This was a mistake. A big, huge, colossal mistake. Why had he agreed to this? Why did he tell Scott he’d do this?

Noah sat on a couch in Sophia’s tiny, one-bedroom bungalow, watching as she emerged from what he could only assume was the bedroom. She had an armful of blankets and pillows and blew a strand of hair off her face.

Darn it. She was beautiful.

She slammed her leg into an armchair, and she cursed under her breath. Before Noah knew what he was doing, he stood and crossed the room to take the load from her arms. In the process, his hands brushed her skin, and heat raced across his body.

She was just as soft and gentle as he remembered. The memories of holding her in his arms on those cool summer nights came slamming back, and his heart picked up speed.

Get your mind straight, he scolded himself.

“Thanks,” Sophia whispered. She was rubbing her arms in the exact spot that he’d just touched. He tried not to read into it. For all he knew, he might have scratched her accidently.

“Yep,” he said, turning to drop the items on the couch.

She followed him, taking the fitted sheet from the top and shaking it out. He tried not to watch as she moved around the couch, tucking the sheet into the cushions. She was curvier now, filling out her jeans quite well. He couldn’t help but appreciate that.

She was no longer the thin, lanky girl he remembered, but a full-blown woman.

“Noah,” she said.

He snapped his gaze up to find her staring at him with an incredulous look.

“What?”

She rolled her eyes. “You were staring.” She grabbed a flat sheet and began tucking it in.

Not sure what to say, he just shrugged. “Sorry.”

She snorted. “Well, just remember that this is all fake—the marriage, everything. And there isn’t any way you are going to get anything from me in that department.” She straightened and waved toward her body. “This merchandise is off the market.”

A feeling brewed in Noah’s gut that he had to muscle down. Sophia extending a challenge was the last thing he needed right now. She knew how competitive he was, so why was she dangling this in front of him?

She must have read his mind because she rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Noah?”

He wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Removing himself from the room seemed like the best idea. “Bathroom?”

She nodded toward the small hallway she’d just come down. “Only door on the left.”

He stood, grabbed his duffle bag, and headed down the hall. When he got into the bathroom, he shut the door, set his bag on the floor, and looked around.

It was tiny. A small tub with a shower took up the far wall. The toilet was sandwiched next to the single vanity. He walked over to the faucet and turned it on. Water trickled out. He ran his hands under it, the cool sensation sending jolts throughout his body.

He splashed his face a few times to help clear his mind. There were too many memories forcing their way to the surface.

He brushed his teeth and changed into a t-shirt and pajama bottoms. After tucking his dirty clothes in a laundry bag he’d brought, he grabbed his stuff and opened the door.

Sophia was standing on the other side, looking as if she didn’t know what to say.

He studied her. “Why are you waiting out here?”

She raised her eyebrows and took a step back. “I wanted to ask you what time you were planning on getting up tomorrow. I was thinking I’d call into work, tell them I need some personal time. They should be okay with that since my partner, Pat, has been telling me that I need to take a vacation. Something about worker’s health.”

Noah nodded. “Yeah. We have a lot of things to get ready. I was thinking we should start with pictures and an announcement in the paper. Really draw some attention to it. That’s the best way to get your dad to take notice.”

She chewed her lip as she nodded. Sophia’s classic nervous about something move.

He dipped down to catch her gaze. He wanted her to know that everything was going to be okay. She only needed to go along with this until James showed up. Then she was done, and she would be left to live her life, alone and safe. Which, to him, was the most important thing.

“It’ll be okay. Nothing will happen to you.” His chest swelled with the urge to protect her, and his voice came out deeper than he intended.

She seemed to notice the change, her eyes widening as she studied him. Then she sighed, but her shoulders were as rigid as they had been moments ago. “I know. I just…haven’t seen my dad since the funeral. I told him to leave and never come back. I’m just worried that he won’t believe that I want him here.” She reached up and started to twirl her hair around her finger. “Do you think he’ll come?”

The urge to comfort her won out, and Noah rested his hand on her arm. Her gaze dropped to his hand, and he fought the urge to remove it. “He’d be a fool not to.” Noah really believed that. Sophia was a great girl, and her dad was an idiot to choose a life of crime over his daughter.

He saw her cheeks flush as she nodded. “Thanks.” She yawned. “I should get to bed. We have a long day tomorrow.”

Noah dropped his hand and smiled. “Yeah.”

She gave him one more look before she turned and headed to her room.

Not wanting that to be his last word to her, he called after her.

Sophia glanced back. “Yeah?”

He clenched his jaw as he fought the emotions that were bubbling to the surface. “Thanks for doing this. I know it can’t be easy, but you’re really doing a good thing here.”

She nodded. “You’re welcome.” Then she turned and disappeared into her room.

