Los Angeles. Zach had taken off to Los Angeles. Tonight. What were the chances?

This stress was eating away at her. Tessa had already endured so much, sometimes she thought she’d snap. And right now, after traveling fifteen hours with a three-year-old just to get here, then waiting days for the opportunity to convince Zach to relinquish the most important thing in Tessa’s life, this bad news—no, horrible news—threatened to open a well of emotion she’d been stuffing for years.

“Hey.” Ian reached out and put a hand on Tessa’s arm. His warmth penetrated her suit jacket and slid along her skin. “Are you okay?”

She could see why women chased the man. He was wildly attractive, and now she knew he also had a sense of humor and compassion as well. He also had an overwhelming—as in intoxicating—charisma.

But it didn’t explain why he was still sitting here talking to her. Part of her wanted to stay, just to bask in his attention. She was bewildered by the fact that his gaze hadn’t strayed from her once. Maybe he was so used to these barely clothed beauty queens, they didn’t faze him anymore. Though she was pretty sure that didn’t happen in a straight man’s world. Even her gay friends would be ogling them for their style. But not Ian. And after a lifetime of taking care of others, Ian’s touch and attention felt like the sun on icy skin.

Which was dangerous in her present mental state.

“I’ll be fine,” she told him. “I always am.”

She tipped back her wine and finished off the glass—something she’d regret in about thirty minutes. She’d already had two glasses while waiting. But this one, downed so quickly, was probably going to knock her on her ass. Good thing her condo was within walking distance.

She dropped a twenty on the bar for Jack. When she turned, a beautiful Hawaiian woman paused in front of Ian with a steaming plate of fajitas. “Would you like to eat at the bar?”

He glanced at Tessa. “Is this yours?”

“No.”

Ian told the waitress, “We didn’t order.”

“Your friends ordered for you,” she told him. “They said you haven’t eaten since breakfast.” The waitress set the food down on the bar. “I’ll check back with you.”

With a quick smile, she hurried off to serve another customer.

“That was nice of them,” Tessa said. “I’ll let you eat.”

She was still distracted by Ian’s heartbreaking news. How in the hell was she going to find Zach in Los Angeles? She’d have to hire a private detective. She sure didn’t have enough time off work to search for him herself. She might know how to research a topic to death, but she’d discovered during her search for Zach Ellis that research couldn’t replace detective work. And despite her supposed cop-like similarities, a detective she was not.

“Where are you going?” Ian asked.

“Back to my condo.”

“It’s still early.”

“That’s all perspective. Besides, I have someone waiting for me.” And she wanted to climb into bed beside her little muffin and cuddle. As long as she still had Sophia, she could handle anything.

“As in a boyfriend or husband or something?”

“No.” This ought to squelch his odd interest. “As in a daughter.”

His brows lifted in surprise. “Is she with a sitter?”

“Her nanny.”

She turned away, but he caught her hand in his and held it gently. The move was so unexpected, the feel of his hand so foreign, Tessa froze, unsure how to react.

“Then stay. Eat with me.” When she hesitated, he added a smile and “No one has bugged me once since you took a bite out of that woman’s ass. It’s the first peace I’ve had all night.”

Ah. So that was it. She was his unlikely bodyguard. “Malo will take care of you.”

He squeezed her hand. “I’d rather have you take care of me.”

She laughed and shook her head. “Why? Have you not looked around lately?”

“I have looked all around me for hours, and my eyes keep landing on you. You’re real. You’re sane and interesting and can hold a normal conversation.”

Somehow, those all felt like drawbacks in this situation, not assets. She was about to tell him that she’d had enough of the caretaker role in her life when the fajitas’ rich scent of spices floated on the steam and hit Tessa like a train. Her stomach clenched around an empty knot and growled.

Ian grinned, a bright, white, amused grin that tingled through Tessa’s gut. “Your belly’s talking to you.” He lifted a hand to catch the bartender’s attention. “Jack, more wine for our princess.”

