It’s been two weeks since Abby came to visit me at work. We had our dinner with my parents. It’s no surprise they absolutely adored her, especially since she was able to smooth over any awkward lulls in conversation. We’ve talked or seen each other almost every day since so it isn’t a surprise when she calls me.

The panic I hear in her voice when she says my name is.

“What’s wrong?”

After she explains, I reply, “Text me the address. I’m on my way!”

Duncan looks over when I stand. “Everything okay?”

I shake my head. “Do you want me to stay on the phone with you? I can borrow Duncan’s phone for the directions.”

When she tells me no, I reply, “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Duncan walks beside me. “What’s going on?”

“I’m on my way.”

I press end on my phone. “Abby’s at an open house. Her friend Sam got called away for an emergency. She was about to finish up when a man came and he’s making her nervous. I’ve got to go.”

Duncan waves as I break into a run. Her text with the address comes when I reach my car. I break multiple traffic laws getting to the house. After parking, I take the steps up to the front entrance two at a time.

“Abby?”

“In here,” she cries.

Following the sound of her voice, I race farther into the house and find her in a back room.

A smarmy older man has her cornered. He takes one look at me, and steps away from her.

“Is there a problem?” I ask, taking a step toward him.

He shakes his head and hastily leaves. Abby stares at me until we hear the front door slam, then she’s across the room and in my arms.

My arms fold around her, my eyes moving toward the front of the house. “Are you alright?”

She pulls a pen out of her pocket. “If he got any closer I was going to stab him.”

Since she didn’t answer me earlier, I hold her closer and ask again, “Abby, are you okay?”

One word from her and I’ll chase him down and throttle him.

“I’m okay. He was just creeping me out and I was alone.”

“I’m here. You don’t have to be scared.”

She peers up at me. “Thank you.”

I press my lips to her forehead and hold her closer. “Are you all done here?”

She nods. “I need to take down the open house signs and call the sellers.”

She slips her hand into mine and together we walk through the house. After she gathers her things, and locks up, we drive around the neighborhood to collect the open house signs. We take my car so she can talk to the sellers. She tries to play it cool, but I don’t miss the way her hands shake.

When we pull up in front of the house again, I ask, “Are you okay to drive?”

She pulls in a breath. “I think so but, will you follow me home?”

I don’t tell her I’d follow her anywhere. “Yes.”

Her face softens. “Thank you so much for coming. I feel silly for overreacting now.”

I stop her. “Don’t. There’s a reason they say trust your instincts.”

“You think?”

“He could not get out of the house fast enough when I showed. Is that normal?”

She shakes her head. “It isn’t.”

“I’m happy I was able to come.”

She leans across the console to press her lips to mine. “Me too.”

Any other moment, I’d deepen our kiss. Now, I’m just thankful I could be there for her when she needed me.

Walking her to her car, I linger at her car door.

“I’ll be good, I promise.”

I tuck her hair behind her ear. “I’ll be right behind you.”

As she drives, I can’t stop thinking about what would have happened if something had kept me from getting here today.

The thought of something bad happening to her leaves me cold.

She waits by her car as I look for a visitor spot to park in. We’re quiet as we walk into her building.

It’s not until we’re in the condo that I remember what she said about Samantha. “What happened with Sam?”

“Crap. I need to text her and find out how her uncle is doing. They had to rush him to the hospital.”

“I hope he’s okay.”

She taps out a message on her phone before looking up at me. “Today is kicking my ass.”

Her phone buzzes with a response almost immediately. “He’s going to be okay.”

Her cat wanders out of the kitchen and rubs against her leg. Distractedly, she reaches down to stroke her.

Then her cat moves over to me. Since the likelihood of her scratching me is fifty-fifty, I stand still.

Abby watches and starts laughing. After the day she’s had, I consider it a boon she’s laughing at all.

She presses her hand to her chest. “Oh God. I needed that.”

Her cat walks away, tail up in the air as she goes and I relax.

Abby moves in front of me, pressing her body against mine. “You are amazing.”

Dipping my head, I press my mouth to hers. She winds her arms around my neck. “So amazing.”

“Stop before it goes to my head.”

Her lips spread into a smile and she pulls away. “I’m going to take a shower. Can you stay, or do you need to get back to work?”

“I can stay.”

I don’t tell her I have no desire to leave her. Ever.

