Jake hadn’t stopped moving since the driver dropped him off in front of L’Auberge with his bags. He dropped them off in the suite upstairs, briefly checking out the space. It felt completely wasteful after the Airstream, which had taken him three long steps to cross. The suite had two bedrooms, a dining and living area, and a large outdoor balcony almost as large as the living area.

He’d gone down for dinner, but changed his mind after being seated. After leaving a significant tip just for the water he drank, Jake went out to the casino, where he lost a lot of money on craps. Oddly, he was glad the house won. Losing his money felt karma—he was getting exactly what he deserved.

Every nerve of his body felt lit with the anger, like he was sensitive to the touch. The space made him angry. Thinking about Xander getting him this suite made him angry. Remembering how he’d left Shelby made him angry. When the elevator took too long, he found himself jamming the button with his finger repeatedly. Walking into the beautiful and spacious suite, his lip curled and he wished he was in a regular room. He longed for an outlet for this rage, but he had never felt this angry before. Just mildly annoyed or frustrated.

He owed Xander a phone call, but couldn’t talk to him. When all his chips were gone, he went up to the empty suite and simply sat, alone in his thoughts. He tried to trace back what had gone wrong the past few days. From the start, though, this deal had been different. The scope was grander, the pressure higher, and this was the first deal since Obsidian had gone public. Then Layla broke down, stranding him. When Jake met Shelby, it all broke apart.

Jake wanted nothing more than to go against Xander. He wanted to drive back to Lucky and tell Shelby what Xan made him promise not to. Maybe she would rail and rant and slam the door on him. He deserved it. But at least then he would know. He would be sure that things were over between them.

Of course, what he hoped is that she would forgive him and kiss him again like she had in the pool.

He had been shocked when she kissed him, right in the middle of the pool in front of both Daisy and Rhett. But in that moment, it felt like no one else was around. It was only Jake and Shelby, drawn together and sealed there with the passion that moved between their lips.

Then they’d gone back to her house, his car had been waiting, and he’d left without talking to her about what happened between them. The kiss seemed to confirm the feelings Jake hoped Shelby had. She had to know how he felt—he poured all that he had into the kiss. But maybe Shelby went around kissing half the town of Lucky and that’s why so many people were proposing. He had zero idea.

Letting her walk away was so stupid. He could see that now. He should have broken down her door to make her talk. He should have sent the car away and told Xander to deal with the fallout and he should have told her right then. He was a coward.

It wasn’t too late.

The realization washed over him and within thirty seconds he had his cell phone and wallet and was leaving his room. He would hire a car or buy one or do whatever it took to get to Lucky, Texas the fastest. Later, he could call Xander to tell him that this was his last job. They would work out the details of how he would leave Obsidian once he had secured Shelby.

The thought thrilled Jake. It only confirmed the restlessness he’d been feeling: it was time for his life to shift.

He was almost to the elevator when he glanced down one of the side hallways and saw a figure hunched over by the wall. Something stopped him. His feet slowed to a stop on the plush carpet. He walked backwards to look down the hall.

Shelby?

He ran to her, not wasting a moment. She leaned against a wall, her legs bent to her chest, head on her knees. For a moment, Jake stood there, looking down at the top of her head, watching the rhythmic rise and fall of her breathing. He felt a surge of protectiveness. Was she hurt? Why was she there? Who left her?

As gently as he could, Jake bent and enfolded her in his arms. He’d had practice watching his nieces and transferring them while sleeping from the couch or car to a bed and employed the same technique, folding her into his body so that when he shifted his weight and stood, she was almost in the same position. She moaned and her head lolled against his chest, but Jake was able to get her back to the suite and carefully get the keycard to work without waking her.

He carried her all the way to the master bedroom in the suite and placed her on top of the covers. She shifted slightly and stretched, but didn’t wake. He could take the secondary bedroom and let her sleep. Smoothing the hair back from her face, he tucked the comforter in half, laying the part from the empty side of the bed over top of her. The AC in the suite made it cold and her legs were bare. Jake wanted to kiss her temple, but was afraid he would wake her.

