“Oh, no,” Kat whispered, her blood running cold. “Shit, shit, shit.”

The file was there on her desktop a minute ago and now it was just . . . gone. Had she somehow managed to delete it? She started opening folders, cursing her own ineptness. She wasn’t an idiot, but the database system Adamo Enterprises used was new to her. Her computer expertise had peaked in high school with basic word processing. Once she graduated, she didn’t have much need for computers. College hadn’t been in the cards for her and tending bar didn’t require those skills.

She opened the trash folder, but no luck. Then she remember Ingrid had explained that the database operated as a separate entity from Windows.

“Okay,” she said to herself, taking a deep breath. If worse came to worst, she could pull the handwritten notes out of the recycle bin and retype the report, but she’s already spent over an hour on it. She hated to spend even more time.

Ingrid had said to call her if she had any questions, but Kat felt like all she’d done all week was call the older woman. At some point very soon she’d need to stand on her own two feet or she wouldn’t be able to keep this job.

“Where did she say the files went?” she muttered, drumming her fingers on her desk.

“Is everything okay?”

Kat had been so focused on her computer screen that she hadn’t even noticed Ingrid approach.

She sighed. “I think I might have accidentally deleted the notes I just typed up from the prototype meeting.”

Ingrid came around to stand behind her. “Hmm . . . let’s see. Nope. I bet it’s right there. In the drafts folder.”

Sure enough, there was a little number one in parenthesis next to the draft folder. She clicked it and breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God. I thought I’d just lost an hour’s worth of work.”

“It’s an easy mistake to make. The system is really weird that way. Until you finalize the file, even if you save it, it ends up in the draft folder.” Ingrid shrugged. “When we first got the system, I asked the developers about it, thinking it was a glitch, but no. It makes no sense.”

“You can say that again.”

“Once things settle down around here, I’m going to approach Tony about updating the software. There are a lot of changes I want to implement, but now is obviously not the time. Other than the missing file,” Ingrid said with a smile, “how have things been going today?”

Ingrid had recently been promoted to the position of COO when Tony’s father was arrested and Kat had taken over her former position as administrative assistant to Tony. The other woman had been with the company for decades and knew it inside and out. Kat didn’t know how she’d ever perform as well as Ingrid.

“Okay, I guess.” Kat looked down at her lap and fidgeted.

Ingrid put a hand on her shoulder. “Relax. You’re doing a good job.”

“I just don’t want Tony to regret hiring me.”

“I don’t think he will.”

Not if Kat had anything to do with it. The money and benefits were so much better with this job. It paid enough that she didn’t have to pull double shifts to make ends meet. And it would allow her to spend more time with her brother, the only family she had.

Well, that wasn’t exactly true. But he was the only family worth her time.

“Besides,” Ingrid said, “you’re just what Tony needs right now. Even if you don’t perform perfectly, he trusts you. He needs to be surrounded by people he can count on now more than ever.”

Her speech did not bolster Kat’s confidence, but hopefully the fact that Tony trusted her would be enough until she fully got the hang of things.

A quick glance at the clock on the wall had Kat almost cursing under her breath before she caught herself. It was nearly a quarter after six. She quickly clicked to shut down her computer.

“Sorry, Ingrid. I need to run. I’m late.”

Ingrid looked over at the clock. “Wow. Where did the day go? I should probably go home, too.”

Kat knew she wouldn’t, though. If Kat wasn’t mistaken, she wasn’t the only one trying to prove herself. But if Ingrid’s words were true, she had even less to worry about—it was obvious Tony trusted the woman and thought highly of her.

Kate grabbed her things and ran down the stairs. She burst out into the nearly empty parking lot to see Marco leaning against his truck with his arms crossed. He turned in her direction and smiled.

It stopped her in her tracks and she breathed deeply, trying to catch her breath.

Because I just ran down the stairs. Not because of his brilliant smile. Or the muscles bulging under his shirt.

Okay, so she thought he was hot. She was a grown woman. She could admit that to herself. It didn’t mean anything.

“Sorry I’m late,” Kat said. “I got caught up.”

“It’s no problem.”

Nothing seemed to be a problem for this man. He didn’t look the least bit angry, even though she was putting him out. Did anything ruffle his feathers?

Though beneath his friendly exterior lay an intensity and a fierceness. She felt sorry for whoever was on the receiving end of his ire.

Marco opened the passenger door. “Hop in.”

