“Wow.” His lips found my hairline, my temple, my ear. “That was something else.”

I didn’t trust myself to answer, but I turned my face toward his. I was afraid of what he might see in my eyes, but I wanted the reassurance I was seeking in his. He gave it to me, too, nothing but love there as his fingers played through my hair.

I knew he was waiting for me to say something, so finally, I did. “I have to admit… thinking about it is kind of hot.”

He grinned. “And if just thinking about it is hot, just imagine…” I flushed, both with the thought and with the memory. I had never told TJ

about what happened with the Baumgartners. Gretchen and I had been over for a year when I met him, and I had chalked it all up to some college experimentation thing. I wasn’t a lesbian, I was sure of that. Yes, okay, I’d been attracted to women over the years, but-

“Ronnie?”

”Hm?” I turned onto my side and spooned up against him, pulling his arm across me, a protection, a barrier. I knew what he was going to ask, even before the words were out, and yet, somehow, they still surprised me.

“Who’s Mrs. B?”

I froze, glad he couldn’t see my face. Well, Lucy, looks like you’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do.

I cleared my throat, closed my eyes, my whole body on fire with the memories, and then I started to talk…

* * * *

`The headlights of my Intrepid reflected on the garage door and I turned them off, gathering up my purse and my bag with all my lesson plans. It was such a sweet moment of anticipation, the time between knowing I was home and going into the house where I knew TJ and Beth would be waiting. Knowing the long holiday stretched out ahead of us made it even better, and if it weren’t for staying late to finish cleaning up the classroom and the fact I had a hamster in the backseat, it would be perfection.