He hesitated in the doorway. Shelby had fallen asleep in the hallway and wouldn’t know where she was when she woke up in a strange bed.

She had to have come for Jake. But why didn’t she just call him or text? Ask him which room he was in? Or tell him why she had come? And why was she so tired? They had been up kind of late the night before, talking in the Airstream—which somehow now seemed like years ago. Before the kiss, before he’d left her.

Not wanting her to wake up alone and confused, Jake grabbed a blanket from the other bedroom and settled awkwardly on the small couch across from the bed where Shelby slept. When she woke, he would be the first thing she saw.

Poke. Jake stirred, feeling out of sorts and sore. A hand touched his shoulder. His eyelids popped open and he bolted upright. Shelby knelt before him, hand outstretched. She stood as he sat up. They were almost eye-to-eye with him sitting on the couch, her on her feet. The suite was dark and only a sliver of light from the main room lit up her face. It was hard to see the expression in her eyes, but he caught a white flash of teeth.

“Hey, City.”

“Shelby.”

“It’s not every day I find myself in a strange hotel room with a man I hardly know. Guess I need to be more careful when I travel alone.”

“Shelby,” he grinned back. “It’s not every day I find a beautiful girl sleeping in a hallway.”

“When you put it that way, it sounds a little creepy. Let’s hope this is the first and last time you kidnap a sleeping woman and bring her back to your room. But thanks for taking in a stray.”

He had so many questions, but for now he said the dumbest one. “What time is it?”

“A little after midnight,” she said.

“Oh.” They stared at each other for a moment but Jake still couldn’t read her eyes in the dark. “Shelby, why were you sleeping in the hallway? What’s going on? How did you get here?”

Shelby looked away, toward the big glass windows where he could faintly see a few scattered stars and a half-moon. He hadn’t shut the curtains when he’d tucked her into bed. In the dim light, she looked worn and haggard. She stood and walked toward the open door.

“Want to show me around? I’ve never been in a fancy suite. By the way, you look really adorable when you wake up.”

Jake’s cheeks heated at her compliment. He followed her out to the suite as though he were tethered to her. Her words seemed like her, but the sound and tone was off. They were forced and missing the normal easy lilt. Even after a few days he could recognize the change.

Shelby stood by the balcony doors, which was part of a full wall of glass. Jake wanted to come up behind her and wrap his arms around her waist, resting his head on hers. Instead he hesitated a few feet away.

“Shelby?”

She turned to look at him and though she smiled, it didn’t touch her eyes. “Can we talk on the balcony?”

“Sure. I’m thirsty. Do you want a water?”

“Thanks,” she said. She slipped out onto the balcony and Jake headed to the fridge to get two cold bottles. He was thirsty, but he also wanted a second to think before he joined her on the balcony. Something was off.

She had come for a reason and while he hoped it was for him, there was something else. He may not have been Matt, who could read everything about her at a glance, but Jake could see the hurt. Had she learned that he was the reason she lost her land? Until she knew, the thought would haunt him. He didn’t know why, but didn’t think that was the reason. He expected anger, not whatever cloud hung over her. Also, she likely wouldn’t have come all this way if that’s why.

Jake only wished he knew her well enough to know how she liked to be comforted. Did she want space? Touch? Words? Silence?

He felt the creeping doubt of his insecurities rising. Other than Hannah, he had rarely dated and had a tendency to overthink everything. Jake blew out a breath and tossed up a quick prayer: Give me the right words.

Shelby perched on the edge of a couch on the balcony, staring out over the water. A boat moved slowly across the water. She startled when he pressed the cold water bottle against her bare shoulder. For the first time he realized she was wearing the same tank and shorts over her bathing suit that she had on earlier in the day. How had he not noticed? Why hadn’t she changed? His concern deepened.

