I finish the last button on my dress just as Tyke buttons his jeans. His green eyes are filled with concern as he watches me, waiting for me to agree to the abortion if a pregnancy does happen.

I debate whether to tell him my true feelings about the situation but decide against it. At some point, he’ll leave this place, and what happens to me will be none of his concern.

“You’ll let me know, right?” he questions again.

I pat his chest as I walk by him. “Sure.”

That’s the last thing I say as I walk away, leaving him standing in the middle of the deserted woods, alone.

“The Morning After” – Meg Myers

The lavender soap lathers easily against my skin, cleaning every trace of Tyke Douglas from my body. On one hand, our stolen moment together in the woods was one of the most exhilarating experiences I’ve ever had. We shared a true connection, unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. On the other hand, being hit with the harsh realization that the act was “just sex” has never happened to me like that before. Sure, I’ve had countless, meaningless trysts with random strangers, but never have I felt immediate regret for allowing myself to get so out of control. I shouldn’t have had sex with him without a condom. I’m fucking smarter than that. I don’t know why I allowed it to happen.

Well, that’s not strictly true. I’m attracted to him, and God, him singing a song about me—I lost all resolve. I wanted him right then and there. To hell with the consequences.

I rinse my body clean, dry off, and then quickly dress in a black dress suit. Tonight, after dinner, will be my first group therapy session including Tyke. I don’t know how I’m going to hold it together when I see him. My stupid emotions are everywhere. The attraction I was hoping would go away after I allowed him to ravage my body is still there, if not stronger than before. What happened out in those woods can never happen again. It’s too big of a risk, not only to my job, but to my heart, too.

Every woman has an ideal man, a dream man, and Tyke Douglas is exactly that for me. He’s sweet, amazingly talented, and insanely sexy. On top of that, knowing that he thinks about me, actually caring that I’m sad . . . there’s absolutely no resisting that package. I’ll need to keep my distance, no matter how much I’m tempted.

Once I’m presentable, I step out of the cottage and make my way up toward the main house. When I’m only a few feet away, I hear a door close behind me and Kimmy’s voice calls for me to wait up.

I turn in time to see Kimmy bounding up to me, wearing yet another adorable outfit that gives her the appearance of being younger than she actually is.

“Hey, Frannie. What’d you spend your afternoon doing?” She matches my pace as I continue on to the house.

“Nothing much. Hung out in my room mostly.” Lying to her about my afternoon is absolutely vital. “How about you?”

She shrugs. “I stayed in the main house and read a book. Not having cable sucks. I miss reality TV.”

I nod. “I’ve noticed there aren’t any televisions on the property. Why is that?”

“Dr. Shepherd says he wants to eliminate as much negative drama from the clients as possible, since some of them are famous and all. But, if you ask me, not allowing TV is dumb, especially considering he doesn’t confiscate their phones.” She pops her gum as we step up onto the porch.

“You’re right,” I agree. “It’s not like they can’t Google themselves—if their phones actually get service here. I’ve noticed mine is spotty at best, and I drop a lot of calls.”

“It’s these damn mountains. They make it impossible to get a lot of things out here.” She steps up on the porch and then heads toward the side of the house.

“You aren’t coming to dinner?” I ask, wondering where she’s going.

She shakes her head. “Nope. I’m going in to use Dr. Shepherd’s computer. It’s a school night for me.”

I smile, remembering that she told me when I met her that she was taking online classes while she worked on getting into design. “I’ll see you later then. Have fun studying.”

Walking into the kitchen, the spicy scent of grilled meat floats around me and I lick my lips as the aroma fills my nose. “Hey, Sue. Need some help?”

She smiles as she looks up from the chocolate cake she’s frosting. “Hello, Frannie. Thanks for the offer, but I’m just about finished. Hope you’re hungry.”

“Starved,” I tell her with a smile as I pass through on my way to the dining room.

Most of the clients are already seated at the table. I scan the faces and find myself disappointed that Tyke’s not here yet. The urge to kick myself comes over me. How stupid am I to be so excited to see him again. I just vowed to stay away from him.

“Hey, Dr. Mead,” Randall says, nudging the chair beside him. “This seat is open.”

A small amount of relief floods me. Sitting here guarantees that I won’t have to sit next to Tyke. I squeeze into the seat between Randall and Arnold. Like a gentleman, Randall stands to push the chair in behind me.

“Thank you,” I say, watching as Josie, sitting on the other side of Randall, shoots an evil look in my direction.

Clearly, she thinks I’m encroaching on her territory.

Seconds later, Tyke enters the room and sits in the same seat he’s been at since his arrival. He’s eaten all his meals sitting next to me, so far. His confused green eyes rake over me. After the way I left him standing in the woods, I don’t know why me moving to another seat surprises him. We had sex—a one-time thing. There’s no need to keep up the charade of being close when we both know there’s no real future.