“Oh no,” Tessa told Ian, but Jack had already started pouring her a fresh glass at the other end of the bar. “I really need to get back.”

Ian slid the fajita tray to the bar between their stools, then set one of the empty plates in front of her spot. “Come on.” The softer, almost pleading edge to his tone made her focus on him again. And again, the deep-blue eyes staring back at her from his handsome face created a hitch in her gut. “I’d like to eat in relative peace. Besides, I want to hear more about what brought you here, your life in DC, your daughter.”

Someone who actually wanted to listen? She highly doubted it. No one was interested in talking to her, they were interested in talking at her. Still, at least he’d offered. “I’m beginning to think you’re not quite all you seem either.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He gestured toward her stool. “Please, join me.”

She sighed, and her gaze strayed to the platter of still-sizzling meat and bright blend of peppers. Her stomach squeezed and clattered out an angry sound. Tessa glanced at the time on her phone. Abby would already have settled Sophia down by now. In fact, after running around the beach all morning and traipsing through a museum all afternoon, Sophia was probably sound asleep. If Tessa went home now, she’d do nothing but worry and obsess all night. All over something she couldn’t control.

By the time she looked up again, Ian had created a fajita and offered it to her. “So tell me what professions others pegged you for again.”

“Reporter, cop, librarian, teacher,” she said. “And, now, studio executive, which, by the way, is my favorite so far.”

“Points for me.” He hit her with that amazing smile again. “The others were way off.”

“Right? Thank you.”

“I’d have guessed accountant if the studio executive possibility hadn’t thrown me.”

A spark of humor stirred. Not enough to give her the energy to laugh, but enough to make her sit back down and finger the stem of her fresh glass of wine. “I guess I would look like an accountant in this sea of beach babes.”

“These aren’t beach babes,” he said, nudging the fajita toward her. “These are groupies.”

“What’s the difference?” She took the fajita but held his gaze. He was openly staring at her, scanning her face again and again, making Tessa feel self-conscious.

“Groupies cling in hopes of gaining self-worth by association.”

She lifted her brows. “That’s surprisingly…deep.”

He laughed. “Don’t get used to it. You’re making me pull out my A game. It’s rusty and probably won’t hold up long.”

“Self-deprecation is adorable on you. Your parents must have paid a mint for that smile.”

“And they remind me every chance they get.”

Interesting comment. She bit into the flour tortilla, and spices flooded her mouth along with the flavor of seasoned meat and vibrant vegetables. She closed her eyes on a moan of satisfaction, lifting a napkin to her lips. “Oh my God, these are amazing.”

“Good, because I’m starving.”

While he wrapped meat and veggies in his own tortilla, she asked, “If these are groupies, what are beach babes?”

He lifted a shoulder. “Just pretty girls in bikinis. And while I’m sure you’d look fabulous in a bikini, you’re also interesting.”

She hadn’t been in a bikini in years, and, in DC, she couldn’t turn the corner without running into a lawyer. “Again, perspective. Where I come from, I’m not the least bit interesting.”

“There’s a lot going on beneath that suit.” He paused, considered. “And the glasses.” Ian put the fajita down, dusted off his hands and lifted them toward her face. “May I?”

Surprised, she leaned away, but his fingers gently closed around the arms of her glasses, and they slid off her face. With the fajita in her hands, she couldn’t grab them back. “What are you doing?”

He was staring—that was what he was doing. Staring…and smiling.

Sensation hiccupped through her chest—excitement, fear, angst, frustration. Setting down the fajita, she reached for her glasses, “Let me have them.”

He pulled them out of reach. “Why?”

“What do you mean, why? They’re glasses. They help me see. We can’t all be as perfect as you or all these groupies.”

“I think they help you hide.”

When he set them on the bar to his right instead of giving them back, Tessa slid off the stool and reached for them. Ian’s hand closed on her forearm, strong enough to stop her but gently enough to shoot tingles up her arm. Her gaze skipped back to his, making her realize how close she’d gotten. Close enough to see the dark ring around his irises. Close enough to feel his charisma mingled with his heat. Close enough to smell his freshly showered scent. Way, way too close.

