I stared at my reflection in the mirror, my lips pressed together. I fumbled with my blouse, straightened the seams of my jeans, then exhaled.

“Calm the hell down. It’s a job, not a date.”

You’re insane to do this.

I had to be. Bryan had contacted me via the app last night and asked me to start today. The shock those words had brought had frozen me solid for a full minute. But I’d accepted, because the alternative was going back to the diner and picking up my apron and tray again, and that I wouldn’t do. Not when I was this close.

“It’s OK. You’re going to be OK. Just keep it professional.” I pointed at myself in the mirror. “That’s easy. You’re good at being professional. Just act like he’s a guy ordering food in the restaurant.” I squared up, forced a bright smile. “Cheesy smile. Keep your distance. That’s all there is to it.” My shoulders slumped, and I exhaled. “Man, I am way out of my depth here.”

I gave up the pep talk and wandered out of the bathroom, shaking my head.

It was early, and Bev had come in late last night after her shift. Her bedroom door was still shut, thankfully—I couldn’t bring myself to tell her about what’d happened. She’d spoken so fondly and protectively of her brother, hinted that he’d been through so much and how all her niece needed was some stability.

Me having sex with her brother would seem like the opposite of that.

Bev’s bedroom door creaked open and she stepped out, her short red hair sticking up on end. She blinked at me, bleary-eyed. “Why are you staring at my door?” she croaked.

“Oh, ha! Sorry,” I managed. “I was just about to leave for my first day.”

“First day?” Her brow wrinkled up as much as the bottom hem of her PJ top. “Wait, oh em gee! Did he ask you to be his nanny?”

“Yes.”

Bev squeaked and hopped over to me, her bare feet thunderous on the wooden floor. “Oooeee! Woop, woop!” She threw her arms around me and squeezed tight. “I knew this would work out. This is exactly what you needed. I’m so happy for you.”

I cringed and patted her on the back. “Yeah, it’s great.”

“Whatsamatter?” Bev asked, pulling back and holding me at arms’ length.

“Nothing. Well, just a little nervous, I guess.”

“Don’t be,” Bev replied. “Roman’s a good guy, and Carly is a total angel. You’ll love working there, and you’ll do great.” She hugged me again then let go. “Now, when are you leaving? Do we have time for a cup of coffee before you go?”

“Uh, no, unfortunately not,” I said. “I don’t want to be late.”

“All right, I hear you. Well, good luck, and have fun.” Bev stepped toward the bathroom, then paused and looked back at me. “Riley, I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. Roman and Carly have been through so much, and I know he’s rough around the edges, but he’s a good person. And you need this too.”

“I do,” I said.

“Just think about it this way: This is the final step to get rid of Marcus for good.”

“Ugh.” I swallowed. We hardly ever spoke about it now, but it screamed back to the forefront. She was right, naturally. Bev was always right when it came to stuff like this.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“No, I’ve got to deal with hearing his name and talking about it at some point.” I shrugged. “Marcus.”

“Marcus the asshole.”

“Marcus the asshole,” I repeated, dutifully.

“That’s the spirit. I never said I told you so about that asshole, because I’m not an asshole too, but can I just say I’m so happy you’re nowhere near him anymore? That you won’t be involved with his little biker gang? God, it feels like I’m the one who got away from him, so I can’t imagine how you feel.”

“Freed,” I replied, then checked my watch. “Yeah, I’ve officially got to go, or I’ll be late for my first day on the job. Have a good one.”

“You too!” Bev sang, then disappeared into the bathroom, the door snapping shut behind her.

Well, shit. That didn’t make me feel like a complete turd. I rolled my eyes at myself and walked through to the living room to collect my handbag. Turd or not, I officially had a job to do. All the Bryan stuff would have to be put on the back burner.

I’d simply make Carly my focus, and that was it.

The truth was, Bryan was a danger to me, simply because I couldn’t afford any distractions. There wasn’t a chance in hell I’d let another man in close again, not after Marcus, especially not after he’d joined the Crimson Riders.

Talking about Marcus put that front-of-mind and made it even more important that I didn’t let it happen again.

Forty minutes later, I pulled up outside Bryan’s stucco mansion, my insides squirming like a squid on a hot rock. Is that even a thing?

I got out of the car, locked it, then made my way up the pathway to the sheltered porch. It was a chilly day with a sharp wind but a clear blue sky, though the sun was far too cold for my liking. Sure, it wasn’t friggin’ Alaska, but even this slight dip in temperature was too much for my hot Texan veins.

I shivered and raised my hand to knock, but the clack of the latch and a high-pitched giggle forestalled me.

The door creaked open, and Carly appeared. “Riley!” she yelped. “I knew you’d be back.” She threw her arms around me and squeezed.

“It’s good to see you too, kiddo,” I said and dropped to hug her back.

A shadow brushed over us, and I looked up at Bryan, who stood holding the front door. “Glad you could make it,” he said, voice gruff.

Oh, holy hell. I’d hoped that seeing him for the third time would remove some of the attraction, or I’d see him through fresh eyes and realize that he wasn’t all that.

Unfortunately, he was still all that and a bag of chips.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I breathed, then cringed inwardly. Oh my god, why are you so awkward? Wouldn’t miss it for the world? Who says that about a job? “I mean, I’m just so happy to see Carly again.” It was a quick save, good enough for a six-year-old, but definitely not good enough for Bryan.

