Tory woke up in Pierce’s bed, jumping up when she saw the sun shining brightly outside the windows. How late was it? Was she late for work? Did she have time to go home for a change of clothes? She only relaxed when it hit her that it was her day off, and she had exactly zero obligations for the day.

But when she realized Pierce wasn’t there next to her, she tensed for a moment. The bedroom door was closed, but she could hear someone moving around in the living room. Tossing the covers aside, she quietly got up, frowning when she heard whispering from the other side of the door.

He’s probably just trying not to wake me, she told herself.

Unable to make out any words, she grabbed a t-shirt from the floor and stepped into the living room, finding Pierce pacing around with a phone pressed against his ear. His eyes snapped to her immediately, and he ended the call.

Tory couldn’t help the uneasy feeling in her gut. It seemed like Pierce was hiding something from her, but after they had been so open last night, and had ended up talking into the early morning hours, she didn’t want to believe it.

Something was definitely up, though.

Setting his phone on the counter, Pierce walked over, a smile on his face.

“Good morning,” he said, pulling her into a hug. “I thought I’d let you sleep in since you said it was your day off today. I was planning on making us coffee, but I’m all out.”

Leaning into his embrace, there was still something niggling in the back of Tory’s head, but as always, Pierce had a way of making her forget about everything except how good it felt to be close to him.

“Good morning,” she murmured, taking in the scent of him. “Coffee does sound great, though. Maybe we can go out?”

“Sure,” he replied, pulling away and brushing her hair away from her face. “Do you want to go by your place and change, first?”

Tory wanted to ask him what the call had been about, but ignored the urge. It probably had something to do with his business, and she didn’t want to come across as suspicious and paranoid.

Stop questioning everything and just let yourself be happy, she told herself.

“Yeah, if we could swing by real quick…” she said.

“No problem,” he replied. “I just want to spend the day with you.”

Tory had to smile at that. There was no pretense with Pierce – he wanted her, and he made sure she knew it. From that first dance class, he had been nothing but open, and in that moment she felt bad for even thinking about giving him the third degree over some phone call.

“Me, too,” she grinned.

* * *

Tory and Pierce stepped into The Roast hand in hand. The air smelled like sweet, caffeine-laced temptation, and the man behind the counter gave them a friendly smile.

“Hey, Pierce,” he said. “Black, two sugars?”

“Hey, James,” Pierce replied. “You got it.”

James turned his attention to her, brow furrowing slightly.

“Caramel… macchiato?” he asked, sounding a bit hesitant.

“Whoa,” Tory laughed. “Good memory.”

“I like to give my customers what they want,” the man grinned. “Go ahead and take a seat, I’ll get you your drinks.”

“Thanks, man,” Pierce replied, before guiding Tory to a table near the window.

They sat down, and Tory leaned back in her seat, studying Pierce. Damned if he wasn’t getting more handsome every day. And it was looking like he was just as beautiful on the inside. Was this all too good to be true, or should she just go with it?

“You have that look on your face,” he commented.

“What look?” she laughed.

“Like you want to say something but you’re not sure how,” he replied.

“So now you know my looks, do you?” she arched a brow at him.

“You’re kind of an open book,” Pierce chuckled. “Your nose wrinkles when you’re annoyed, and your professional smile is a lot less bright than your genuine one. And then there’s that tiny little furrow…” he trailed off, lifting his finger to point at her forehead.

She swatted it away, trying to hide the smile tugging at her lips.

“All right, enough,” she chided.

“Hey, you asked,” he laughed, just as James came by with their drinks.

He set them on the table, his gaze flicking between her and Pierce.

“Here you go,” James said.

“Thanks,” Tory replied.

“No problem,” James said, before disappearing to tend to the other customers.

Lifting the steaming mug up to her face, Tory drew in a deep breath. The coffee smelled heavenly, with just the right hint of caramel mixed in.

“You know, I think it’s time I cook for you,” she said. “You showed me your signature dish, I should share mine.”

“I’m up for that,” Pierce nodded. “Just know – you can never beat me in the kitchen.”

“Oh, is that how it is?” Tory laughed. “And you should know – I’m very competitive. But I’m also a woman who just moved into her apartment and has two wineglasses and no pots and pans,” she added, frowning.

“Easy,” Pierce shrugged. “You can use my kitchen.”

“Isn’t that kind of… cheating?” she questioned.

“It’ll still be you cooking, you’ll just be using my kitchenware,” he said simply. “And I like having you over. You really tie the place together,” he joked.

“You’re not…busy tonight or anything?” Tory carefully prodded.

Some stubborn part of her still wanted to doubt everything about Pierce, even after he had said he only wanted her. And they were kind of breaking all the rules, seeing each other three days in a row.

Something told her Pierce wasn’t big on rules, though…

“I’m never too busy to have a beautiful woman cook for me,” he grinned.

“Then you can find me in your kitchen, fixing up a masterpiece,” she replied.

They finished their drinks and walked around for a little while, ending up in the local park. Pierce held her hand as they chatted about their childhoods. Tory wasn’t that close with her family, so she enjoyed hearing about the close relationship Pierce had had with his dad, and still had with his mom.

As they sat down on a bench, the air warm and a nice breeze moving around the trees, they fell into a comfortable silence. Shoulder bumping with his, Tory took a deep breath, feeling like she was having the perfect day.

“I should go shop for ingredients for tonight, and stock my own fridge while I’m at it,” she said after a while.

“Do you need help?” Pierce asked.

“No, and I’m keeping my dish a secret, so don’t even try,” she laughed.

“Fine, fine, I could use a trip down to the construction site,” he replied, kissing her on the cheek. “Call me when you’re ready and I’ll come pick you up.”

“Will do,” she smiled, and he pulled her into a kiss.

Tory let herself melt into his arms as he claimed her mouth. She had never been a fan of PDA, but she could hardly resist him. Who cared what people thought? She was entirely too caught up in Pierce to even think about passers-by, that was for sure.

Finally, he got up and left, and Tory decided to stay at the park for just a little while longer. She watched him walk away before turning her face toward the sun, soaking up its warmth.

Her phone buzzing in her purse distracted her, though, and she fished it out, only to see a text from an unknown number on her screen. Frowning, she read it at least three times, suddenly feeling exposed, as if someone was watching her.

Don’t trust him. He’ll only break your heart, it read, and suddenly even the warm sun couldn’t fight the chill in her bones.