“So you think it’s because he’s having a rough time at the club? Is business slow?” Sloane blows on her steaming hot coffee before raising her cup. We’re sitting at a table tucked away in a quiet corner of the food court, away from the countless kids tearing through the place. “I mean, it’s a dance club in one of the hottest areas of Manhattan. How hard could it be to get people to go?”

If Sloane has any clue about what really goes on at Culaccino, she’s never hinted to it. I watch my best friend sip her coffee and a tiny spark of jealousy ignites. Ignorance really is bliss, and I make sure to keep things about my family quiet for Sloane’s benefit. I always have. She’s my bridge to sanity, and the less she knows, the safer she is. I think that’s one of the things that originally drew Max to her. He could be himself and not worry about keeping up appearances.

I’d like to meet that guy. I think he has a lot to offer, apart from his ability to do severe damage with a Louisville Slugger.

“He’s just been…stressed about work.” I press a hand to my forehead. “This business—it’s his baby, you know? He’s done so much to get it to this point, and I guess…” I shrug. “…he’s trying to figure out how to stay on top.”

Understatement of the century.

“Well, I’m sure you can come up with plenty of ways to relieve his stress,” Sloane waggles her eyebrows.

I force a smile. If only. Looming doom and gloom overshadows the intimacy. It’s always on his mind, no matter what we’re doing. And there isn’t a damn thing I can do to bring him some peace.

But Sloane can’t know about any of that. I have to protect her from it all, the way Nico tries to protect me.

“I have a few ideas.” I pick up my cup and sip my hot chocolate. It’s not Swiss Miss, but it’ll do for now. I pull off the lid and frown at the whipped cream peaks at the top of the cup. I bet there aren’t any marshmallows swimming underneath. If only that could be my biggest problem in life.

“Shaye.” A deep voice startles me, and hot chocolate sloshes out of the side of the mug as I twist around.

“Professor Gary?” My eyes widen, and I can see Sloane’s jaw drop out of the corner of my eye. It’s hard not to gawk at an insanely sexy man whose bulging biceps and muscular chest are on display for the world to enjoy. I’ve never seen him dressed in anything other than one of his signature blazers. And I never could have guessed what lay underneath all of that tweed.

He grins at me, his blue eyes even bluer against the tight t-shirt clinging to his body. Good Lord, if the girls at school could see him now. “Funny meeting you here. I just finished reading your paper last night.”

A nervous laugh escapes me. “Oh, well, I hope you enjoyed it.” Dumb, dumb, dumb!

“I was actually hoping to catch you at school, but since you’re here…” His voice trails off and Sloane finally finds her voice.

“You know, I think I’ll just grab a napkin to clean up all of this hot chocolate. I’ll be right back.” She practically jumps out of her chair and trips over her own feet in her haste to escape, even though I know she’s dying to hear every word.

He sinks into the chair across from me, folding his massive forearms over the top of the table. “Listen, if I made you uncomfortable the other day, I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intention to send you mixed signals.”

“It’s really okay. I didn’t mean to flake out on you. I’m just not used to talking about the, um, issues my friend is having.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m really impressed with your insights, and I think you’ll find a lot of success in this field. You’re a very bright girl, Shaye. You have a promising future ahead of you.”

“Really? Wow, thank you so much.” I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “That means a lot to me.”

“I look forward to reading your thesis in a few years.” His grin widens, exposing a dimple in his left cheek. He looks at his watch. “Listen, I’ve got to run. My girlfriend is waiting for me downstairs.”

Girlfriend? Duh! How could Adonis not have one?

“By the way, this must have fallen out of your backpack in my office the other day. I was going to bring it to you next week, but I’m sure you were missing it.” He opens his laptop bag and pulls out a notebook. My throat tightens as he hands it to me with a knowing look. “I’d imagine you have a lot to catch up on with your writing.” Holy fuck. It’s my journal! Did he read any of the entries? Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!

“Who the fuck is this guy?”

I gasp, jumping at my brother’s angry voice bellowing behind me, still fighting a near panic attack that my professor has read all of the sordid details about my mafia prince boyfriend, his sex den, and a mess of other crap I can’t even begin to recall writing about. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Maybe I should ask you the same question, sis. You screwing around on Nico?”

“Who’s Nico?” Professor Gary furrows his brow.

My knuckles are white from clutching the edge of the table so tightly, and the breath I’ve been holding slowly expels from my mouth even though Max looks ready to pummel Professor Gary. I must have referred to Nico by name in the journal. Is it possible he didn’t read it after all? Am I just being unrealistically paranoid?

“Who the fuck are you? I think I asked that already, and I don’t like to ask things more than once, douchebag.” Max edges closer to the table with clenched fists, and my eyes dart around the food court. A nearby security guard eyes our table, and the need to diffuse this spiraling situation is pretty much immediate.

“Max, stop it!” I hiss, pressing my hands to his chest. “This is my psych professor!”

He narrows his eyes at me. “Oh, yeah? Do you have coffee dates with all your professors?”

“I’m not on a coffee date with him!”

