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“What are we going to do about it?” I asked.

He gave me a slow grin that made me tingle all the way to my toes. “I have an idea.”

“You want me to bake a cake?”

He shook his head and moved closer, backing me against the counter. “No baking.”

I dropped my purse. “In that case, I'm all on board with your idea.”

His hands framed my face, his thumbs stroking my cheekbones. “First, we're going to go to the bedroom.”

“I like this plan already.”

“And then.” He leaned down, his lips brushing my ear. “You're going to let me show you exactly how healed I think you are.”

My knees went weak. “Graham...”

“And tomorrow.” He pulled back to look in my eyes. “Tomorrow, you're going back to work at the clinic. Part-time to start.”

I blinked. “What?”

“I called Roxie while you were with Dr. Liu. She's been holding your spot, hoping you'd come back when you were ready.”

Tears sprang to my eyes. “You did that for me?”

“I did it for us. You need to feel useful. I need to learn to let go a little.” He wiped a tear from my cheek. “Little Grandma may have cornered me at the diner yesterday.”

“She didn't!”

“Oh, she did. Told me about rearranging furniture in 1965.”

I laughed through my tears. “That woman is something else.”

“She also told me that if I really loved you, I'd trust you to know what you need.”

“And what do I need right now?”

He lifted me onto the counter, stepping between my legs. “Tell me.”

“You. I need you. Not careful Graham, not protective Graham. Just you.”

“Thank God.” His mouth found mine, and it wasn't gentle. It was hungry and demanding and everything I'd been missing.

When we finally broke apart, we were both breathing hard.

“Bedroom?” I suggested.

“Bedroom.” He lifted me off the counter, and I wrapped my legs around his waist.

“Graham?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“Thank you. For everything. For understanding. For growing with me.”

He stopped walking and looked at me with so much love it took my breath away. “Joy, we're going to have a lifetime of growing together. This is just the beginning.”

As he carried me down the hall, I realized he was right. We'd survived the worst. Everything from here on out was just learning how to live with the best.