I can’t believe Calvin’s still playing that game.

Although Lily did find it kind of cute how his assertion they were on a mission kept their date lighthearted and fun.

Total fun. As in she hadn’t smiled this much and hard in ages.

When he’d opted to check on their drinks, under the guise of pretending to talk to a man, she didn’t just use the washroom as an excuse to escape. A few glasses of wine meant nature called—urgently. But when done, she took longer than needed, mostly because she wanted to try and figure out what was happening here.

I’m on a date and enjoying it. But how far was she willing to let things go?

As she washed her hands in the bathroom sink, Lily stared at her reflection in the mirror. She’d left her hair loose as he’d requested, but only at the last minute. She’d meant to pin it up, out of the way. Armor against his charm, just like her pants and long-sleeved blouse were meant to show him that she wasn’t falling for his flirtatious game. Yet, even as she told herself to guard against him, she couldn’t help but enjoy, make that crave, the warmth of his gaze, the smooth tickle of his voice.

She blamed his velvety tone for the fact that she’d said yes to going on the date. What had happened to her theory that men were evil? Where along the way did her plans to be independent vanish?

Weren’t the real questions, how long should she stay alone, and when would she learn to trust again?

The split from Brock had happened over nine months ago. Nine months of first living in a cramped woman’s shelter, then a one-bedroom apartment that the group for abused women helped Lily find.

Because I can’t ignore it anymore. I was abused.

Keyword being was. She’d escaped taking nothing but a bag of clothes and Zoe, and once in a safe spot, with the help of the group, immediately filed for divorce.

Despite all his protests, Brock settled out of court. She made it easy, she asked for nothing. Nothing except a chance to escape, and now the divorce was now going on its third month. It was over except for Brock whining and cajoling.

What she couldn’t understand was they were no longer a couple, so why did she hesitate to move on? She couldn’t hide forever. Being alone should never be anyone’s goal in life. But she feared moving too fast.

Jenny didn’t seem to think it was too fast, and Lily knew other people got into new entanglements sometimes faster, but…

But what?

Would it really hurt to try? Maybe Calvin wasn’t Mr. Right—even if he certainly ticked all the right boxes when it came to looks and personality. She could do worse than getting back into the dating game with a nice and decent guy—with a ton of arrogance.

Did a truly arrogant man build a freaking bookcase from scratch for a little girl? She’d never even managed to get Brock to fix the broken screen in their house—which meant flies every time she opened the window for air.

What if this date was Calvin’s way of getting paid for the nice gesture? He’d better not think he was getting a piece of her. This place was a heck of a lot more expensive than expected when she’d accepted his offer of dinner. Sure, he’d beaten his chest and claimed “I am man, I will pay,” but that could just be clever acting. Perhaps he thought he could ply her with a few drinks, tickle her taste buds with good food, and then get her panties off.

Good luck with that. She was wearing a full-bottomed granny pair. Good for funerals and first dates with hot guys next door.

Someone grumbled behind her about a princess taking her sweet time. It seemed a line had started for the sinks while she woolgathered. Even swanky places had issues with women. She’d spent enough time stalling. Lily couldn’t avoid her date forever. Nor did she want to. Being with Calvin was the most fun she’d had with a man in longer than she could remember.

She exited the bathroom and was about to head back to their table when she noted someone she recognized coming her way. He hadn’t noticed her yet, intent on his phone.

Oh, hell no. He can’t see me here.

Whirling, she noted the exit sign and walked quickly to it. She shoved at the bar and spilled out onto a metal staircase. She clambered down the steps, causing a noisy clanking even with her multi-function black flats. At the bottom, people milled around, having a smoke, not all of it tobacco.

She went to walk past them, only an arm shot out. “Well, well, if it isn’t the former Mrs. Fitzpatrick. What are you doing here? This isn’t your kind of hangout.” The voice made her stomach sink. She knew that voice.

A turn of her head and she saw the familiar countenance of Dillon, a close friend of her ex-husband’s. “Just having an evening out.”

