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Jaine said, “I think Sam and I will go home, too. He looks as exhausted as I feel.”
“Are you going to work tomorrow?” T.J. asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe. I’ll call and let you know.”
“Trilby,” T.J. called, and the dog jumped up, bright eyes sparkling and her entire body wagging in enthusiasm. “C’mon, girl, let’s go home.”
Trilby barked and scampered around T.J.’s legs. Galan leaned down to pet her, and she licked his hand. “Where’s your leash?” he asked, and she dashed off to find it. Usually the dog’s antics could make T.J. laugh, but tonight she couldn’t manage even a smile.
On the drive home, T.J. sat staring out the window. “You didn’t have to leave work early,” she said. “I’m fine.”
“I wanted to be with you,” he repeated, and drew a deep breath. He would prefer to have this talk once they were home, where he could put his arms around her, but maybe now was the best time. At least she couldn’t walk away. “I’m sorry,” he said softly.
She didn’t glance at him. “For what?”
“For being an asshole; for being a stupid asshole. I love you more than anything or anyone else on earth, and I can’t stand the thought of losing you.”
“What about your girlfriend?” She made the word sound so immature, as if he were a horny teenager who couldn’t see past the moment.
He winced. “I know you don’t believe me, but I swear I haven’t been that stupid.”
“Exactly how stupid have you been?”
She had never let him get away with anything, he remembered. Even in high school, T.J. would pin him to the wall if he tried to evade telling her whatever she wanted to know.
Keeping his eyes on the road, because he was afraid to look at her, he said, “Flirting stupid. And kissing stupid. But no more than that. Not ever.”
“Not even groping?” Her tone said she didn’t believe him.
“Not ever,” he repeated firmly. “I … Damn it, T.J., it didn’t feel right, and I don’t mean anything physical. She wasn’t you. I don’t know; maybe I let my ego get the best of me, because I kind of liked the thrill, but it was wrong and I knew it.”
“Who exactly is ‘she’?” T.J. asked.
Saying her name took every ounce of courage he had, because putting an actual name to the woman personalized it, made it real. “Xandrea Conaway.”
“Have I met her?”
Galan shook his head, then realized she still wasn’t looking at him. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Xandrea,” she repeated. “She sounds like a mixed drink.”
He knew better than to say anything the least bit nice about Xandrea. Instead he said, “I do love you. Yesterday when you found out about Luna and I realized—” His voice cracked. He had to swallow before he could continue. “When I realized you’re in danger, it was like a slap in the face.”
“Being hunted by a psycho killer is kind of an attention getter,” she said dryly.
“Yeah.” He decided to go for broke and asked, “Will you give me another chance?”
“I don’t know,” she said, and his heart sank. “I told you I wouldn’t be hasty or do anything drastic, and I won’t. My attention is a little splintered right now, so I think we should just shelve this discussion for a while.”
Okay, he thought. That was a swing and a miss, but he hadn’t struck out yet.
“May I sleep with you?”
“You mean have sex?”
“No. I mean sleep with you. In our bed. I’d like to make love with you, too, but if you won’t do that, will you at least let me sleep with you?”
She thought about it for so long that he began to think he’d swung at and missed another ball. Finally she said, “Okay.”