As her body passed close to his, a blush spread to her cheeks. When was the last time she’d been this close to a man she was attracted to? If she had to ask the question, then the answer was definitely too long. But with her long hours and visits with her brother, she barely had time for sleep, much less any extracurricular activities.

Maybe that could change soon now that she had this new job.

She climbed into the truck and Marco closed the door behind her before walking around to the driver’s side.

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye as he pulled his seat belt across an impressive chest.

“So are you from around here?” she asked. She hated small talk, even though with her bartending background she had a lot of experience with it.

He nodded. “Spent my whole life here until I joined the army a few years ago. How about you?” he asked.

“Same.” She paused. “I mean, I spent my whole life here. Not that I joined the army or anything.”

She didn’t count those years in Florida. If she could erase them, she would.

He glanced over at her with a grin, making her feel like an idiot. She clamped her mouth shut. Perhaps it was best not to talk anymore.

As they neared the parking lot where they’d left her car, nerves struck her. Even though she’d left a white cloth hanging out of it, which was supposed to show it wasn’t abandoned but broken down, she was half afraid it had been towed because that would be just her luck. But it was right there where they’d left it.

They got out of the truck and Marco pulled a toolbox out of the back, along with a replacement hose; a long, thin metal bar; and a container of antifreeze.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Kat asked.

“Nope.” Then he paused. “Actually, you’ll have to hold the hood up while I replace the brace.” He held up the metal bar and she realized he’d taken it upon himself to get the part to fix that as well.

It was very thoughtful of him, but damn—she hoped that part wasn’t too expensive. She didn’t want to spend any money on this car that wasn’t absolutely necessary.

He should have asked her before buying unnecessary parts. Irritation flared within her, but she quickly dismissed it. Marco was saving her she didn’t know how much money by replacing that radiator hose himself. The cost of both replacement parts was probably less than what it would have cost her just for the hose repair at a shop.

Despite the cold air, he wasn’t wearing a coat. He rolled up the sleeves of his flannel shirt before popping the hood. The muscles in his forearms flexed and she was momentarily distracted by them until she realized he was looking at her expectantly.

Damn . . . he’d totally caught her checking him out. She felt a blush spreading to her cheeks and avoided his gaze as she rushed over to hold the hood up.

It took him less than a minute to replace the brace. She was impressed. And she had to admit it would make simple maintenance like refilling the windshield washer fluid easier. That was one car-related task she could handle.

Next, he set about removing the damaged hose, even fishing out the rubber pieces from deep in the engine. He definitely seemed to know what he was doing.

Kat stepped back so she wouldn’t crowd him, continuing to watch him work.

He was methodical, not talking, instead focusing on the task at hand. Slow and steady won the race for this man.

She wondered if that was always how he operated. She imagined slow and steady could be a rewarding mode in the bedroom.

Shit, shit, shit. She was doing it again. You’d think she’d never seen a good-looking man before.

Before she knew it, he was topping off her radiator with antifreeze and screwing the cap back on.

“See?” he said with a lazy smile, wiping his hands on a rag he’d shoved in his back pocket. “Piece of cake.”

He’d made it look easy, which sort of pissed her off. She should have been able to handle the repair herself.

But then she wouldn’t have been privy to such a nice view. Fancy suits were nice, but there was something innately sexy about a man who wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.

She lowered herself into the driver’s seat and started the car. Steam billowed out for a few seconds as the last of the antifreeze evaporated. But it seemed as good as new.

Or at least as good as a fifteen-year-old car that ran okay most of the time.

She got out of the car. “How much do I owe you?”

He looked over his shoulder at her as he returned the tools to the bed of the truck. “Nothing.”

“Come on,” Kat protested. “I have to at least pay you for the parts.”

He came to stand in front of her, crossing his arms. “No.”

She huffed out an exasperated breath. “I don’t feel right letting you pay for everything. I don’t even know you.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, and she returned the look, not backing down. She’d gladly accept his time, but she at least needed to reimburse him for the parts.

“I’ll tell you what,” he said. “I’ll let you take me out to dinner to get to know me.”

He’ll let her . . . to get to know him?

He can’t be serious.

When she realized he was, she sputtered for a moment, flabbergasted. She didn’t know what to say.

He grinned. “You did say the problem was you didn’t know me, right?”

She did say that, but that was exactly why she shouldn’t go out with him. The last time she’d hastily gotten involved with a man she hadn’t known well, it had almost killed her. Literally.