Now alone, Noah scrubbed his face as he made his way into the living room, exhaustion taking over. He needed a good night sleep. But if history was any indicator, that wasn’t going to happen.

Heat surrounded him. Screams filled his ringing ears. If only he could get out, he could save her. He moved to free his arm but it was trapped. Flames licked around him, inching closer and closer to his body. He had to save her.

“Hey. Hey!”

Someone was shaking his shoulder.

Startled, Noah reached out and grabbed their wrist, pulling them toward him.

“Whoa, Noah!”

Through his clouded mind, he recognized Sophia’s voice.

Sophia.

There were no fires. No crash. He was in Sophia’s living room. He was safe.

Whipping his eyes open, he saw that he was clutching her to his chest. His bare chest. And she was in nothing but a silk nightgown.

As if he’d been burned, he released his grip on her, and she jumped back. He tried not to watch as she straightened her gown. So many conflicting feelings were racing through him, and he was an idiot to entertain them any of them.

“Why are you waking me up in the middle of the night?” he asked, squinting toward the microwave clock in the kitchen. Two in the morning. When he turned back, he saw that her gaze had dropped to his chest.

Suddenly, he became very aware of the fact that he didn’t have a shirt on, and he didn’t need to ask to know what she was staring at. His scars.

Reaching behind him, he grabbed his shirt and slipped it on.

“I heard you yelling,” she whispered.

He winced. He should have warned her. As much as he wanted to tell himself that he’d put his nightmares behind him, he knew that wasn’t true. Every time he closed his eyes, he relived the past he was trying so hard to run away from—to forget.

“Sorry. Hazard of the trade I guess.”

He could feel her gaze on him. She was probably trying to figure out what he meant. But he wasn’t going to delve into it. It would just breathe life into memories that broke him every time he thought about them.

The urge to run away overtook him, so he stood and made his way into the kitchen. After opening and closing a few cupboards, he found a cup and filled it with water.

From the corner of his eye he saw Sophia step into the kitchen with an unsure expression. “What happened to you?” she asked.

Noah tipped the rest of the water into his mouth, taking a moment to close his eyes. He needed to decide, right now, how much he was going to let Sophia into his life. If he was leaving in a few weeks, wouldn’t it be better to keep her at a distance? Only tell her what she needed to know?

It hurt, but he knew it was the only way to keep her safe. With him, she would always be in danger. So he set the cup in the sink and turned to lean against the counter, folding his arms. He hoped she would see the confident persona he was trying to display and not the wreck that his life had become.

“I really can’t talk about it, and I’m sure you don’t want to know.” He smiled.

Her forehead crinkled as she studied him. Man, he hated how she could read him from a mile away.

Silence fell around them. The tension heavy in the air. But Noah wasn’t going to let up and he wasn’t going to give in. He’d already lost someone once. There was no way he could lose Sophia, too.

“I guess I just…” Her voice trailed off as she furrowed her brow.

She wanted to say something, but she seemed hesitant to actually do it. That wasn’t like her. When they’d been together, she’d always told him what she thought. If Noah was being an idiot, she never sugar-coated it.

“You don’t need to worry about me. We don’t have that kind of relationship anymore. You have your life and I have mine. Let’s not blur the lines by letting past feelings get in the way of what we need to do,” he said, pushing his hands through his hair.

It hurt him to say the words that were tumbling from his lips, but he couldn’t stop himself. The last thing he needed was for Sophia to get involved—for another woman to care about him. The most caring thing he could do was keep everyone at a distance.

Her eyes widened as she stared at him. He waited for the backlash that he was sure would come. But then, a disappointed look crossed her face as she nodded and turned away. “I’m going to bed,” she said as she disappeared into her room, shutting the door behind her.

He winced at the finality of the door shutting. It was symbolic of so many aspects of their relationship. And even though it hurt to see her look at him that way, he knew he was doing the right thing by pushing her away. She was untouchable. Even though every part of him yearned to touch her.

Pushing off the counter, he made his way back over to the couch. He grabbed his pillow and began punching it. He told himself it was to get out the lumps, but his frustration had built up and he needed to work it out.

Once he’d pulverized the stuffing, he put it back onto the couch and dropped onto it. After shifting back and forth, he let out a groan and covered his eyes.

Why did he come back here? He should have known better than to agree to this assignment.

Even though it gave the agency the possibility of capturing a man who had changed Noah’s life in more ways than one, they should have sent someone else.

But then a conflicting feeling filled his chest. He was the only one who cared enough about Sophia to keep her safe. He’d do anything to make sure that his idiotic actions didn’t affect her anymore. Or her father’s idiotic actions for that matter.

Being here was the only way to keep her safe. And he was going to keep her safe.

Even if that meant keeping her at a distance. After all, he didn’t deserve to be happy.