When I heard the knock, I stood from the couch and padded to the door to see who was here. I flattened my palms on the door, stood on my tiptoes, and peeked through the peephole.

My heart slammed into the wall of my chest.

I turned around and let my back fall against the door.

I didn’t know who I’d expected, but it certainly wasn’t Nolan. But he was here. To see me.

My eyes darted around my tiny apartment, doing a quick assessment of the place. It was a disaster zone. It looked like a college dormitory with wrappers from our burritos lying next to the empty beer bottles piling up on the coffee table. It was embarrassing. And when I looked to the kitchen, it was even worse. Dirty dishes lay in the sink and I was afraid of what he would think if I let him inside.

He knocked on the door again.

If only Monica would hurry up in the bathroom, I could at least ask her what to do.

My stomach fluttered as I pushed off the door and headed to the mirror on the wall. I fluffed my hair, checking my makeup and making sure that I was more than just presentable. I wasn’t ready for this. Totally enthralled in the movie we were watching, Nolan was the furthest thing from my mind. Finally.

This time he knocked louder.

He could probably hear me stomping around, freaking out. Sucking back a deep breath, I turned around and reached for the doorknob.

Time slowed to a stop as I opened the door.

Suddenly, my vision tunneled and all I could hear was the thrashing of my own heart.

But when I lifted my head, all the feelings of when it was just us came rushing back like a flashflood.

His eyes were dark and curious, a glimmer of fear in them as they drifted over me. And all I could think about was how I looked like a slob compared to him. I didn’t have to ask how he knew where I lived. He’d remembered from our last time together. I’d regretted our parting ever since. I wished I could have taken it back, but now that he was here…

His brows raised and I was paralyzed by the way he was looking at me. I felt my heart throb at how handsome he was, how perfectly he filled out his three-piece suit. It made him look sharp, with just the right amount of bad boy. Then, without thinking, I asked, “What are you doing here?”

His lips tugged at the corners.

It was clear he, too, was surprised he’d found himself at my place tonight.

He glanced over his shoulder then back to me, shrugging.

“Shouldn’t you be with Cooper?”

His neck bent as he shook his head. “I’m right where I’m supposed to be.”

My toes curled into the floor. “I saw you on TV.”

A deep shade of red etched across his cheeks. “You saw that, huh?”

“It was on every local station.”

He stuffed his hands inside his pockets and dropped his chin to his chest. A fleeting moment passed and when he looked up at me with a furrowed brow, his eyes sparkled. “How did I look?”

Raking him over once again, I took in every inch of this sexy man, still not believing that he was standing at my front door completely uninvited, silently begging me to let him in. From the way his spine slouched, the man looked broken. And I wanted to reach out and grab his hand to let him know just how much I had missed him. Instead I said, “Good. Great.”

He smiled.

Opening the front door more, I teased, “It was your other half that ruined it for me.”

His face lifted as the laugh lines deepened. His eyes danced across mine as we both began laughing. Not waiting a second longer, I reached for his hand and pulled him inside.

Not two steps into my apartment, I felt him put down his anchor.

Suddenly we stopped and I turned to see what made him hesitate. His eyes were staring at the two bowls of ice cream, the empty beers, and when I watched his gaze travel over to the bathroom door I knew exactly what he was thinking.

“If now is not a good time—” He stared at the light shining under the bottom of the door.

A small part of me liked having Nolan jealous. Because I knew the truth. I didn’t have a man here like he was thinking. But it was fun to have him suffer for just a little bit longer, knowing that it wouldn’t last long. I turned to him, crawling my fingers up his chest like a spider, knowing Monica would step out any second. “What makes you think you’re interrupting?”

His lips parted as his eyes scurried across my tiny apartment. His tongue was tied. The man was speechless. Then, ending his feelings of insecurity, I stood on my toes and planted a kiss on his lips just as I heard the bathroom door open behind me.

Monica turned off the light and came to a screeching halt. “Oh. Wait—” Her brow twisted in confusion. “Huh?”

The balls of my feet hit the floor as I laced my fingers through Nolan’s. Spinning around, my hair flew across my shoulders as I said, “Nolan, meet my friend, Monica.”

Monica stepped forward and shook Nolan’s hand. Then she turned to me and said, “I’ll get going.”

I nodded and thanked her for her company tonight. She gathered her things, slipped on her heels, and was out the door by the time I was pushing Nolan toward the living room.

Nolan browsed my walls, checking out my furniture and television. And as I let him have a moment to himself, I couldn’t stop thinking how much I liked having him here. Even if my apartment was embarrassingly smaller than what I knew he was used to, he looked like he belonged.

“Can I get you a drink?” I asked.

He turned to me with raised brows.

“A beer?” I said, pointing to the empties that seemed to be everywhere.

“Would love one.” He smiled.