“You’re really pretty.” His soft words sent a current across her shoulders. “What’s your first name, Miz Drake?”

“Tessa, and I’d say thank you, but you’re being an ass.” She didn’t put any heat behind the words, just enough emphasis to relay the fact that she didn’t like this game. “Give me my glasses. Please.”

“Tessa.” He repeated her name with a hot little grin. “Nice. It fits. Are you nearsighted or farsighted?”

“What difference does that make?”

“Because if you’re nearsighted, you don’t need these to eat.”

She smirked. “I’m farsighted.”

He lifted the glasses to the light and peered through them, then grinned. “Nope. What you are…is a liar.”

She huffed. “Come on.”

He set the glasses down again—well out of her reach—and picked up his fajita. “You should eat that before it gets cold.”

She was too tired to argue with him. She rarely wore her glasses, but she’d opted for the glasses today to give her eyes a rest after too many late nights wearing contacts. And, yeah, probably to help her hide. Maybe. A little. Her transparency annoyed her. That saying, “smart people have no common sense,” wasn’t exactly true in Tessa’s case. But she did have quite a few—what her secretary, Gordon, liked to call—“blonde moments.”

Tessa dropped back to the stool and picked up her tortilla. “You’re lucky I’m hungry.”

He laughed again. God, he had a great laugh. If she was a different kind of woman, she would make a move on him. A woman with the self-confidence she pretended to possess every single day. The confidence to take this sexy man to bed. Her imagination strayed to whether he had as much confidence in the bedroom as he did in a bar. And how his heavy, hard body would feel against her own. Lord, it had been a while since she’d had any male companionship beyond work buddies.

She refocused on her food. She’d had to force herself to eat during the last few months of Corinne’s illness just so she had the energy to continue to go to work every day, care for Sophia and Corinne every day. And over the last week, stress had stolen her appetite. But with Zach running around LA somewhere, it didn’t look like that stress would let up anytime soon. For now, with Sophia safe and happy, Tessa allowed herself the small pleasure of the moment.

“Okay, not a studio exec, not an accountant or reporter.” Ian finished his fajita and started rolling another. “Teacher, cop, librarian, pffft. Let’s see…who would be involved in the personal business of a—” His gaze darted to hers. “An agent? Did he fire his agent and hire a new one?”

She smiled, shook her head, and picked up her wine.

“Don’t tell me,” he said. “I’ll get it.”

She finished off her fajita and fourth glass of wine—oh, such a bad idea—laughing while each of his assumptions grew more ludicrous than the last: personal trainer, acting instructor, hairdresser, bookie, drug dealer… He offered mini tales about each profession—someone he’d worked with, some story he’d heard from a friend—amusing her. The combination of wine and Ian were heating her from the inside out. While he kept guessing, Tessa slipped off her blazer and hung it over her stool, then sat again, anchoring the jacket beneath her.

She was seriously tipsy on both the wine and Ian’s attention. He was surprisingly easy to be with. So much so, he almost made her forget about the dilemma facing her.

“Okay, I give up.” A half hour had passed by the time he pushed the platter of fajitas away, drained the last of his beer, and braced his elbows on the bar. He looked into her eyes with the kind of focus she lavished on a congressional brief. “What do you do for a living?”

Tessa sobered a little and braced for the conversational tone to shift. “I’m, um, an attorney.”

Surprise drifted through his eyes. His mouth flickered between a smile and disbelief. “An attorney?” His gaze drifted over her face, down her neck, and rested on the front of her blouse. Tessa swore her breasts tightened under his gaze. “That’s…fucking impressive.”

“It is?”

“Hell, yeah. Holy shit. That’s why you were pissed about my shark comment.” He thought that was funny. When his laughter faded, he mused again, “Personal business with an attorney? I hope everything’s okay with his family.”