Stop it, she mentally chided herself. He isn’t Leo. Leo’s in prison.

“I have cash,” she said, thinking of the fifty she had stuffed deep in her glove compartment case of emergencies. She hoped that would be enough.

“I won’t take your money.”

“But . . . you have to.” Lame, lame, lame. She sounded like a whiny ten-year-old who wasn’t getting her way.

He stepped closer. “It’s late, so you’re probably ready to get home. But tomorrow night I’ll meet you in the office parking lot. Are you getting off at six again?”

Not knowing how else to respond, she nodded.

He held his hand out. “Deal?”

She stared at it stupidly for a moment before realizing he wanted to shake on it. She stuck her hand out and as he took it, he moved closer.

She stilled, her normal reaction when a strange man invaded her space. In her work as a bartender, she’d unfortunately experienced it many times. But this time, it wasn’t because she was on guard. No, it was because he stirred something within her. Her body reacted to his touch, demanding more, wanting to know how his hands would feel elsewhere on her body.

The smart thing to do would be to step back. But she stayed rooted to the ground.

He released her hand and got into his truck. “See you tomorrow.” Then he pulled out of the parking lot.

She watched him drive away and was still standing there moments later when she realized she still didn’t know his last name or his phone number.

* * *

Marco spent the day lazing around his parents’ house, feeling very much like a bum. He’d called Tony to see if his brother needed help with anything, but the call went straight to voice mail.

So instead he played cards with Nonna. Because it was just the two of them—three if they could’ve convinced his mother to play—they couldn’t play Nonna’s preferred game of bridge, so instead they played gin rummy, regular rummy, and speed. Nonna was frighteningly good at the last game, so much so that a lesser man might have felt the blow to his manhood. Not Marco. He was glad the older woman was still showing signs of spark.

Although, after she beat him for the fifth time in a row, he was starting to question how she always managed to have the upper hand. He would have thought he’d have won at least one out of five.

“I’m out,” Nonna said.

“Damn.” Marco frowned, looking at his hand. How had she managed that again for the sixth time in a row?

She gathered the cards and started shuffling them, her hands nimbly performing the bridge after each shuffle, a skill he’d never managed to perfect.

“Perhaps we should play something that’s more your speed.” She smiled sweetly at him. “How about go fish?”

He chuckled. Leave it to Nonna to totally burn his ass. Though her body was starting to give out on her, her mind was still sharp as hell.

“Deal ’em,” Marco said. As she did, he watched her closely for signs of fatigue. His mother had told him she’d been spending much of her days sleeping and he didn’t want to tire her out.

“I used to play this game with your father,” she said, then pursed her lips. “He was always a sore loser. He’d pitch the biggest fit if he wasn’t winning and would quit.”

Marco picked up his cards and fanned them out. He didn’t know what to say to Nonna’s comment. He guessed his father was always an asshole, even when he was a child.

“Do you have any eights?” he asked.

“Go fish.” She paused. “Fours?”

Marco passed over a card. “Do you have any . . . sevens?”

Nonna handed him two cards. “I’m sorry he wasn’t a good father to you.”

Marco put his cards down and reached across the table to hold Nonna’s hand. Tears glistened in her eyes.

“It’s not your fault,” he assured her.

Nonna rarely spoke ill of anyone, even when they deserved it—including her only son.

“I don’t know why he turned out the way he did. He had every advantage, but we didn’t spoil him. We tried to teach him kindness and humility, but it didn’t take.”

The pain and anguish in her voice tore at him, but he didn’t know what to say. Everything Nonna said was true. It was a mystery how such a scumbag of a man could come from two such loving parents.

Not to mention how a good woman like his mother had married and stayed with him for three decades.

“Some people are just . . . bad.” His explanation was insufficient, but it was the best he could offer.

Nonna sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes with shaking hands. “Do you have any twos?”

* * *

Kat flung another rejected outfit on her bed in disgust. If she didn’t make a decision soon, she’d be late to work.

This was the second time she’d fought this battle. Last night, she’d selected clothing that would suffice for both work and her dinner with Marco, but then all morning she kept looking down at it, thinking it wasn’t right.

She should just cancel the date. Except she didn’t have his phone number.

And she had to admit she was curious.

Curious . . . that was a good word for it. She was by no means lusting after her knight on a white horse . . . or rather, blue pickup truck.

