“Eric, you should’ve told me. When I saw your things were gone, I thought the worst.”

“Look, I understood about your father and brother. It wasn’t something you planned but after all the torment of dealing with a father who seemed to never approve of you, you had him back. I knew how important that was and there was so little time for you to repair things with him. You had to do what you had to do. I didn’t want you to regret anything.” He brushed back her hair. “You had to know I was willing to wait as long as I had to wait. I just didn’t want to be there without you.”

“I’ve been gone overnight before,” she said.

“This was different. There was no end in sight. Let’s go now—we’ll go back there tonight. Let me grab a shirt for tomorrow.”

“Stop. Do you have a woman hidden in the closet or bathroom or something?”

He laughed at her. He rolled with her until she was on top of him. “Laine, there could never be anyone else for me. I love you. I say it every day. I show you when I can. How long can you visit?”

“Forever,” she said. “But only if the life I want is here. I know this will come as a shock, but I’m not here for the view.”

“Forever?” he asked. “What about your dad?”

“My brother and the housekeeper came up with a good plan for him. I’m going to visit him often, of course. I’ll try to get back there every month for a few days, but I want to live here. I can handle his finances from here. Don’t panic. I’m not going to force you into a commitment or anything....”

He smiled into her eyes. “I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to come back. Not that you wouldn’t want to, but that you couldn’t. And I couldn’t stay in that house alone because you were everywhere. I could see you on the deck, in the kitchen, in the bed. I could see you in that chair you like to read in. I could feel you curling into me when I was on the couch. I missed you so much, wanted you so much, I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t think. I’d dream we were together—I could taste you sometimes. You conquered me the first day I saw you and once I let you inside my little protective armor, you took me down. I’ve loved you since the first time I kissed you and I’ll never love another woman. I can barely remember when I didn’t love you and I don’t think anyone on earth has ever had a love like this. I’m blind and deaf and helpless without you. I’m wearing pajamas again. I hate wearing pajamas. I’m a pathetic shell of a man who lives for one woman and I don’t even want to sleep in our bed unless I’m sure you’re coming back to it. And I’d do anything for you. If you weren’t able to come back, I would’ve come to you. If you wanted me. Because really, there has never been a woman in my life, in my whole life, that I could feel in my sleep. That I could taste and hear and smell and feel. You’re inside me and I love you. I will love you forever.”

“Oh, Eric,” she said, touching his face, her eyes glistening. “You’re not afraid that I’ll stay gone anymore, are you?”

“No. And if you have to leave again, I won’t let that question hang in the air.”

“I guess that means there’s no hooker in the closet?”

He grinned. It was clear he knew she couldn’t for one second believe he could be with anyone else, ever. “You’ll like her. She’s nice. Sweet girl, just trying to earn a little money to afford her Ph.D. in psychology. She was looking specifically for screwed-up clients.” He grabbed her arms and gave her a little shake. “Laine, all I want is you. Us. Together. Even if we have to be apart, I want to know we’re together.”

“Eric, I thought about us every day. Every minute of every day. I just have one question for you.”

“Anything,” he said.

“Can I use your toothbrush?”

He kissed her. “You can have any part of me. But I want to go home. And in the morning I’ll get Manny to take care of the station and you can help me move back into the house. Our house. Our bed. Where I’ll stay.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “One shirt at a time?”

“This time I think we’ll clean this place out. I’ll give the key back to the management.”

“You’re all in this time?”

“Oh, yeah,” he said. “Here’s the deal. If you promise not to doubt me anymore, I promise to never again doubt you. How’s that?”

“That’s good. I want to pin you down. When I turn my back you get a little slippery....”

“Not anymore, baby. I’m all yours.”