Noah’s arms are wrapped tightly around Lily out front of the courthouse, and I can tell this big, strong man is close to crying.

I’m standing off to the side because he hasn’t introduced me to Lily yet. Today isn’t exactly the best day to do it, but the fact that he wanted me here with him means a lot.

Noah stands up after hugging her, his back to me now, but he keeps hold of her little hand as he looks at her. “Are you excited about seeing my new apartment this weekend?”

“Yeah, but I’ll miss that boat of yours. I love the water, just like you, Daddy.”

I press a hand to my chest, my heart melting.

“We’ll get another one someday.” He glances over his shoulder, finding my eyes, and it’s at that moment that I know I love this man.

It doesn’t matter how long we’ve known each other. I’ve been waiting for someone like him my entire life.

I look at Noah’s ex, who is standing off to the side, and her eyes are on me—shooting damn daggers my way. When she saw me in court with Noah, she had the nerve to approach me and accuse me of cheating.

Cheating on Patrick Pierson. Apparently, she follows social media, but she missed the part about the announcement being an error.

“Hi.” Noah is in front of me now, and I look at Cindy as she walks with her fiancé and Lily toward a town car.

“You okay?”

His face is stoic, his body a little tense. “Every other weekend isn’t a lot, but it’s better than nothing. And at least I get a couple of weeks in the summertime.”

“And you’ll make the most of that time, I’m sure.” We start down the street.

“I’m a single man now,” he says after a minute.

“Single?” I stop walking and face him.

He chuckles. “You know what I mean.” He takes my hands and pulls me off to the side near a storefront, out of the way of the foot traffic. “What are your plans this Saturday?”

“Nothing, but you’ll have Lily. Which reminds me, we have a lot of unpacking to do at your apartment before then.” I make a mental note to call his sister to ensure she’s on the job of decorating his place.

“I want you to meet her.”

I knew this would happen eventually, but that doesn’t change the fact that my palms are now sweaty.

“You sure?”

The pad of his thumb traces my bottom lip. “More than ever.”

A house. A white picket fence. Kids. A family together at dinnertime. These are things I always wanted but never thought I could have. Okay, so the fence isn’t all that important, but maybe a dog would be nice.

“What are you thinking about?” He smiles. He can always tell when my mind starts to get a little derailed. But he does that to me. He makes my thoughts race. Excitement always fills me when he’s around.

“Thinking about the future,” I say.

“Oh yeah? And am I in it?”

“Do you even have to ask?” My eyes narrow in a playful way, and he pulls me against him and kisses me.

In front of everyone.

And it doesn’t matter if all of New York sees us.

* * *

“Have you made a decision?”

Noah looks up from his newspaper as I come into his living room. I love that he’s so old school he reads the actual paper. Not the news on a tablet.

“And are you seriously asking me that question while wearing that?” he asks in a silky voice.

I smile and play with the knot of my black satin robe before untying it.

“You’re not playing fair.” He rises from the couch and stands in front of it but doesn’t come to me.

Not yet at least.

So, I allow the robe to slip from my shoulders and fall to the floor.

I’m naked now, and the blinds are open.

He looks over at the window, and his jaw tightens. He shakes his head and goes to it, and I watch as the blinds scroll down before he faces me.

“So? You’ve been thinking about the decision for three weeks now. You said yesterday you’d have an answer for Luke by tomorrow.” I step over the robe. “Well, it’s tomorrow.”

“I can see that.” His naked chest rises and falls as he takes a breath, and I look down at his black pajama bottoms. His desire, his want, is evident. His eyes are on my nude stilettos before his gaze drifts up my legs. “And you expect me to answer the question while you’re wearing only your high heels?”

I cross my arms, purposefully covering my breasts while also pushing them up and together, drawing his eyes.

He comes in front of me. “I won’t work with Luke.”

Relief swells in my chest.

But also guilt.

He holds my hips as he looks me in the eyes.