He sat down just beside her, half expecting her to scoot away. When she didn’t, he put his arm around her shoulders and slowly, gently, pulled her into him. She relaxed a little, leaning her head back to him and he could smell her, feeling the silk of her hair against his neck.

“Shelby, I don’t know what’s happening, but whatever it is, I’m here.”

She nodded and the seconds dragged out. During a college business class, his professor had shared research from the education field. Waiting three to ten seconds after asking a question prompts better responses. The professor had made them practice, taking turns coming up to the front of the class and asking a question, then waiting the proper time while doing their best not to count in their head. Three to ten seconds felt like forever. Jake didn’t even remember why they had been teaching this or how it related to business. Corporate meetings? Shelby curled against his chest but did not speak. He stopped counting after thirty seconds.

When Jake was trying to formulate a second question, she finally spoke, her voice heavy and laced with pain. “My mama came home.”

This had not been anything close to what Jake suspected. He thought about what the guys in the garage had said about her mother: that she’d struggled with mental illness, walked out of a facility, and not been heard from in ten years. He had only been gone a few hours—she had come home in that space of time?

“Is she…” Jake didn’t know how to formulate the question. He had too many and they all pressed into his mind at once.

“She seems totally fine. Normal, whatever that means. She’s driving a Toyota Camry for crying out loud. A Camry.” She snorted, as though this was the most absurd part of it. He drove a Camry as his primary car. Now probably wasn’t the time to say that. Jake struggled for words.

“How’d your dad take it?”

“Welcomed her back, arms open. No questions asked.”

Now her voice had an edge of bitterness that shook his heart. He’d heard her angry and it was adorable. Sad and it was painful. Bitterness was something worse.

Jake tried to think about how this would feel. His whole life he felt like he had been waiting for his father to come home. Driving trucks, he was gone most of the time and when he did come home, he wasn’t ever home. When he was, he wasn’t engaged. Sometimes Jake would catch him looking at him and Candace, blinking back surprise like he was trying to figure out who let a couple of kids in the house.

Had his father ever come home like the fathers in TV shows, hanging up a jacket and passing around hugs to his family, Jake would have rejoiced.

He tried to think of Shelby’s situation again. She had been holding down the fort and working odd jobs, trying to keep things together while her mother was…gone. He didn’t know how he would feel, but he ached for her.

“And you feel like…it was too easy?”

She blew out a breath. “That’s an understatement.”

“What did she say about where she’s been?”

“I don’t know. I left.”

“You left?”

She pinched him on the arm. “You aren’t dreaming. I’m really here.” Her voice got huskier. “Are you glad to see me?”

Jake felt the moment when the air between them shifted, filling with tension and desire that was electric. But it felt different than their kiss in the pool. She’d been hurting then too, of course, about her house, but now she seemed broken and desperate.

“Of course I’m glad,” he said.

Her eyes moved to his lips. His heartbeat sped up and his lips parted in response. Not now. He fought an internal battle with himself. She was too raw, too vulnerable, too unhappy. A kiss now wouldn’t be what she really needed. He knew somehow that it wouldn’t be good for either of them. Before his resolve broke, he pulled her close so that her head was tucked into his chest. She stiffened.

“Shelby—”

“Was I wrong, Jake? Do you not like me?” Her voice was so quiet. He ached for her and wanted to kiss her, just to stop her from sounding that way. But he sensed that kissing her wouldn’t be the answer right now. It would cause more of a complication.

He pulled back to look at her face. Her eyes looked so hopeless. Tears began building and he pulled her back into his chest, kissing the top of her head. He hated to see her like this. Her light had gone out.

“I like you, Shelby.”

The words felt lighter than they should have. Like didn’t seem strong enough for the surge of emotion he felt. But there seemed a vast gulf between like and love. Could he love her already? Did he? Jake swallowed and kept talking, filing the question away for later.

“Then why won’t you kiss me?” She squeezed him tighter and he could feel how much those vulnerable words cost her to say out loud. He rubbed his lips against her hair.

