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"Yes. Finally." I fell silent for a moment. "What do you think you're going to do?"

"For work?"

"For anything. You'll need money eventually. I'm sure you'll want a social life."

"I don't really know. I have an inheritance I dip into when I have to, but I need to withdraw it and put it in a safe place so it can't be tracked. It allows me the opportunity to stay home with my son. I'm pretty crafty and can sculpt in clay and other media. I may see if I can sell some pieces online."

"Very cool! That will keep you busy."

"Mmm hmm," she agreed. "Listen, I want to talk to you about something really quickly. I've known Lucas for a lot of years. He can be...a little afraid of taking the next step."

I didn't say a word for a moment. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying if he pulls away, it isn't you. It's him."

I shook my head and sighed. "I knew there was something up. He's holding back."

"Well, he cares about you. A lot. I can tell. More than I've ever seen him care about anyone. But he's getting scared."

"Any advice?"

Marissa let out a soft laugh. "I know you well enough to know you go for what you want. If you want Lucas, you need to step up and fight for him. I think he loves you. But he's never fully committed to anyone. I think he's averse to anyone truly getting to know him. I managed to quite on accident and only because of my husband."

"I'll see, Marissa."

"Don't be stubborn about this. He's a man. And therefore nine times out of ten, he's an idiot."

I couldn’t even laugh because it was too true. "I'll see you tomorrow."

I hung up before she could say anything else and slumped down on my couch. Did I want someone who wasn't a hundred percent sure they wanted me? Five years ago my ego was firmly intact and I would have said absolutely not. Now? Now I was feeling my age, going on terrible dates and had zero passion with anyone except for the pain in the ass vampire who was inadvertently doing his best to make me a lunatic.

Marissa said she thought he loved me. That was all well and good, but it still circled around to the same question. Did he love me enough or at all or even a little bit? When I thought about him, my thoughts became tangled up and confused. I managed to get heated and angry and sometimes a little bit gushy. If this was love, it was a giant pain in the ass, and I wasn't sure I wanted anything to do with it. Being alone was way easier and I didn't have to put up with anyone's opinions but my own.

I picked up the phone again and dialed the man who was making me a combo of blissful and miserable.

He answered on the first ring. "Grace. It's good to hear from you. I missed you."

We just talked yesterday. This was a good sign.

"Do you like me?" I asked.

"Excuse me?" His voice sounded both exasperated and amused.

"Like me. Like you want me to wake up next to you rumple headed and hungry."

"I'm not sure if you're talking about sleeping and breakfast or sex, sleep and breakfast, but I'm on board for all of that."

"Lucas. I'm serious. What are we doing here?"

"Well, we're having a very odd conversation over the phone from what I can tell."

"Yes or no?"

A garbled laugh escaped him. "I've been trying unsuccessfully to get into your pants for weeks now. Of course I like you."

"No. Getting into someone's pants means you like a certain aspect of them. I'm asking whether or not you think about me during the day. At night. At odd times. Do you wish I would stay instead of go? Do you think about asking me how I feel about something - a choice you're going to make in your life?"

"What's this all about?" Concern rang in his tone.