By the time I was back from the kitchen, Nolan had made himself at home. He was kicked back with his arms spread out over the back of the couch, keeping his eye firmly on the screen hanging off the wall. He turned to look at me. “I love this one,” he said, pointing to the TV.

I covered my face with my arm and shook my head.

I was completely embarrassed by the romantic movie Monica and I had chosen. Even after we’d sworn we wouldn’t watch a movie in this genre, we just couldn’t resist. It was what we both longed for, what we wished we had. But if I would’ve known Nolan would be arriving, I would’ve totally gone for the drama instead.

Surprising me, Nolan recited the next scene as it happened, each line memorized by heart.

He made it impossible not to love him. And as he continued reciting lines word for word, that was when I knew that he was authentic, proving to me once again he was everything I thought he was. It wasn’t just some ploy to get into my pants. He really knew the movie and wasn’t afraid to admit it.

I handed him his beer and he thanked me as I lowered onto the couch next to him. Scooting up against his chest, he draped his arm around my shoulder. Pulling my knees together, we sipped our beers in silence.

There were only 20 minutes left in the movie and we sat there watching it together like boyfriend and girlfriend, not caring about the ice cream melting in front of us. When it was over and the credits started rolling, I set my beer down on the coffee table and turned to him. “Nolan, I’m sorry about the other day.”

He brought one hand to the nape of my neck, brushing the pad of his thumb over my racing pulse. Feeling my lids hood, I watched his other hand iron over my quivering thigh. Then he said in a deep, husky voice, “I’m sorry, too.”

My lips pulled into a loving grin.

“I didn’t want you to hear what my father said.” Nolan’s eyes were on his hand smoothing back and forth on my leg. “He’s stuck on Cooper’s campaign. Set on him winning. And what he said,” he flicked his apologetic gaze up to me, “had nothing to do with you.”

My thoughts scattered.

I was too excited to think.

I sat there nodding, casting my gaze down to my fingers playing with the hair on his arm, wanting to believe that what he said was true. Being apart was never what we wanted. It was always about his father. But the longer he talked, the bigger the stone in my throat became.

“When I saw you for the first time, I knew I had to have you. I wanted to bring you into my world, shower you with the luxury that I know. I wanted to make you happy. I wanted to laugh and have a good time. I didn’t ever want to see you cry.”

I nodded, feeling the tears swell behind my eyes.

“I’ve never been with a woman like you before. Someone who makes me excited to get up in the mornings. Someone who I actually see a future with. Someone who I’m willing to give up everything I have in order to be with.”

I lifted my eyes to his when he hooked my jaw with his finger.

“You’re that someone, Sophia.” He smiled.

I closed my eyes and swallowed the tears back.

I wanted this. Wanted this more than anything. But I was afraid to tell him because I was afraid of his family, afraid of him having to be with someone of their choosing.

Staring into his flickering eyes, I asked, “But what about Audrey?”

His eyes widened as he blankly stared at me.

My stomach dropped and I feared the worst. I was afraid that what he’d done tonight to see me was going to cause more problems—problems neither one of us needed—than was worth the trouble. But then his lips pulled to his ears as he lifted his arm and dove his hand inside his pocket. Pulling out his cell phone, he swiped it alive and turned the screen to me. “She’s found somebody else.”

I shuffled my feet on the floor as my breath caught in my chest. My stomach tensed and I wasn’t sure if it was all too good to be true.

“Sophia, I want to be with you.” He reached for my hand once again. “That’s why I’m here. All this material and business success, I’m willing to give it all up so we can be together.”

“Nolan—” I frowned, not thinking I was worth such a sacrifice.

“But now I don’t have to. Not now that I have this.” He showed me the photo of Audrey kissing that man again. “It was never meant to be—me and Audrey. You knew it. You’ve seen it,” he laughed, “and even got a taste of how ugly she can be.”

My heart started racing as I panted through the breaths of air that seemed harder and harder to find. And as I sat there in disbelief, not once did his eyes leave mine.

Nolan angled toward me and said, “Will you have me?”

A jolt of electricity kicked my heart alive. I lurched forward and wrapped my arms around his neck. I felt his big hand squeeze around my hips as I cried, “Yes, Nolan. You can have me.” He wrapped me inside his strong arms and hugged me tighter. “I’ve wanted you since we met—wanted this.” I felt the tears of joy fall out of my eyes.

Together we laughed, and when I pulled away I took his face inside my hands and pressed my lips against his. It didn’t take long for our kisses to grow deeper, hungrier than before. When the passion grew and began to take over, Nolan pulled away and murmured a hot breath of concern. “I want to go at your speed.”

My skin prickled and my nipples tightened. There was a lightness in my chest that I had never felt before. And as I felt my grin widen and split my face, I stood, pulling Nolan off the couch with me. Leading him to the back, I took him into my bedroom with only one thing on my mind.