It would be if she could just get his signature on a few pieces of paper. But she wasn’t feeling so upset over the fact that would have to wait. Tessa’s brain was floating in a little halo of happiness, and she didn’t want it to end. At least not until it absolutely had to. “I can’t… I mean, it’s…”

“Personal.”

“Right.”

“I get it. Confidentiality and all that.”

His gaze turned to the bar, where their hands almost touched. He lifted one finger and stroked it across hers. The touch created a sizzle in her gut, and when he looked her in the eye again, she wished she could see the heavy-lidded look he wore now while he had his arms wrapped around her, sweat beading on his face, his hips driving between her thighs. The thought made her sex clench, and she shifted on her stool to relieve the ache.

“Makes sense, I guess,” he said. “That guy probably needs a few attorneys on retainer.”

“Why do you say that?”

Ian shook his head. “I don’t want to cause any problems—”

“I’m not his attorney. I just need to see him on personal business.”

Ian’s gaze sharpened. “Are you two involved? Or were involved?”

“No. I’ve never even met him. And it looks like I’m not going to meet him on this trip either. So go ahead, give me your opinion.”

He dropped his gaze to their hands and curled his fingers around hers. The small show of interest, in this setting, with these people around them, electrified her.

“He’s not the nicest guy,” Ian said. “In fact, he’s an ass who pisses people off everywhere he goes. He’s a condescending, arrogant prick, which I realize is a shitty thing to say about someone, but it’s not exactly a secret.”

Something released in Tessa’s chest. “Yeah?”

“Unfortunately, yeah.”

“That’s the impression I’ve gotten too. And to tell you the truth, I’m glad.”

He lifted a brow, and one side of his mouth quirked in tandem. “Glad?”

“Yeah. That makes what I need to do a little easier.”

“Oooo, that’s cryptic.” He slipped his other hand beneath Tessa’s until hers was sandwiched gently between his. The possibility of something actually happening between them flashed in her head—just a quick, passionate image of naked bodies. God, it had been so long.

“So if he doesn’t come back,” she said, “will you see him again? I mean, will you work with him again?”

“I’m pretty sure he’s not coming back, but no, I have no interest in either seeing him or working with him again.”

That was good news and bad news. If he wasn’t coming back, Tessa would have to hunt him down. But that also meant that one-on-one time with Ian wouldn’t get back to Zach and cause problems down the line.

“Now, tell me about your daughter,” he said. “What’s her name?”

A hot spot burned in her heart. “Sophia…” She glanced at her watch and found it after eleven. “Oh, wow. How did it get so late?”

He squeezed her fingers and stroked the back of her hand. “Time flies…”

When you’re having fun. The rest of the saying hung between them. And oh, how Tessa wanted to say yes to fun with this man.

“I’d better get going.” She said the words but didn’t pull her hand from his. Couldn’t make herself stand and turn away.

“Where are you staying?” Ian asked. “We can catch an Uber or walk if you’re close enough.”

She didn’t know what to think of that offer. He certainly couldn’t come back to the condo with her.

“Hey,” he said, reading her confusion. “I just want to make sure you get back to your daughter safe and sound, okay? I don’t expect you to invite me in.”

She laughed softly, as if he hadn’t nailed her thoughts. “That’s sweet, but you don’t have to.” She stood and glanced around at the still-crowded club and all the women prepared to tackle Ian at their first opportunity. “There are a lot of gorgeous women waiting for your attention.”

“Too bad for them that you’re the only gorgeous woman I want to attend to.”

He stood and swung an arm around her shoulders and turned her toward the door. On their way toward the exit, he paused at the table where he’d been sitting earlier.

“Hey, guys. This is Tessa. Tessa, this is Josh and Grace. This is Tucker.”

Josh and Grace both offered a friendly hello. Tucker gave Tessa a distracted “Hey” but looked at Ian like he’d grown a second head. She knew he was thinking Why her?

