The next morning, Paige was awakened by a cold nose in her face. "Go away."

A soft whine accompanied another poke. Unwilling to open her eyes, Paige flapped her hand in the direction of the whine, her hand landing on a furry head. "Go lie down, Bandit."

Then she got another poke from a different direction. Two dogs?

She opened her eyes to discover Bandit and Muffin staring at her hopefully. Then realized that a warm, naked body was wrapped around her. Luke.

She smiled, and nestled back against him, resting her cheek on his shoulder. They'd been up most of the night with some amazing naked time, and she was pretty sure it had been the best night of her life. He hadn't told her he loved her, but she knew he did. It was in the way he looked at her, the tenderness of his touch, the sweetness of his kisses. She smiled and closed her eyes—

Bandit woofed, and she sat up. "Shh! Don't wake him up." She realized it was long past breakfast time for the pooches. "Okay, let's go eat." Trying not to wake Luke, so she could have a few moments to process their night together, she slid out of the bed, landing softly on the floor. She managed to get dressed without waking Luke, even when she tripped over Muffin and crashed into the dresser.

"Hope you like Bandit's food," she said to Muffin, scooping up a sizeable portion of kibble for the Shepherd.

While the two dogs were munching and she was waiting for her coffee to percolate, Paige walked to the sliding door and looked out at the lake. The sun was high in the sky, and all evidence of the storm was gone. Except that her canoe was in the water, instead of the garage, and her kayak was no longer on the dock. She'd have to take the canoe out later and try to find it.

Her stomach rumbled, and she glanced at the clock. It was almost ten already. It was amazing that the dogs had let them sleep that late. She walked back to the freezer and pulled frozen cinnamon rolls out. She was just setting them in the oven when her phone rang.

She vaulted over to it to answer it before it woke Luke. She needed time to think before he woke up.

"Hello?" She walked out onto the deck to talk in private.

"It's Mom. Calling to see if you want to do dinner tonight. Walter called. His son is in town and they want to take us out. Are you free?"

Walt Jr. She'd forgotten about him. Paige lowered her voice. "Actually, I've got a guest."

"The Muffin Man? What time will you be done training? I can schedule dinner whenever."

"No, Mom. We're not training the dog."

For a moment there was silence, then Louise let out a war whoop. "You finally jumped in the ol' ring with him, huh?"

"Mom!" Paige felt her cheeks turn red, and she turned toward the lake away from the house.

"So? What next?"

"I don't know."

"What you do mean, you don't know? I assume you've decided he isn't like your father."

"Yeah." Paige lowered her voice. "Actually, it's really bad."

"Bad, how?"

"I think I'm in love with him." Paige paused, then said, "Actually, I know I'm in love with him."

"Honey, how is that bad? The man's a good catch, he has a great dog, and he understands the neuroses of lawyers. You picked a good one to fall in love with. What's wrong with that?"

Paige sighed. "Because he doesn't think he loves me."

There was silence for a moment, then Louise said, "Did he tell you that?"

"Pretty much."

"What did he say when you told him you loved him?"

Paige snorted. "Please, I didn't tell him. I wasn't about to tell him that I loved him, just to get it thrown back in my face. He also said he doesn't have time to be a good husband or father. So, you see? I didn't pick the right one." Last night, when she'd been so intimate with him, it had seemed like the right choice to trust him, to believe in him, but in the bright light of the aftermath, suddenly she felt like she'd been overly optimistic to put so much faith in a man who claimed so fiercely not to want more with her. "I've fallen too hard for him, Mom, and he's not willing to meet me halfway."

At Paige's words, Luke stepped off the deck and back into the kitchen, reeling from what he'd just heard Paige say. He still held the mug of coffee he'd been bringing out to Paige. She loved him. She'd whispered it to her mother, huddling over the phone in case he was awake. Which he most certainly was.

"Holy shit." He set the coffee on the table and leaned on it, his head hanging down in stunned disbelief.

Paige appeared in the kitchen suddenly, the phone dangling from her hand. "You're up."

Luke forced a neutral expression on his face. "Yep. I poured the coffee."

She eyed him suspiciously. "How long have you been up?"

"Not long." He picked up the mug and handed it to her. She loved him. "I've got to go to Boston today, for a week."

Paige's shoulders relaxed, apparently having concluded that he hadn't heard her talking to her mom. She sat down into one of the chairs and sipped the coffee. "Why do you have to go to Boston?"

"I have some work there that I've got to take care of. Plus, I need to give a report on how things are going up here." He truly did have to go to Boston, but he was also grateful for a break from Paige. He needed time to think, away from her influence. His mind was totally scrambled after the last eighteen hours. "Can you watch Muffin for the week?"

