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Whatever it meant, it made her catch her breath. “All they want is for you to be happy. Between Taylor and Luke, there has been so much sadness and loss in their lives that they want to protect you from it.”

“I’m not a child. I can protect myself.” This time when he looked at her, there was a clear message.

Tori nodded. “You’re right. I have yet to be forgiven for what I did. And it’s been what, twenty years?”

“I would if I could, but I can’t.”

She reached over and touched his shoulder, enjoying the feel of his warm skin. “Be sure you’re doing this for the right reason and with the right person.”

After the awkward way they’d stopped, when she slipped from the bed, she felt exposed and hurried to dress, rushing from the room immediately.

The house was quiet; the only sounds were the two dogs snoring in their beds. One of them, Scamp, lifted its head and gave a soft bark of acknowledgement.

She had already grabbed her small purse when Tobias came out of the bedroom. He’d pulled on his sweatpants.

With tussled hair and a bare chest, he was breathtakingly tempting. “Be careful driving back.”

“Like you care. If I wrapped my car around a tree, you’d probably have a barbecue to celebrate.”

The edges of his lips twitched as he understood what she was doing. “Yeah, I’d get out my guitar and play, Ding Dong the Witch is Dead.”

“Kiss my ass.” Tori went to the door and yanked it open.

“Been there, done that.”

She huffed and closed the door firmly behind her.

Tori drove about a mile down the road before she was forced to pull over. Sobs racked her body. He was going to get married. Tobias Hamilton was going to move and would be gone from her life forever.