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him even more. Not smart. Jason kept his romantic entanglements carefree, casual, and brief. She couldn’t approach relationships that way, especially one with him. She didn’t want to be the next in line, the current interest that burned hot and bright and then faded in a flash. With him, she wanted forever.
    The realization knocked her back against the mattress. Where had that come from? He never got serious with anyone, and she was as far from his preferred type as Pennsylvania was from California.
    “You okay?” His brow cocked and his fingers traced her cheek.
    Not ready to share the direction of her thoughts, she tugged at the sheet tangled around their legs. “Fine. Just debating about leaving you to go running.”
    “I brought sneakers and sweats with me.” He pointed to the bag by the door. “Thought I’d join you.”
    “Really?” Surprise coaxed out a laugh, and she leaned into him for another kiss. “I’d love it.”
    “We can save time when we get back by showering together. I’ll drive you to work again.”
    How perfectly he’d settled into her routine . But yearning for more wasn’t wise. She needed to squelch the fantasy of being his wife and guard her heart before she lost it completely.
    Seven hours later, Sam’s workday dwindled to an end. Closing early for the holiday meant compressing eight hours of work into four. She waded through a sea of never-ending emails and client concerns, feeling as effective as a hamster spinning in a wheel. The sun glinted off Kevin’s graduation photo on her desk. She sighed. Her husband’s death followed by her mother’s death had gutted her. Taking care of Kevin had helped pull her out of her grief. She’d never regretted her choice to come home, but some days, she really missed the excitement of her former career and life in the city.
    As one o’clock approached, she pushed away from her desk. Craving a change of scenery and a stretch of her legs, she wove through the maze of dull gray cubicles on her way to the water cooler.
    “Hey, Sammie.” Larry Goodman’s voice rang out behind her.
    Irritation crawled along her skin. She waved over her shoulder and increased her pace. The office slacker used his senior status to dump accounts and projects into her lap, and her friendship with Jason to score autographs of his favorite football players.
    He fell in step beside her. “Just saw on the Football Channel’s website that Jason’s signed on to commentate at the four o’clock game tomorrow.”
    She paused. “Tomorrow’s game? Are you sure?”
    “Yep. In black and white, right here.” He waved his phone at her. “Hit the rumor mill last night and was confirmed by the network’s president this morning. See if he can get me John Connolly’s autograph.”
    Her lips pressed together. Why hadn’t Jason told her? Hurt and confusion pulsed deep, but she pasted a smile on her face, nodded, and returned to her desk.
    She climbed into his truck at one fifteen. He flashed her a grin and leaned in for a kiss. “Hey, beautiful, how was your day?”
    “Fine. Did anything interesting happen during yours?”
    “Started off perfect with you. Then I braved the grocery store for my mom.” Laughing, he shuddered and launched into a story about wayward carts and fights over turkeys.
    They pulled into her driveway. She undid her seatbelt and turned to him. “I heard a rumor you’ll be on TV tomorrow.”
    “It’s true. I’ll be in Chicago for most of the day.”
    “When did they ask you?” Maybe Larry’s information was wrong…
    “Last night.”
    The phone call he’d left to take. Surprise joined the hurt aching in her stomach. “Before we made love? You shared yourself with me that way, but couldn’t share that you’ll be gone tomorrow and why? I had to find out through the office slimeball?”
    The laughter in his eyes died. “I’d planned to tell you over dinner but got distracted. I wasn’t thinking so much about tomorrow’s game. They also