So now here she was on her lunch break, trying to do in thirty minutes what had taken her two hours last night.

“Fuck it.” She grabbed two dresses and her tall black boots. She’d keep on what she was wearing and bring these with her. She could decide once she got back to work.

She locked her apartment door and ran down the steps to the parking lot, eyeing the ground-level apartments with envy. She’d rather have one of those to make it easier for her brother, but he insisted it was safer for her on the second floor. That way, at least she could leave her windows open at night if she wanted to.

Not that she ever would in this part of town, but it was a nice thought.

Holding her breath, she turned the key in the ignition. With a rumble-rumble-spit, the engine turned over, and she exhaled. She was a little paranoid after yesterday.

Her phone rang, and she answered it with a smile on her face. “Gram, hi.”

Kat had only become acquainted with her grandmother in the last few years. Three years ago when her mother was dying, she’d had a come-to-God moment and admitted she’d had an affair. The scumbag who’d abandoned their family years ago wasn’t actually Kat’s father. That fact didn’t bother her, but she was a little perturbed to learn that her brother was only her half-brother. Her brother, Ryan, on the other hand, hadn’t cared one bit.

It turned out Kat’s biological father was way worse than the man who’d raised her—he was a notorious lord of the criminal underworld known simply as X. Her mother couldn’t have picked a worse man to father a child. Kat didn’t bother making contact and in fact took steps to ensure X would never find out about her. No need to invite unnecessary headaches and heartache.

However, Kat’s mother had reached out to her biological grandmother, who was actually a lovely lady. The two women had sparked up a relationship with the tacit agreement that it remain a secret from Kat’s father.

“Those bastards stole my jewelry.” Gram’s voice was scratchy and full of malice. “They took it, I tell you!”

Kat sighed. Gram was having a bad day. Only months after they struck up their relationship, dementia had hit the older woman and it hit her hard, quickly progressing to Alzheimer’s.

“Gram, what jewelry is missing?”

“My engagement ring. And my ruby earrings. It was that new nurse. She has shifty eyes.”

“I’m sorry to hear you don’t like the new nurse.”

“But what about my jewelry?”

The jewelry was actually tucked away in a fake book deep in Kat’s closet, but Gram didn’t remember that. It made Kat nervous to have such expensive jewelry because she didn’t have a safe to keep it in, but she couldn’t turn down the gift. When Gram realized what was happening to her with the Alzheimer’s, she’d given it to Kat, wanting to be able to gift it to her only granddaughter while she was still lucid.

“When we hang up, I’ll call the front desk and make sure they look into it.”

“Good.” Then the line went dead.

Kat sighed. Gram’s good days were becoming fewer and further between.

When she stopped at a red light, she dialed the front desk of Gram’s nursing home, not to ask about the “missing” jewelry, but to ask them to check in on her. She wished she could do it herself, but her other responsibilities beckoned.

Kat was back at her desk with five minutes to spare. Thank God. Tony hadn’t mentioned her extended absence yesterday, but all the same, she wasn’t trying to take advantage of his generosity.

Although, with how busy he was, she doubted he noticed she was gone. She was supposed to be his administrative assistant, but she dealt with Ingrid more than him. Most days he closed himself behind his office door.

It was a trying time for Adamo Enterprises.

Kat dug into her work, sorting Tony’s mail, typing up notes for the various meetings he attended, and scheduling the final stages of the new security installation.

The day passed too quickly—she hadn’t decided on an outfit, and it was a quarter to six. She didn’t know where they were going yet, either. The dinner was supposed to be payment for the parts for her car, but she didn’t know how much they cost. Did she owe him a Ruth’s Chris type dinner or something along the lines of Applebee’s?

Who was she kidding? She couldn’t afford Ruth’s Chris. But she hadn’t met a man who didn’t like steak, so she’d take him to the local steakhouse—the one that wouldn’t require her to spend her rent money on dinner.

Time was up so she needed to make a decision on her clothes. She looked at the two dresses she’d brought and decided to go with the simple gray one. She’d pair it with black tights, her boots, and the purple scarf she currently wore. That would work.

She touched up her makeup in the employee bathroom, putting her hand to her belly to calm the butterflies. She hadn’t been on a date in years, but it was more than just coming out of her dry spell. She was looking forward to this date with hopeful anticipation, something she usually didn’t allow herself. With her track record and poor judgment in men, it was safer to have no expectations. If she didn’t expect anything, then she couldn’t be disappointed.