“So when can I see you again?” His fingers crawled toward her and stroked her forearm. “Is tonight too soon for another sleepover?”

“I can’t sleep here tonight. I’ve got work tomorrow, and stuff to do, like I said.”

“I’ll come to you.” He frowned. “Come on, before your parents arrive and I have to stay away.”

Avery shook her head. “We just talked about this. I need a little time to warm Andy up to this idea, too.”

“Fine.” He stood up. “How about dinner tomorrow?”

“I can do that. This time I’ll bring the picnic.” She spooned the last of the cereal into her mouth.

Grey grabbed her hand and tugged her off the stool into a kiss—a steamy kiss that made her wish her parents weren’t coming to visit. He sucked on her lip and then his tongue found hers, all while he held her firmly against his body.

If someone had asked if she would like all the touchy-feely stuff, she would’ve guessed not. She would’ve guessed wrong. She actually craved his demonstrative, romantic nature. A first for her, and a little bit scary.

Caution warned her to slow down, but her heart had galloped ahead of her brain and she couldn’t find any reins.

She marveled at how bravely he exposed his feelings. Almost from the very first moment at Plum Tree, when he’d winked at her, he’d opened himself up to her rejection. Even when he’d been restraining himself as her patient, his interest had simmered just beneath the surface.

Juliette may still inhabit a special place in his heart, but clearly he wanted to make room for Avery. And so there, in his drab little living room, another chunk of the protective casing she’d wrapped around her heart for as long as she could remember melted.

Grey was a game changer.

When his hands rode up her back and into her hair, she pressed herself against him, kissing him as if she might die if they stopped.

The deadbolt clicked on the apartment door a second before Trip entered and caught them in the middle of their make-out session.

He stopped and grinned. “You didn’t leave a ‘do not disturb’ sign for me. You think you’d know better. Next time I’ll knock before entering.” Trip removed his cowboy hat and smiled at Avery.

“Hi, Trip.” She hid her discomfort by going on the offensive, and made a show of looking at her watch. In a joking tone, she said, “I’m surprised to see you getting home this late in the morning given your reputation for sneaking away before dawn.”

“Is that right?” He scratched his head, wearing a wicked grin. “Let me think, now. According to your reputation, it seems we’re both breaking all the rules this morning, hmm?”

The fact he said it with a big smile didn’t make the hit less direct. Avery didn’t wince, but her shoulders stiffened. She smiled and flipped her hair over her shoulder, hoping neither noticed her hot cheeks.

Trip sank into the sofa cushion and crossed his feet up on the coffee table. “What are you two doing today?”

“I’m on my way out, although I’m not sure it’s safe to leave Grey here alone with you.” She turned to Grey and teased. “Can you resist his bad influence?”

He kissed her just as Trip called out, “And here it was me being afraid of leaving him alone with you, sweet PT. You’ve got him all turned inside out.”

Avery looked at Trip and tilted her head. “I can’t wait to meet the woman who finally turns you inside out.”

“Ha!” Trip laughed before his expression shifted to something more genuine than she’d ever seen from him. “I doubt she exists . . .” And then he immediately slipped back into character. “Who knows, maybe she’ll be born this year. By the time she grows up, I’ll be old enough to settle down.”

Avery rolled her eyes while Grey mumbled something to his friend before walking her down to her car. He opened her door for her and then kissed her again before closing it. “I’ll call you later.”

“Okay.” She waited until he backed up a step or two before she pulled away from the curb. In her rearview mirror she saw him, standing in the middle of the road, watching her drive away.

The past twenty-four hours had been blissful. Although she still felt somewhat off-balance by her decision to run headlong into the possibility of love, whenever she pictured Grey’s smiling face, she couldn’t imagine anything less than a happy ending.

Chapter Seventeen

A week later, Grey limped into the Backtrax office after his first bouldering session with a new client. He unclipped his chalk bag and tossed it on top of the banged-up green file cabinet. Traversing the boulder had strained his knee. Worse, his crash pad had done little to reduce the compression of his landing, which had further stressed the joint. Sent a razor-sharp pain through the damned thing, actually.

Fortunately, now the throbbing had dwindled to a steady ache, so he was ninety-nine percent sure he hadn’t done real damage. The bigger worry involved the fact that he still couldn’t rely on his knee for his work. For the first time, he started to consider the real possibility that he might never be able to do so.

After leaning his crash mat against a wall, he filled an ice bag with cold water and ice cubes, popped a couple of ibuprofens, collapsed onto his desk chair, and elevated his bad leg on a cardboard box.

“Tell me we aren’t headed back to the hospital.” Trip’s voice cut through the air, his gaze riveted to the ice on Grey’s knee.

“No. Just pushed it a little too hard today showing a client some heel and toe hooks.” He hid his concerns behind a dismissive wave. “It’ll be fine.”

Normally Grey could count on Trip for banter and good times, so his friend’s dead-serious expression pulled him up short. “Everyone warns you not to push. You can’t just will that joint to heal right, Grey. Why in the hell would you risk screwing it up so soon? Don’t you want to get back on the slopes one day?” Trip sank onto the chair opposite the desk and loosened the laces of his climbing shoes. “I’m doing everything I can to help you keep things afloat. Now do your part and let your knee recover, dammit.”

Grey raised his hands. “Whoa, buddy. You knew I was taking a client bouldering this morning, so what’s with the attitude?”

The new client—a novice twenty-something—had promised to bring some of her friends next time. Repeat business was still a primary concern.

Trip leaned forward, resting one arm on the desk, and quirked his brow. “I assumed you’d restrict yourself to spotting. Didn’t realize you’d be so pigheaded as to teach by example.” He shook his head and slouched back into his seat. “You can’t afford to make stupid mistakes.”

Grey glanced at his knee, careful to avoid eye contact. “I’m sick of sitting behind this desk, dealing with numbers and words. I didn’t plan to climb today. But the sun was shining, the girl was struggling a bit, and you know the pull. I needed it, Trip. Needed to do something.”

He grimaced at his moronic explanation. Still, it had been more than twelve weeks since his surgery. Countless hours in therapy. By most measures, his fit body could handle anything. So why the hell did a mere nine-foot drop make him feel like an arthritic seventy-year-old man?

“I’d worked on soft-landing jumps in therapy this past week, so I didn’t think it would hurt. Other climbers have been able to do as much at about twelve to sixteen weeks.” He held up his hand to keep Trip from interrupting. “I won’t climb again until I get the green light from Donner. Promise.”