She didn’t care that she was walking while it was freezing outside. There was enough rage inside her to keep her warm. She crossed the street.

What was she thinking? Of course the clan members knew what was happening. They always did. When she started dating Noah, she couldn’t go anywhere without someone mentioning some kind of clan news. It didn’t help that they cared most about the alpha.

Most of them had been at her blood oath ceremony. They were there the night she vowed to spend her life with Noah. They had also sworn to protect her. In return, she had pledged herself to the clan as the alpha’s mate.

She stormed across the next street. She didn’t know what any of that had meant. She only knew she wanted to be with Noah. It seemed like a part of the ceremony—not something she’d actually have to live up to.

The headlights framed her shadow. She didn’t have to turn around to know Liam’s truck was the one following her.

He rolled down the window. “Soph, get in the truck.”

“No.” She trudged forward.

“Get in the truck.” He pulled in front of her so she would have to walk around to keep moving.

“I’ll pay you back for the shower rod. How much was it?”

“Come on, get in the truck. I’ll drive you back out of the cold.”

She shook her head. “I’m not getting in the truck with you. I’m not doing anything with you.”

Liam stepped out from the truck, closing the door behind him.

“What are you doing? You’re blocking the road.” She stared at him.

“Stop running and talk to me.” He gripped the sides of her shoulders.

His hands were hot even through her coat. She glared at him. “No.”

“Then get in the truck and don’t talk. I don’t care. Just get off the damn street.”

She knew this was futile. He could pick her up like a sack of sugar and put her in the truck if he wanted to. He was trying to give her the choice.

She walked to the passenger side and climbed in without saying a word.

Liam was silent the rest of the ride home. He pulled up next to her car, unloaded the shower rod, and followed her inside the bakery.

Inside her apartment, he went straight to the bathroom and began the task of assembling the new rod and securing it to the wall. She didn’t want to admit it made a lot more sense to have a rod that was actually screwed into the wall. She had been battling it for over a year.

Every few minutes she would steal a peek around the corner to watch Liam work. His biceps flexed under his T-shirt while he held the bar in place. She’d never noticed how sculpted his arms were before. She tried to quiet the place in her belly that was twitching.

She reminded herself she was angry and annoyed. There was an entire clan meddling in her love life and she wanted nothing to do with them.

She picked up a magazine from the coffee table and pretended to read the recipes while she flipped through the pages. But all she could think about was that there was an enormous, sexy man in her shower.

She scowled at herself and tried to study the ingredients needed for a soufflé. It was pointless. Liam’s muscles were all she could think about.

“Soph?”

She jumped on the couch. “Yes?”

“I’m done. Want to come take a look?”

She tossed the magazine on the table and headed to the bathroom.

He tapped on the top of the bar and applied pressure. “This one isn’t going anywhere.”

“Looks good.” She tried to sound unimpressed. She didn’t want Liam to know that she was, in fact, astonished that he could be handy.

He had an array of tools in his truck and knew exactly how to use them. She knew there were other skills he had. Her heart fluttered for a quick instant, but she caught it too late. Liam looked at her. Shit, he had heard it.

He took a step toward her, and she braced herself. He looked overpowering in her small bathroom. His shoulders filled all the empty space. She swallowed hard.

“Need anything else?” he asked.

“What?”

“Is there anything else around here I can help you with?”

“The light in my closet.” The words were out before she could draw them back in. What in the hell was she doing? She needed him to collect his stuff and get out. Not camp out doing honey-do projects.

“All right. Let me take a look.” He brushed past her and walked down the hall.

Sophia closed her eyes. Liam had moved from the bathroom to the bedroom. She was doing the opposite of everything she wanted to do.

He was flipping the switch on and off when she walked in.

“It’s definitely not the light bulb,” he reported. “I need to cut the power, I think, and check the wiring. Where’s the fuse box?”

“In the hallway behind a painting.”

“Be right back.”

Within seconds, the apartment was thrown into total darkness. Sophia held her breath when she heard Liam’s heavy footsteps approaching. Was this just a ploy? Was he trying to get her in her room in the dark?

He whisked past her with a flashlight. “I think I know what it is.”

She let out a pent up breath. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled from the closet.

She tried not to think about him being inside her inner sanctuary. It was a wreck in there—clothes strewn all over.

She heard him click something into place, walk past her, and turn on the power. He met her at the doorway.

“Try your light now,” he instructed.

She flipped the closet switch and the light came on. “How’d you do that?”

He grinned. “I can’t tell you all my secrets.”

She didn’t know how it happened or where it came from. She didn’t think it was possible. But she started laughing. And it wasn’t a little giggle. It was a deep, belly-rolling laugh that made her sides hurt.