is, I’ve wanted you ever since we first met.”

“The truth is, I’ve wanted you, too.”

“Thank you for saying that. It helps.”

“But I shouldn’t have acted on impulse. Like I said, I know better.”

He longed to debate the point, but she wasn’t ready to listen. She’d been unlucky enough to run into a slimy character who’d played the soulmate card to get what he wanted from her.

Crazy thing was, he and Roxanne might be the real deal. She might not believe in soulmates anymore. But he did.

* * *

Roxanne left her coffee untouched. Michael finished his. She walked him down the stairs and at the door he kissed her on the forehead. Chaste and non-sexual, exactly as she’d requested. Then he left.

Closing the door, she leaned against it and swore softly. He’d been wonderful about this whole thing. But when he’d kissed her on the forehead, she’d wanted a real kiss, instead. What a hot mess she was! She’d better get her act together before their movie date on Monday night or she’d ruin everything…again.

Returning to her apartment, she gathered up a load of laundry, including her logo t-shirt and her jeans from last night, and shoved the clothes into a compact washer in a corner of the kitchen. There’d been no good time to model the shirt for Abigail and Ingrid yesterday and she’d promised to show it to them this afternoon.

She loved that darned shirt, although wearing it came with hazards, now. How could she forget the moment when Michael had tried to peel it off? He’d been so eager, and then the shirt had snagged on her earrings.

Oops. She pulled the jeans out of the washer and took the earrings out of the front pocket before starting the washer. The night had sparkled like those earrings, like the disco ball, like street lights reflected off ice crystals on the road as he’d driven her home.

If she could rewrite history, would she? Would she choose to end the evening with a goodnight kiss? No, dammit. She’d made a mistake, but she’d enjoyed every minute of it.