While she showers, I text Duncan to let him know what happened and that I wasn’t coming back. Whatever adrenaline was coursing through my veins is gone now. I slump onto their sofa.

Abby comes back out a few minutes later, wearing a light gray robe, fresh-faced with wet hair. “Want to watch a movie in my room?”

Her robe currently has my full attention, that, and the errant beads of water on her calves she must have missed while she was toweling off. I shift in my seat, my body reacting to her. It takes my brain a moment to catch up and process that she asked me a question.

In her room?

We’ve watched plenty of movies out here since we started dating, not one in her room. “Sure.”

Praying my tone didn’t betray my excitement at her invitation, I stand. She leads the way, her hips swaying with each step.

Her room is small but since it’s the spare that isn’t a surprise. A queen-sized bed with a thick mattress dwarfs everything around it. Her TV sits on top of a dresser. The only other furniture in the room is an armchair in one corner and a small table next to her bed. Should I sit in the chair, or on her bed?

She answers the question for me by pointing to her bed. “Get comfortable. I’m going to go change.”

While she rummages through her dresser, I slip off my shoes and climb onto her bed. If this is her bed from her old house, or a bed Sam already had here, I don’t know. It’s strange, but I hope it’s her bed. My being on it will feel more real if it is.

When she comes back into the room, now wearing track pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt, I ask, “Is this your furniture?”

She settles herself beside me. “It is. Sam only had a desk in here before I moved in. Do you like it?”

I make a show of looking at the furniture. “Solid wood, looks well made, very clean lines. Yes, I like it.”

She grins at me. “Asher made it for me.”

At her words, I take a second look, this time turning to run my hand over the sloped curve of her headboard. “He does beautiful work.”

She reaches for a couple of remotes and flips on the TV. “He really does. Once I finally get a new place he said he’ll make some stuff for me to help replace what I had to sell and to save me the money of having to buy anything.”

“How’s that loan coming along?”

She pulls up a streaming video provider and goes to continue watching. “I can’t remember if I told you, but I decided to take a personal loan from the credit union instead of borrowing the money from Asher. With it, and what I made from selling off that piece of land to my neighbor, I paid off my mortgage. Now I’m stuck with this new loan, but at least it is a lot less than what my mortgage was. I’ve been throwing everything I have at it and will be debt free, fingers crossed, in the next few months.”

I can’t help it, I stare at her. “You’re amazing.”

She looks down, embarrassed. “Stop.”

“No, I’m serious. What you went through could break a lesser person. You were handed a disaster in December and you’re going to be free of it by May?”

She looks up, her eyes wet.

“You don’t need to hear this from me but I’m going to say it anyway. You are incredible and the way that you handled losing your house could be an inspiration to many people.”

“Spencer.”

I press my lips to her forehead.

When she pulls back, she wipes at her eyes. “It’s insane but, I’m excited to start over. Having no money sucks but it is so much better than owing money. This has changed the way I feel about borrowing.”

“Are you anti-mortgage now?”

She shakes her head. “I wouldn’t go that far. What I mean is, where would I be if my loan was larger? I can’t stop thinking about how different my situation would be if my loan was for five hundred thousand. I mean, given my income I probably could have been approved for that amount.”

“Living simply isn’t a bad thing,” I agree.

“Do you know Finley bought their house with cash?”

“I didn’t.”

She nods. “And Asher bought his land with cash and built his house himself. Oh, that reminds me. What are you doing next weekend?”

She doesn’t give me a chance to answer.

“Do you want to go with me to Asher’s place?”

“To his lake?”

She nods. “If it’s clear, you can even set your telescope up at the end of his dock.”

As interesting as that sounds, I’m more focused on the sleeping arrangements. “Sure. That sounds great.”

“Awesome. Now, anything you feel like watching?”

I’m on her bed, with her warm body cuddled up to me. “You pick.”

She presses a button on her remote. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yep. Time for you to meet Naruto.”

Gorgeous, successful, and obsessed with anime. “This one is your favorite, right?”

She nods. “It sure is. After this I’ve watched Bleach, Kamisama Kiss, Ouran High School Host Club, Death Note, Sword Art Online, Corpse Princess, and K Project. Naruto is still my favorite.”

“Why?”

She tips her head to the side and for the moment she thinks, I can hear her cat batting something around in the hallway.