Her face didn't hide her disappointment. "You won't take him with you?"

"It's just for a week. It'll be easier if I don't have to worry about him. I don't want to leave him home all day. I can't bring him to work."

"Yeah, I guess you can't." She didn't look like she believed his excuse. "When are you leaving?"

"As soon as I get my stuff packed. I have a meeting this afternoon."

"Why didn't you tell me you were going? Am I supposed to take it as a coincidence that you have to take off right after we—"

"Hey. Stop that." He leaned across the table and kissed her. "Before last night, there wasn't a reason that I would've told you I had to leave for a week, was there?"

She pursed her lips. "No, not really."

"I'll be back. And then we'll talk. Okay?"

She managed a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Fine."

His heart ached. "Paige. Stop being like this."

She folded her arms across her chest. "Sorry. I'm human. It feels wrong that you're taking off today."

Luke saw the pain in her face, and he felt desperate. "Want to come with me?"

"What?"

He grabbed her hand. "Come with me. It's just a week. Bring Bandit. You and the dogs can hang out while I'm at work, and we can see the city at night."

"To Boston?"

"Yeah. Will you come?" Suddenly, he didn't want a break from her. He wanted to take her back with him, to assimilate her into his world. Why hadn't he thought of that before? He could have everything, his work and her. "Just for the week. You might like it. You might want to go back again. I have a dinner tomorrow night with some partners from my firm. You could come with me..."

"No, thanks." She pulled her hand out of his and stood up, nearly knocking over the chair in her haste. "I have a bunch of stuff going on this week, so it really wouldn't work. But you told me that you aren't trying to avoid me, so that's good." She grabbed a potholder. "Want a cinnamon roll?"

Luke walked over and put his hands around her waist, forcing her to face him. "What's going on with you, Paige? Why are you afraid of going with me?"

She wouldn't look at him. "I'm not afraid of going with you."

"Then what? Are you scared of Boston? It's a nice city, not so big."

She pushed away and went over to the oven. "Please. I'm not scared of Boston." She pulled the rolls from the oven and set them on the stove, her hand shaking so badly she almost dropped the pan. "You should go, Luke."

He studied her, trying to figure out what was making her so skittish. "You think you won't fit in with the lawyers at my firm?"

She made an awkward sound, like a choking duck and shot a startled look at him.

Luke knew he'd hit the truth, or at least near it. "Oh, come on. You're every bit as smart as any of them, and you're much more interesting. They'll love you."

Paige whirled around to face him, her skin ashen. "You have no idea about me, so leave me alone. I'm not going to Boston with you, and I'm certainly not going to dinner with your colleagues. Just leave it at that."

He watched her fumble with the rolls, nearly burning her hand on them as she threw them onto a plate. "Paige?"

"I'll keep your dog for the week, Luke. I'm happy to take Muffin. It sounds great to me."

"Thanks," he said cautiously. "Can I stay for breakfast?"

"No." She grabbed a paper towel and set a roll in it. "You can have takeout this morning."

"I'd rather eat here."

"You can't."

"Why?"

She leaned against the counter and folded her arms over her chest. "I have a question for you, Luke."

"Yeah?"

"Would you ever move here?"

"To New Hampshire?" He could tell from the look on her face that she was serious. Too serious.

"Uh huh."

He paused for a long moment before answering. He wanted to find a way to make it work, to somehow have everything he'd found in the last few months, but he couldn't see an out. "I can't leave my job."

She nodded. "So, that's a no."

"I guess. What's your point?"

"I'm not moving to Boston."

Luke gritted his teeth. "I didn't ask you to move there. I just asked you to come with me for a week." But even as he spoke, he knew it was a lie. He'd seen an opportunity, he'd hoped maybe it would work, that maybe if she came with him, she'd want to go with him when he moved back there.

She narrowed her eyes. "No, I guess you didn't ask me to move there, did you? So, I guess I'm getting all worked up over nothing. So, it doesn't matter if I'd go anyway, or if you'd move here."

Luke ran his hands through his hair in aggravation. "Will you please tell me what you're talking about? Why are you so upset?"

"I'm not upset."

"Liar."

"Will you just go? Go to Boston, to your dinner. I'll see you when you get back."

Luke decided that maybe she was right. It would give them both some space to process. "I wish you'd come with me."

She held out the roll. "See you in a week."

"Fine." He gave her a quick kiss, then grabbed his car keys. "I'll call you."

"I'm not sure there's a point."

Luke's stomach thudded like a lump of clay. "What?"

She just shook her head. "We'll talk when you get back. We both need the week to think."

It was not the sweetest goodbye he'd ever had. There was something much too permanent about it, which bothered him for the entire drive to Boston.