“Yeah, she’s on a coffee date with me.” Sloane approaches the table with a handful of napkins and a cake pop, which she holds out to Max. “Looks like you need this more than I do.”

Max’s eyes glaze over and their fingers graze each other as he takes the sugary treat, all concerns of me cheating on Nico dissipating into the air like a fart in the wind. Huh. I bet my brother’s enemies would find that bit of insight useful. Trade your life for a cake pop?

“Max!” I raise my voice, and he blinks, breaking the spell Sloane unknowingly cast upon him.

He takes a bite of the pop. “What?”

“Apologize for acting like a complete lunatic.”

He chews the cake for a few seconds and eyes Professor Gary, whose face has drained of all color by now. “Sorry, man. I thought you were moving in on my best friend’s girl.”

I roll my eyes and look at my professor. “I really am sorry. My brother is loyal to a fault.”

Professor Gary backs away from the table with a nervous smile. “It’s fine. No harm done. Shaye, I’ll see you in class next week.” He bolts away from our table and makes it to the escalator in a hot second.

Oh, crap. I’m sure Max made an appearance in the journal. I remember two distinct entries…neither of which would leave someone with a warm and fuzzy feeling about him. I watch Professor Gary meander through the crowds on the escalator, almost as if he’s trying to put as much distance between us as possible, all while glancing behind him in our general direction. Jesus Christmas. At least I didn’t use any last names.

“Great.” I poke Max in the chest. “Are you crazy? Why would you assume I was cheating on Nico? And after what happened between you two, why would you even care?”

Max takes another bite of the cake pop, mellowing by the sugary second. “Okay, so first…I didn’t like how that guy was looking at you. I know guys, and I know the way they look at a girl when they want to fu…” He bites off another piece and chews it hard, leaving his unspoken word hanging in the air. His eyes dart over to Sloane and then back to me. “If you were cheating on Nico, at least it’d explain his fucking crazy ass mood lately. And second, yeah, we had it out, but he’s still my best friend. He just needs some time to pull his head out of his ass. You telling Dad about, um…Carlo’s accident…didn’t go over too well either.”

I furrow my brow, very aware, as is Max, that my best friend knows nothing of sex dens, mobsters, and murder. “I didn’t realize it was a secret.”

“That was a tough blow, losing one of his guys to a competing club.” He clears his throat. “Like that.”

“I need to get through to him,” I muse, tapping my fingertips on the table top.

“Look, Nico’s got a lot of shit on his plate right now with work. I get it. That’s why I’m laying low. I could have beaten the hell out of him when he came after me, but I didn’t because I’m a sensitive guy like that.” Max winks at Sloane and bites the last bit of the pop off the stick.

“You actually threw punches?” I let out a deep sigh and shake my head. This is getting out of control, and I have no idea how to stop it. Telling my dad about Carlo…why was that such a bad thing? I was so scared that night...of course, I’d call my father! And why won’t Nico talk to me and tell me why it was such a bad move, dammit? Why am I hearing about it from Max? “Do you really think he’s okay out there on his own?” Because I’m not very convinced right now. Not at all. I glance at Sloane, who is still watching Max. I doubt she’s even listening at this point. I think she’s more focused on what she’s doing to him in her lust-filled mind right at this moment. Or maybe what he’s doing to her.

Max pushes his hair back. “He’s a big boy, Shaye. And he’s got friends. Friends other than me. Friends with a lot of power. Do I think he knows what he’s doing? Fuck, no. But he’ll figure it out because he always does. And if he does manage to pull his head out of his ass, he knows he can call me. I’m always ready.”

I roll my eyes and take another sip of my hot chocolate “That’s so comforting.”

He shrugs. “You can’t help someone who doesn’t want it.”

Truer words were never spoken. “So, what now? You’re shopping to fill the hours?”

Max grins. “I need some new sneakers. I think I’m gonna take up running.”

“Something productive and healthy. What a nice change of pace for you.” I snicker and look up at Sloane. “Do you need a ride home? I think I’m going to head out now. I’ve had about as much mall excitement than I can handle today. I’m afraid of who else I may run into if I stay here any longer.”

She drags her eyes away from Max and looks at her watch. “It’s fine. I’ll just order an Uber. I still have a few stores to hit.”

“Want some company?”

My head jerks back over toward Max. Something is happening here. Or it already happened. I’m not sure, but I’m liking the direction.

A look of shock flits over her features, and she looks exactly the way I feel at this second. “Oh, um, yeah. Sure, that’d be great.”

He grins at me. “See ya later, sis.”

Sloane grabs her handbag, and I almost have to shield my eyes to protect them from the blinding light radiating off of her face when she faces me. Shocked, yes. Elated, most definitely. “I’ll call you later,” she murmurs, leaning in to give me a quick peck on the cheek.

“You’d better,” I whisper back, settling back against the extremely uncomfortable plastic chair. I watch them walk over to Foot Locker and the corners of my lips lift in amusement.

There really is a Prince Charming for everyone.

I just hope mine hasn’t disappeared forever.