He stared at me, in silence, blue-eyed, manly, and unbelievably delectable.

“OK,” I said, rising.

“OK,” Bryan echoed.

“What’s OK?” Carly asked, looking from her father to me, then back again, her dark curls bobbing.

“Carly, go play for a while. Riley and I need to straighten out a few things before you two can start spending time together,” he said.

Carly sighed but didn’t put up a fuss. She squeezed my hand with her smaller one and whispered, “Afterward we can bake cookies. Do you want to bake cookies?”

“Absolutely,” I replied.

Carly beamed at me then let go of my hand and rushed off as her father had asked. Her footsteps clattered off and left nothing but the quiet, except for the distant sound of a lawnmower drifting in from outside.

Bryan shut the door and folded his arms across his chest. His brows drew down, inward, and he considered me from head to toe. “Come with me,” he said then turned and walked off, giving me a view of his butt in a pair of jeans. His cotton shirt pulled taut between his shoulders, straining against his sheer size.

“Sure,” I coughed out, then followed him.

We walked up the stairs and down the hall. He opened a door for me, and I entered a study, complete with a rosewood desk and blinds cracked open to afford a view of the vast back yard, with its pond, its trees and flowers. Like his own personal forest.

Bryan clicked the door closed then walked around to his executive leather chair and took a seat. He gestured for me to do the same. I did.

“Thanks,” I said, bleating it out like a sheep. Jesus, what was wrong with me around this guy? He was older than me, but I’d seen enough in the past few years to have some life experience. So it wasn’t the fact that he had time on me. It was something else.

A kind of aura he gave off. Like he was the captain, and it was his ship. One foot wrong and I’d walked the plank.

“Riley,” he said.

A shiver ran down my spine and I had to keep myself from shaking it out. “Bryan,” I replied.

“There are a few ground rules we need to establish before you start working here. Unfortunately, we didn’t get much time to establish them when you were here yesterday. So, consider this your debriefing.”

“All right.”

“I have about ten minutes before I have to head out, so we’ll make this quick,” he said, brushing his sleeve back from an expensive watch and checking it. “I expect a certain level of professionalism from myself and all my employees. Needless to say, we’ve crossed that barrier. I’m suggesting we pull it back.”

“I agree one hundred percent,” I replied.

“So,” Bryan said, and brought a business card out of his pocket, “in lieu of that, I’m giving you my business card with contact numbers in case of emergency. I don’t want to be contacted by you on the app. If you’re going to work here, our conversations can’t continue.”

My stomach sank, and I cursed myself. This was fine. If we couldn’t be friends because I worked here, that was perfect. It was good. It was… stop rationalizing it. “Totally agree,” I replied, lifting my chin. “I don’t want anything to jeopardize my plans, Mr. Rome.”

“Bryan,” he said. “When I’m home, I don’t want to feel like I’m at work, so please call me Bryan.”

“All right.”

“Ground rules,” he continued and whipped a sheet of paper out of his top desk drawer, handing it to me. “These are all the relevant times for you during the week. Carly’s school times, waking and sleeping times, even eating times, though there’s some leeway with those. I don’t mind baking cookies or pizzas but ensure that she gets healthy food too.”

“So less peanut butter jelly and more cucumber tomato sandwiches?”

“Something like that,” Bryan said, his lips twitching at the corners. He straightened them out again, into a thin, mean line. “Carly doesn’t have any allergies, thankfully, or take any medication currently, so you’re fine with that. I come home late most nights, and you’ll have to decide whether you’re OK with driving home each evening or whether you need to make use of the guestroom here. I’m giving you time to make that decision because of our past affiliations.”

Jesus, Mr. Robot-O, can we speak like human beings again? “Understood,” I said, choosing to mimic his stiffness instead. “These are all the emergency numbers?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied. “We have an alarm too, with panic buttons located on both floors. I’m afraid I don’t have a time to give you a tour, but I will this evening when I return.” Bryan got up, towered over the desk, dominated the room all over again. “I think that’s all for now. Carly will show you around, the bathroom and so on. If there’s any kind of emergency, call me.”

“I will.”

Bryan placed his fists on the desks. “Riley, there’s something I need you to promise me,” he said, his tone hardening to obsidian.

I met his gaze. “What is it?”

“If anything happens, anything at all, if you hear or see anything strange, you call me. Right away. Do you understand? Not text, but call. I will answer you.”

I blinked at him. “What do you mean, anything strange? Like what?”

“Nothing in particular,” he said, lifting his fists again. “Just promise me you’ll call.”

“I will,” I replied, and worry settled around my shoulders like a cape. What was Bryan afraid of? A guy his size, strong and clearly a danger to any other dude who dared looked at him twice… what could he possibly be concerned about?

Nothing. It’s probably nothing. He’s just protective of his daughter.

“Riley?”

“Huh?” I looked up at him—oh crap, I’d been staring into space again.

“I’ve got to go now.”

“Right! Right-O!” I flew up from the seat and grappled the papers off the desk. Right-O? Lord, take me now. “I’ll be get going, I mean—I’ll get going, now. Have a good one.” I gave him possibly the cheesiest thumbs-up I’d ever mustered then rushed out of the study.

His eyes on my back, his name caught in my mind, and a growing sense of unease underneath all of it—could I really pull this off?