As I approached the turn onto Liam's street, my heart pounded against my ribcage. What was I doing? Was I really going to my therapist's house for what may be a romantic encounter? Four nights after having a romantic encounter with my best male friend? Just a month ago, I had no romance in my life, and now I was bordering on what one might call promiscuous?

I hadn't even told Julia that Liam had called. If I kept this from her, she'd flip. Plus, I needed someone to know where I was going, just in case this turned into a scene from a Lifetime movie.

I dialed her number and put my phone on speaker.

"Charlotte!" she exclaimed. That was one of many things I loved about Julia; she always sounded thrilled to hear your voice.

"Hey, you're never going to believe where I am."

"And where would that be?"

"In Belle Meade...heading over to a house on Page Road."

"Ummmm, okay? What're you doing, house hunting?"

"Yeah, right. No, I am going over to a certain doctor's house..."

"What? Dr. Liam Covington?" she screeched, and I heard a scuffle as the phone crashed to the ground. "Aww, shit!" I heard her curse from far away. "Okay," she said, her voice clear again, "What now!? How did this happen?"

"Jules, he called me. He said he couldn't stop thinking about me and he had to see me before Wednesday," I said, realizing how ridiculous it sounded. Is this real life?

"Holy shit. This is incredible! What are you wearing?!" she asked.

I looked down. "Cutoff shorts and a black tank top...and my push-up bra."

"Atta girl," she praised me. "Call me after and tell me every single raunchy detail."

"Come on, Jules. Nothing's going to happen. We're just two..." What were we anyway? "...acquaintances getting together for a..." What were we getting together for? "...coffee?" I finished, my voice rising at the end of my sentence, making it an unsure question.

Julia cackled. "Yeah, okay. Just make sure he wraps it up," and before I could answer, she hung up the phone.

When I pulled up to 5324 Page Road, my mouth dropped. Not only was there a gate, but the house was nothing short of magnificent. It was a gray brick, chateau-style mansion that was more like a castle than a house. It had one circular section on the left side, where there was no doubt a winding staircase, at least three chimneys, complete with vine growing up the right side of the house.

I pressed a button on the box near the gate, and the gate swung open as I drove through. The gate closed behind me, and I parked in the U-shaped driveway. Before I opened the car door, I stopped to think for a second. That's when I realized if I stepped through his front door, I'd be crossing a line that couldn't be uncrossed. I took a deep breath and stepped down onto the driveway—good Lord, even that looked expensive. I jogged up the stairs, smoothed my hair, and rang the doorbell. The door opened, and Liam was standing in front of me, barefoot, in jeans and a tight dark green pocket t-shirt.

"Hello, Charlotte," he greeted me and stepped aside so I could enter. "Please, come in."

I stepped over the threshold and did not take my eyes off him. "Hi, Liam," I replied with a shy smile.

"Did you have any problems finding your way?" he asked as he led me through the foyer into the kitchen.

"No—I..." I stopped talking when we reached the doorway. I had never seen a kitchen so spotless and gigantic in my life. All stainless steel, marble countertops, double ovens, and of all things, my eyes locked on the Kitchen-Aid mixer next to the fridge. He hadn't yet taken his eyes off me, and he followed my stare. He laughed—a deep, sexy laugh that I hadn't heard before.

"Do you like to bake?"

"I love to bake. That's my biggest weakness...baked goods. That probably explains the size of my ass," I joked, giving myself a mental facepalm as I said the words.

But Liam surprised me. Instead of laughing he stepped toward me and pulled me to him in one swift motion, one hand around my waist and the other sliding into my back pocket.

"Your ass is flawless," he breathed in my ear.

I opened my mouth to answer, but he took his hand out of my pocket and put his index finger against my lips.

"It was the first thing I noticed about you...except your eyes." He kissed the corner of my eyelid. "And your freckles," he continued, kissing my cheek. "And that smooth skin on your neck," his lips brushed my skin, "But what I couldn't stop looking at were your lips...God, I've wanted to kiss you ever since I first laid eyes on you," he growled, and when I thought I would explode, he closed his lips over mine and thrust his tongue into my mouth.

I moaned against him, and he lifted me onto the spotless countertop as I wrapped my legs around his waist. He put his hands in my hair and pulled, kissing my neck with short little bites that sent shots of desire straight through me.

I felt myself losing control. I knew if I let this continue, I'd let him have me right on this countertop. And I was not willing to go that far with him yet. That just wasn't who I was. I gasped and put my hands against his chest with a gentle push.

"Whoa, whoa," I breathed.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I–I just feel like we're going too fast," I admitted, untangling my legs from his waist.

"Okay, we'll slow down," he said with a quirk of his lips. When I realized he was going to kiss me again, I slid off the countertop, but that did little to put any distance between us. He leaned down to kiss me again, and I didn't stop him this time.

After I ended the kiss, he asked, "Charlotte, what's on your mind?" I guess that's one downside to getting involved with a psychiatrist—they always know when you're overthinking something.

"Liam." I hopped up on a barstool. "I can't help but wonder if this is good for me."

"Charlotte, I think this is just what you need. A relationship with someone who cares about you, not a fuck buddy." The last two words were clipped.

I bristled at both his choice of words and tone of voice. I held my index finger against his chest. "Now wait just a minute. Andrew is not a fuck buddy; he is my best friend. He does care about me." Despite myself, I was getting a little angry.

"I don't doubt he does, Charlotte, but not in the way you need, and not in the way his actions imply," he said, making my relationship with Andrew sound clinical.

I opened my mouth to reply and then realized he was right. "Okay, fine, hooking up with Andrew is unhealthy. But Liam, I have to wonder if our relationship wouldn't be just as bad."

Liam sighed and hopped on the countertop right beside me. I looked up at him, struck once again by his sheer perfection. "Charlotte, I would never put you or your mental health in jeopardy. You're right; seeing you both professionally and socially is not a good idea. Would you like me to refer you to someone else?"

I thought about it for a moment. "No. I don't want to go to another psychiatrist. I think I'm past the hard part; the meds are working and I'm feeling much better."

Liam cocked his head to the side and studied me. "I don't think it's a good idea to stop treatment. Someone needs to oversee your medication, and you need to have someone to talk to if you need to."

I wrinkled my nose. "But I don't want to talk about these things to anyone but you. I don't think I could trust anyone else. But I also enjoy seeing you this way...so what are we going to do?"

We sat in silence for a moment, his jaw ticking as he thought. "I suppose I could continue giving you sample packs of the Zoloft. It would be under the table, but at least it wouldn't be going through your insurance, and you wouldn't be paying me. And if you ever need to talk, I can always listen as the man you're dating." He grinned. "I can't help that I have a doctorate in the subject."

I raised my eyebrows. "That's not really legal either, is it?"

He shrugged. "No, but it's the only solution I can think of at the moment."

"Well, I guess it could work."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I'm in," I murmured.

He hopped off the counter and stood in front of me, taking my hand in his. He lifted his other hand and placed the pad of his thumb on my bottom lip and pulled it down. "You won't regret it," he whispered.

My heart sped up, and I swallowed. "I hope not."

He planted a sweet kiss on my cheek and squeezed my hand. "Watch a movie with me?"

I smiled. "Yeah. I'd like that." He took my hand, and I let him lead me to the living room.