“Tessa’s an attorney, not a studio executive,” Ian told them.

“Ah,” Josh and Grace said in unison. Tucker still had that dumbstruck look on his face.

“I’m going to walk her home, then head to the hotel. I’ll catch you all tomorrow.”

“Nice to meet you,” Tessa said before Ian led her toward the door. “Wow,” she murmured on an exhale. “Awkward.”

“Really?” he asked as they stepped out of the restaurant. “Why?”

“Maybe because you were obviously talking about me before you came over.”

“That’s because I was looking at you all night.”

She caught herself before she asked him why again. She’d been a rough pebble in a room full of sparkling diamonds tonight, and she found herself searching for the ulterior motive in his interest. Everyone had an agenda, but Tessa couldn’t fathom one for Ian in this situation. Maybe she’d just been in Washington too long. Maybe she’d just been misled too often.

He pulled her closer to his side, and the move felt oddly comforting considering they were total strangers. He had an ease about him, a low-key, mellow way that calmed her despite just meeting him. Tessa wondered if this was the reason Corinne had so many one-night stands when she was alive. She’d had the same easy-going, fun-loving personality Tessa felt in Ian. A personality she was drawn to but couldn’t quite embody herself. At least not without a little help from those living on the lighter side.

“Somehow it doesn’t feel like I just met you,” Ian said, strolling beside her. “Maybe because you’re so easy to be with.”

She smiled. “I was thinking the same thing about you.”

“Where are you staying?”

“Paradise Palisades. It’s just a few blocks—”

“I know where it is,” he said, grinning. “I’m staying right across the street at the Kapalua.”

“Ooooo,” she laughed with an eye roll. “Aren’t you fancy?”

“The studio takes good care of its employees.”

She liked the way he didn’t call himself a star. Liked how he treated everyone at the restaurant with respect—including the women who were evidently making him crazy. And she had to admit, the man felt damn good beside her. So she let her wine-infused brain rest, let the warm, soft air caress her skin and enjoyed the feel of having a man close as they started up the street.

“Thanks for a nice end to a long day,” she said.

“Same here. How old did you say Sophia was?”

The question pricked her momentary fantasy bubble, reminding her she wasn’t free to act like she was a single, grown adult with needs of her own. But whenever she thought of Sophia, Tessa knew she’d make that trade-off every single day of the week. “She’s three.”

“Hmm.” He shook his head. “I can’t even imagine. I know nothing about kids. Like…nothing. Will she be awake when you get back?”

“No. She and Abby probably fell asleep to a Disney movie.”

Ian’s laugh rumbled in his chest, making Tessa smile. “How long will you be in town?”

Yet another reminder. Their time together was going to come to a quick, abrupt end—in about two blocks. There was no point in extending this expensive trip if Zach had returned to LA.

“Well, now that I can’t do what I came to do,” she said, “I’ll probably leave tomorrow.”

“That’s too bad.” They crossed the last street toward her condo. “What kind of law do you practice?”

“Legislative.”

“Sorry, I have no idea what that is. I’m quite the conversationalist tonight. Don’t know anything about kids, don’t know anything about law…”

“That’s okay. I don’t know anything about show business. I write law.”

He frowned down at her. “You mean you practice law?”

“No, I write law. I write the bills that go to Congress and become a law.”

“Damn, politics. I think that’s my third strike.”

“Not at all,” she told him truthfully. “You’re as refreshing in my world as I am in yours.”

“That’s nice to hear. Can’t imagine how someone like me would stack up against all those lawyers and political types.”

Warmed by the glimmer of insecurity, she leaned into him. “Well. Very well.”

“Really? Because all I can remember right now is that cartoon with a bill named Bill, sitting at the bottom of the steps at one of the monuments.”

Tessa pictured the very cartoon he was talking about and started laughing. She laughed so hard, she had to stop walking and curved an arm over her burning gut.

“You know what I’m talking about?” He looked at the sky a second. “What was that called?”

