“I need to tell you something,” he said even though he had absolutely no idea how to tell her that he was in love with her, not after all this time.

She shifted in his arms and sighed heavily. “If it’s something that’s going to depress me, I’d rather you kept it to yourself.”

“It’s not depressing,” he promised her, although he was pretty sure that he would find it depressing if she rejected him.

“Okay,” she said, pulling back so that she could look up at him as her fingers continued to toy with his hair, “tell me.”

He opened his mouth to tell her that he loved her, that he wanted to be with her, wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, to have children with her, but he couldn’t find the right words. He’d practiced this in his head a hundred times a day for years, but now that he had her in his arms and another asshole was out of the picture, he couldn’t figure out what he was supposed to say to make her take a risk on him, on them.

“What is it?” she asked, shifting her hand away from the back of his head so that she could cup his jaw. “Darrin? Are you okay?”

“I…,” he started to say only to end up shaking his head with regret, because no matter what he said or did, he was going to fuck this up and probably lose her.

So instead, he kissed the top of her head and told himself that this wasn’t the right time.

Chapter 1

Present Day

It must be Saturday, she realized with a sigh when she felt Darrin press another kiss against the back of her neck and his large body curled up behind hers, pressing the abnormally large erection, that she was ninety-nine percent positive was the result of an accident involving radioactive waste, against her bottom as his arm wrapped around her. There really was no better way to wake up, she thought as she settled back against him, reached down and-

“Ow! Son of a bitch!” Darrin yelped, jumping off the bed in record time as she took her time sitting up and climbing off the bed.

She groaned softly as she stretched her arms over her head, noting the way the bastard paused in rubbing the back of his hand to watch her. With a roll of her eyes and a chuckle, she headed for the bathroom, throwing over her shoulder, “Get the hell out.”

“No,” he grumbled around a loud yawn as he stumbled back towards her bed and threw himself across it.

“Then you better have breakfast ready when I get out,” she said, absently noting that he was wearing black boxers, her favorite.

Pathetic, she thought with a sigh and a smile as she walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She used the bathroom, brushed her teeth and had just stepped in the shower when she heard the bathroom door open behind her.

“You have your own apartment,” she reminded him.

“But I like yours better.”

“Too bad,” she said, tilting her head back and closed her eyes as she allowed the water to pour over her hair.

When she heard the sounds of the shower curtain being pulled back she smiled. He was such a persistent bastard.

“Don’t even think about it.”

With a chuckle, he released the curtain. “What do you want for lunch?” he asked, making her frown.

“What happened to breakfast?’

“It ended about two hours ago,” he said sounding amused while she stood there, shoulders sagging and muttering, “Damn it!”

“What?”

“I have a date at one that I forgot to cancel,” she said, opening her eyes and grabbing the bottle of shampoo, resigning herself to a nice relaxing bath tomorrow morning after she got home instead of a leisurely shower now.

“You don’t sound too happy about it,” he noted, sounding hopeful.

Because she hadn’t been looking forward to this date. He was her brother’s accountant or something like that, not that she really cared, because she already knew that it wasn’t going to work out. According to her brother, his friend was in his early thirties, funny, smart and ready to settle down and start a family. In other words, he wasn’t for her.

“Jake,” was all she needed to say to make him understand.

With a chuckle, he said, “Oh, I see.”

She just bet he did, she thought as she heard the bathroom door click shut behind him. For a minute, okay, maybe a second, she considered going after him and stopping him, but then she realized that it really was for the best. Besides, this way she’d be able to meet Zoe and kids earlier than planned.

*-*-*-*

“What do you want?” Darrin demanded as soon as he ripped the front door open.

“I, um,” the man standing on his front step said, looking a little unsure of himself, “I’m here to see Marybeth?”

“Do you have an appointment?” Darrin asked as he folded his arms over his chest, giving the confused man a good look at the gun he’d shoved in the front of his pants.

“Umm,” the man said, glancing down at the gun, “her brother arranged a date for us. I’m supposed to pick her up at one.”

“She’s just finishing up with her last client,” he said, leveling a glare on the much smaller man.

“A client? Jake told me that she was a painter.”

“Are you a cop?” Darrin asked in his sternest tone, the one he’d honed to perfection over the years.

“A cop?” the other man repeated, noticeably swallowing as he shifted nervously. “No, I’m not a cop.”

“Good,” Darrin said approvingly with a firm nod. “Did Jake tell you to bring cash for your donation?”