My fingertips dance up his chest, and my palm settles over his tattoo. “I don’t want to lose you,” I say and swallow, “but I’ll support you either way.”

“You and Lily are all that matter to me. I don’t need to live that life anymore.” He nuzzles my nose with his before kissing the tip.

“You help people. That’s who you are. So, if you want to work with Luke every once in a while, you should—”

He cuts me off with his mouth, his tongue finding mine, stealing my breath.

“What was that for?” I ask, a little breathless.

“For letting me be me. For understanding who I am.” His hands are on my shoulders now, warming my skin. “It doesn’t mean I’ll do it…but thank you.”

His hands slide up my neck and to my cheeks where he holds my face, his eyes on mine.

My damn phone rings, startling me, but he doesn’t flinch.

“Don’t answer it,” he says with his mouth so close to mine.

I press my lips to his, kissing him again—but the phone won’t stop ringing.

After our lips part, he says, “I’ll turn it off.” He grabs it off the table, but his brows pull together. “It’s Corbin.”

“Shit.”

He knows by now that if Corbin is calling me, especially this early, it can’t be good. Please don’t be in trouble—again.

Noah hands me the phone, and I answer. “Hello?”

“Hey, I have something to tell you. You might want to sit down for this,” Corbin says in a rush.

My skin pebbles and I sink onto the couch behind me, my eyes on Noah. He must see the worry on my face, because he reaches for my robe off the ground and comes in front of me, handing it to me as he waits to learn what’s going on.

“Tell me.” I clutch the material tight to my chest.

“He’s dead.”

“Dead?” Panic hits me, and I suck in a breath, dropping the robe.

“Number Four.”

Number Four…? Oh, God. “I don’t understand.”

“The lawyer called to let us know they won’t need us anymore since there won’t be a trial.”

“What happened to him?” I ask.

Noah’s squeezing my hand, offering support.

“Suicide, maybe. They’re not sure. They don’t really know how he was strangled. They didn’t find anything in the jail cell with him.” There’s a crackle from a deep breath through the phone. “It’s over.”

“It’s over,” I repeat in shock, trying to absorb the words, to make sense of them. My mind flashes back to Greece, to the man’s hands on me—the knife… “I have to go.” I end the call and drop the phone, pressing my palms to my face.

Noah is sitting next to me now, and he pulls me into his arms. “He can’t ever hurt you again.”

His words have my hands falling to my lap as I shift out of his arms so I can look into his eyes. “How—how’d you know?”

Is he so smart that he inferred what Corbin said to me? Or could he hear Corbin through the phone?

And then I take a deep breath as it comes to me—the realization hits me like a freight train.

He’d walk through fire for me.

Kill for me.

“Noah, you didn’t—did you?” I stand and hold my arms tight to my chest, freezing.

He rubs a hand down his jaw. “Didn’t what?”

“Did you kill that guy in Athens?” But that’s not possible. He hasn’t left New York. I’ve been with him almost every day.

He stands, his brows stitching together. “Of course not.”

“Did you have anything to do with it?”

He doesn’t say anything, and he doesn’t need to. We don’t lie to each other—always honesty. It’s our “thing.”

He’s torn. Maybe he’s afraid of what I might think.

“I love you,” I say. This wasn’t how I planned to say those words for the first time, but they’re the only words he needs to hear right now.

“I love you too.” He places a hand on my face, cupping my cheek, and angles his head a little as he traps me with those sapphire eyes.

Hearing it back from him…my heart—there are wings there. Jesus. My eyes are blurred by tears, by the admission, by the fact that this thing is really over with Number Four.

I can move on.

A huge weight has been lifted from my chest, and whether Noah truly had anything to do with it or not doesn’t matter to me—all that matters is that he loves me.

“I’m naked, Noah.” And finally free. “Are you going to do something about it?”

He chuckles and lifts me into his arms in one fast movement, which has me squealing.

“Hell, yes.”