“It was the first one I watched so there’s that, and I just loved that no matter what he’d never give up.”

“He sounds like you.”

She smiles at me. “It may sound crazy but watching this show kept me cheered up and was a good reminder to stay on task.”

“Alright, start it.”

She shifts closer to me and I tuck her to my side. The episodes aren’t long and have an addictive quality to them. It’s easy to see how she got hooked. About four episodes in, she gets up to make us food.

“Want help?” I offer.

She shakes her head. “No way. Keep watching.”

We eat picnic style on her bed, her show going the entire time.

Ten episodes in, she pauses it. “What do you think?”

The way all of her attention is focused on me is an indication of how important my answer to this question will be.

Luckily, I don’t have to lie. “I can see why it’s your favorite.”

She sags with relief. “Really?”

I nod my assent. “Really.”

“I don’t know what I should do, make out with you or make you watch more episodes.”

I blink at her which only makes her laugh. We’re both sitting, facing each other. She shifts onto her knees and leans forward, bracing her hands on my legs.

Her kiss starts out sweet. I’m not sure if it’s our location, or the intensity of what happened earlier but her kiss morphs into something more sensual.

I sit frozen, unable to drag her into my lap. I’m at her mercy, unable to make the next move. She does move, so slowly her touch becomes a heavenly torture.

Her fingers flex on my legs and I want more. I want her kiss to deepen, and for her body to be flush against mine.

She leans back and presses her lips together, her cheeks flushed. Her eyes dart around the room as if just noticing we’re on her bed.

“Ah.”

Reaching for the pillow beside me, I plump it up and set it back down. “Ready for some Naruto?”

She relaxes instantly and moves next to me, reclaiming her earlier spot next to me.

There’s no denying our physical reaction to each other. From the first time I kissed her, I wanted all of her.

Maybe studying the stars has taught me patience. For now, I’m content to wait as long as she needs.

“This part is really good.”

She shifts closer and rests her cheek against my shoulder.

“Oh, and that guy, the one with white hair and only one eye showing, he’s my favorite.”

Turning my head, I kiss her hair, inhaling the faint floral scent of it.

Her phone buzzes, making her pause the show and reach for it. “Hello.”

I listen to her one-sided conversation. “How is he?”

There’s a pause and then. “Oh, thank God. Are you coming home now?” Another pause. “I’ll see you soon.”

When she hangs up she moves off of her bed. “Sam’s uncle is out of surgery and he’s looking good. She’s coming home now.”

“That’s great news.”

She nods. “I’m going to go start some coffee. She sounded exhausted on the phone.”

I move off the bed. “I’ll keep you company.”

When we get to the kitchen, she hesitates before turning on the pot and turns to me. “Please don’t say anything about that guy from earlier, okay? I don’t want her to feel bad for having to leave when she did.”

I rest my hands on her shoulders and massage them. “I won’t say anything.”

“Thanks Spence.”

Spence. I like her calling me that.

“Want a cup?” She asks as soon as it’s done.

I shake my head. “I’m good.”

She pours herself a cup and has only taken one sip when the front door opens.

Sam walks through first, Brent one step behind. She drops his hand and walks straight to Abby, arms outstretched.

“I’m sorry I had to run off.”

Abby sets down her coffee to hug her. “Don’t worry about it. I’m happy to hear your uncle is doing okay.”

“Thank you.”

Brent lifts his chin in greeting. “Hey Spencer.”

I raise my hand.

Abby and Samantha break their hug. “I made some coffee. Need a cup?”

Sam presses her hands to her chest. “You complete me.”

Abby pulls down a mug. “I’ll take that as a yes. Want one too Brent?”

He shakes his head. “No thanks.”

Samantha takes a drink before setting her mug on the counter. “I’m going to change. I’ll be right back. Abby, come with me.”

I watch them walk back to Sam’s room.

“How’s work?” Brent asks.

Moving past him and into their living room, I sit on the sofa. “Last week we discovered a star going supernova. How’s your work going?”

He follows me and half collapses at the other end. “Nothing as exciting as yours but I did sell a house and because of it I picked up another listing in that neighborhood.”

“Well done man.”

I glance over my shoulder to the bedroom doors before looking back at him. “I was wondering if you could help me with something.”

His brows go up. “What do you need?”

As I lay out my plan, his face breaks into a wide grin. “I can do that.”