“An evening that ends in an alleyway? Don’t tell me you’ve taken up a new line of work?” Dillon tugged her away from the smokers, who didn’t seem inclined to interfere as Dillon moved her deeper into the shadows.

Lily refused to panic yet, but it did creep in slowly. Surely, if she screamed, someone would act.

I hope. Dillon wouldn’t dare be so brazen as to try something here.

“Wait until the rest of the gang sees who I ran into.”

There were more of them here? She didn’t need the gang mentality. “I’ve got to go.” She pulled at his grip, only Dillon tightened it.

“You can’t leave yet. We were just getting started.”

The door to the club briefly opened, bringing sound and life for a moment before closing. Lily couldn’t help but hear the steps vibrate as someone bounced down them.

Her hope for rescue was dashed as Zach, another of Brock’s buddies, joined them. “I thought I recognized the lying whore inside.”

“I am not a whore.” With a sharp yank, Lily pulled her arm from Dillon’s grip. “Leave me alone.”

As if it would be so easy.

“You know you really hurt Brock’s feelings going to court and lying about him like that.”

“It wasn’t lies, and you know it,” Lily retorted. To think, she didn’t even tell them the worst of what Brock had done. Some things she preferred to keep to herself.

Zach hooked his fingers on his belt loops. “Brock always did say you had a rude mouth on you.”

“I told him how to fix that,” Dillon snickered.

“Leave me alone.” She went to walk around them, but they formed a wall. Whirling to go the other way meant Zach grabbed her in a grip tight enough to make her cry out.

“You need to let the woman go.” The low warning sent a shiver through her.

She knew that voice. Lily glanced over her shoulder to see a rather grim-faced Calvin standing there.

Tell him to go away before he gets involved, before he gets hurt.

Dillon stepped in front of her. “Fuck off. This ain’t none of your business.”

“Actually, it is. This lady is my date.”

She could have killed him for saying it out loud because both Zach and Dillon took the news with too much interest.

Zach squeezed her arm tightly enough to bruise. “Date? You’re already dating? I know someone who will find that very interesting.”

As for Dillon, he snickered. “He’ll especially enjoy when we tell him how we beat up his wife’s new boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” she muttered.

“And I’m not that easy to beat up,” Calvin added. He followed those words with a sharp left-handed jab that snapped Dillon’s head back.

Dillon bellowed in pain, and Zach snarled, “You fucking ass—”

Whack.

Another quick fist, and Zach was the one reeling. Sensing the moment, Lily snatched her arm free and took a few steps back. Then another as Zach flailed at Calvin, and he dodged the blows before landing a few of his own.

She didn’t try to stop the fight. Why would she?

Zach and Dillon had asked for it. And look at that. Calvin knew how to bring it. He might wear a suit and push paper for a living, but the man possessed some smooth moves. Slick enough that, despite it being two to one, they never landed a blow. Calvin, on the other hand, kept hitting them with unerring, flesh-thunking accuracy.

When it was all over, Dillon was stumbling away, Zach supporting him, the pair uttering vague threats of, “You’ll regret this.”

She agreed. “You shouldn’t have done that. They won’t forgive you and will try to get revenge.”

“Let them. I can handle those punks.”

“Those punks could have really hurt you.”

“Not this assassin.” He winked. “I’ve got the right moves.”

He did, but there were things he didn’t understand. “They don’t play fair. You do realize they’re going to tell Brock. They’ll come back with reinforcements.”

“You think they’ll tattle to your ex?” He smiled. “I should hope so. I planned on it.”

“Are you trying to cause trouble?”

He grinned. A panty-wetting whopper of a grin. “Yeah. Maybe I am. Care to join me?”

He held out his palm, a dashing still-mostly stranger, who didn’t hesitate to step in and prove chivalry wasn’t dead. She wanted so much to take his hand. To let herself see where that grin would go. Instead, she tucked her arms tightly around her chest.

“I think I should go home now.” Alone, before she did something crazy. Like, let herself fall in love again with a rakish smile.