“I don’t want to kiss you right now. I mean, I do. There probably isn’t a time when I wouldn’t want to kiss you. But now we shouldn’t. Not when you’re like this. I want to help you and be there for you. I’m not sure that would be what’s best for you right now.”

“What other time will we have?” Her words were sharp and they hit their mark.

He swallowed. “I don’t know. I want to…have more. But I don’t know how. I mean, my work and—”

“It’s good thing you don’t kiss me then. Because that’s not a good enough answer, City.”

She wasn’t angry, just honest. Honesty was good. But Jake still wasn’t fully truthful with her. He wanted to give her promises of a future or a plan of some kind. But he didn’t know what he could offer. He had to talk to Xander first. To find a way out. Until he did, he would be caught underneath the life he had been building. He wouldn’t be free to offer Shelby what he really wanted to: something real. Lasting. He wanted to give her what she deserved, but he didn’t know how.

She blew out a breath. “I don’t know why I came.”

“I’m glad you did.” He was trying to soothe her, but he could feel her in his arms, growing more agitated and restless.

“Are you?”

“Shelby, I am.”

She was silent and Jake tore through thoughts of what he could do to help her and to reassure her. He still felt the guilt of not telling her the truth about her home, but he pushed that aside. For now, he needed to take care of her. And here, he could do that. He pulled back slightly so that he could look at her face.

“Shelby, will you stay? It’s already so late. There are two bedrooms, so it’s totally okay. You keep the master and I’ll take the other bedroom. Things will look different in the light of day. And I’d like to spend the day with you. We can do anything you want. A date. A whole day’s worth of a date. Please?”

Shelby searched his face as though looking for sincerity. Slowly, she nodded, not fully smiling, but her eyes were lighter.

“I didn’t bring a bag or anything with me.”

“I’ll take care of everything,” he said. “Now, let’s get you back to bed. Do you want a T-shirt or something to sleep in?”

She nodded. With that, he swept her up in his arms. She opened her mouth, but then didn’t protest and leaned her face against his chest. Jake loved the feel of her in his arms. He carried her back to the master bedroom, where he tucked her back into the bed and placed a kiss on her forehead. His bag was in the corner of the room and he pulled a soft gray Cubs shirt out. “This will work. Since you only come up to my waist, Shorty.”

She gave him a half-hearted jab in the arm before taking the shirt. “Jake, thank you.”

He hesitated, heart caught in his throat, then before he could change his mind, bent forward to give her a quick kiss. He’d meant to just kiss her cheek or forehead, but instead went straight to her lips. He lingered, her lips soft against his. Before he was tempted to deepen the kiss, he pulled away. Today had been too overwhelming and the late hour would make it too easy to push too far, too fast. He didn’t want to wake with regret, or to see that in her face.

Her eyes followed his as he pulled back. He could see longing there, but also understanding. “Goodnight, Shelby,” he said, brushing her hair back from her forehead.

“Goodnight, Jake.” And though the light had not fully returned to her voice or her eyes yet, he saw a small, genuine smile as he closed the door behind him.

He wanted to see more of those tomorrow. Which meant that he a lot of work to do before morning. Walking into the second bedroom, Jake texted Xan.

Jake didn’t like the tightness in his stomach thinking about whatever Xander wasn’t telling him about the deal. When things were good, Xan was full of details and information. When he didn’t say much, it usually meant things were bad. After the mayor’s house, when Jake left with Shelby instead of Daisy, something had shifted. Xan didn’t give him the full details on the phone earlier, but he suspected that things were falling apart.

One thing at a time. Jake would spend the day with Shelby tomorrow, doing his best to make her feel special and to forget, at least temporarily, what waited for her at home. Which would in turn help Jake ignore what he suspected were his own mounting problems.

After tomorrow he would talk to Xander about Obsidian and his future. He needed time to figure out how to make sure Shelby was a part of that future somehow.