Tessa pressed a hand to her knee to catch her breath. “Conjunction…”

But it struck her as so funny, she couldn’t finish. The wine had kicked in.

“Yes,” Ian said, grinning. “Conjunction Junction.” He pointed at her with a flourish. “Schoolhouse Rock.”

She continued laughing, only able to nod.

Ian laughed too. Then he started singing the Conjunction Junction song, and Tessa laughed so hard, she thought her gut would burst.

“St—stop…” She said, trying to catch her breath. “Oh my God. Stop.”

When she finally straightened, Ian cupped her face in his hands and wiped at her tears with his thumbs. “You’re right,” he said, his voice soft again. “I don’t think it matters how much we have in common, because it’s been a while since a woman made me laugh like this.”

Before she knew how it had happened, his body was right up against hers. His smile faded. His gaze slid to her mouth and his head lowered. Tessa sipped a breath of surprise just before his lips pressed against hers, firm and warm. Shock pulsed through her body, and she froze. He lifted his head, his eyelashes fluttered open for a millisecond before lowering again.

This time, instinct took over. Tessa pushed up on her toes to meet his kiss. A rough hum of approval vibrated in his throat, and the sound shivered through Tessa. Then he broke the kiss, tilted his head, and covered her mouth again, his heavier, more demanding. Edged with the same desperation infusing Tessa.

His desire pumped excitement into her blood. The way he slid one hand into her hair and controlled the strength of the kiss while the other hand remained gentle on her jaw created a crazy contradiction that washed heat through her body. And when his tongue stroked her bottom lip, her mind disintegrated and her body reacted. She opened to him, met his tongue with her own, and melted. He tasted like beer and spices and hungry male heat. The dive and slide of his tongue stoked fire between her thighs. Her hands curled into his shirt while sounds of pleasure and desire hummed between them.

Then she was up against a wall, Ian’s body pressing into hers. She turned her head to catch her breath. His mouth slid over her cheek, to her jaw, then her neck. He had one arm around her waist, his forearm low on her back, pulling her hips against his. The bulky package between his legs rubbed low on her belly, and Tessa released his shirt with one hand to wrap her arm around his neck and draw herself higher.

“Jesus Christ.” He pressed his temple to her shoulder and murmured against her skin. “Come back to my room with me.”

Fear crept in, chilling the heat, but her mind was steeped in lust. “What?”

He lifted his head and looked into her eyes. The hand in her hair massaged her scalp, and it felt so damn good.

“Your daughter’s asleep,” he said. “I’m just across the street. You can leave any time.”

Her mind wouldn’t engage, and her automatic response was to deny, to reject, to return to what she knew. “I…um…”

He kissed her again, stroking his tongue into her mouth and rolling it with hers. His hips pressed and rocked until she whimpered. Then he broke the kiss abruptly. “Come to my room. I’m dying to see everything beneath this suit. Dying to taste you. Touch you. Feel you.”

“Oh my God.” His words created a column of heat straight through the center of her body, all of it pooling between her legs. “I don’t know… I mean, I don’t…” She hadn’t had anyone in her life since she’d discovered she would be responsible for the life, growth, and well-being of a child. And even when she had dated, the men hadn’t been anywhere near as charismatic as this one. In her awkwardness, she stuttered, “W-why?”

He laughed, the sound hot and playful. “You ask that a lot.” He rocked his hips against her again, and fire flared through her body, making her moan. “That’s why.”

She wasn’t built for this whole go-back-to-a-room-to-fuck-and-then-walk-away thing. “I, um…” She swallowed and winced a little. “I don’t do this.”

“Don’t do what? One night?”

“One night, or with a virtual stranger.”

“There’s always a first time.” His lids drooped a little lower, and his gaze rested on her mouth. “Don’t you want to let go of all the control you have to manage every day? Just for a little while? ’Cause I’m dying to watch you come apart at the seams. I promise you won’t walk away wanting for anything.”

And he lowered his head to assure her of that with his next kiss.