Livvie sat at her kitchen table, feeling awful and exhausted, which wasn’t a good combination. The only thing she felt relieved about was that Zach hadn’t shown up again. She doubted he would, but she was a little frightened that he might come there again after he got drunk at the bar. Drake was right; she wouldn’t be able to defend herself if Zach tried to hurt her. When she had first moved to Los Angeles, Carly had begged Livvie to learn self-defense, but she hadn’t felt like it. She had just left Liam, and she needed to find peace.

But it was time she started to take better care of herself. And if that meant a self-defense class, then she was game.

Today was day two of being away from Drake, but it was day one all over again because she’d spoken to him early in the morning, which had halted her healing process. So she would make today her fresh start. That meant doing something she loved, something that made her feel whole again.

Livvie reached for the journal Drake had bought her but then stopped. If she was trying to get over Drake and start fresh, she should continue writing her novel, but she should use a different journal. The idea devastated her, and for ten solid minutes she was completely immobilized, but she’d made the right decision. So she opened her kitchen cabinet where she kept her office supplies and found an old journal she had bought when she had first moved to Los Angeles. She had gone to a therapist, who had told her she needed to journal every day about what was happening in her life in order to release emotions. But every time she’d sat down to write she hadn’t been able to do it. Some days, it was easier to not feel and to pretend she was okay. Now she was ready to write in this journal. Instead of writing about her life, she would write about Haley’s and Blake’s.

Livvie sighed. She also had another epiphany. If her agent called, she would tell her she no longer wanted to write for a television show. It was gutsy, considering how her savings account was dwindling, but also necessary. Finally, she had control over her life again. And nothing or no one, including Drake Morganthal, would take that away from her.

Remembering where the story left off, Livvie took a sip of her iced coffee and opened her new journal. Already, she felt calmer. She picked up the Tiffany pen Drake had bought her. It dawned on her that maybe it would be a good idea if she also used another pen, but she loved this pen. And she didn’t have the heart to part with it. So she began to write…

Blake picked up Haley and threw her onto the bed. She had anticipated this moment from the second she’d laid eyes on him. He was so beautiful. With his rugged looks he fit into her log cabin fantasy perfectly. When his lips locked with hers and he roughly ripped her shirt, Haley groaned. His calloused hands immediately found her hard nipples, and he rubbed them between his fingers. Wetness slid down her thigh. Haley pushed her pelvis into him, hoping he’d get the hint and rip off her jeans the same way as he had her shirt. Instead, he stopped what he was doing and laughed.

“Patience, beautiful.”

And then he smiled, and Haley forgot how much her clit was pulsing. She could only pay attention to his perfect white teeth that she had to lick at this very moment. So that’s what she did. He responded by biting her lip, causing pain to shoot through her mouth, and then he passionately kissed her. His lips were intoxicating, just like the man himself.

Livvie put down her pen and stared out her kitchen window. Maybe it wasn’t such a smart idea, starting with a sex scene. Running her hands through her un-brushed hair, she was admiring the prettiness of her neighbors’ front yard flowers when something strange caught her eye. She went to get up to take a closer look, and in doing so, she moved too quickly. Her chair slid back across the hardwood floor, and fell with a thump, loud enough to make her jump. There was a man pacing in front of her house, but when he saw her looking at him, he ran behind the nearest tree. Who the hell was he? Completely freaked out, Livvie ran into her bedroom and threw on a pair of jeans, a sports bra, and her pink tank top. When she ran back to the window, the man was no longer there, but her intuition told her something was wrong. And with her new fresh start in life, she was going to start listening to her intuition more. Livvie opened the door and stepped outside.

“Livvie Collins?”

The man stepped out from the side of her house, and Livvie screamed.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Hey, hey, hey, calm down. It’s okay.”

The man looked to be well over six feet tall. He was wearing jeans and a white t-shirt, and to say he had big arm muscles was an understatement. Livvie thought he was a nice-looking man, more the rugged type. Not rugged like her novel character, Blake. Blake oozed confidence and sexuality. This man wasn’t oozing anything.

“I’ll ask you once more before I call the police. Who are you, and why are you stalking my house?” If men were going to make a habit of stalking her, she would need to take that self-defense class, after all. Walking around clutching her cellphone all the time would not solve her problems.

The stranger with extremely dark eyes walked toward her.

“If you come any closer, I’m calling the police; I mean it.” Livvie’s heart was thudding.

Luckily, the man stopped walking and ran his hands through his dark-brown hair.

“I’m supposed to watch you,” the stranger said while looking at her house and then her neighbor’s house…anywhere but straight in her eyes.

One thing she had learned as a child was that anyone who can’t look you in the eye, should either not be trusted or they were hiding something. Livvie thought that in his case it was both.

“Says who?” Livvie said with more confidence than she was feeling.

“Says your guardian angel,” the man said, a little too smugly.

Okay, Livvie didn’t like this. If he didn’t start talking in one more minute, she would call the police, and that would only make it more awkward between her and the neighbors.

Livvie placed her hands on her hips. “Start talking, mister.”

“I wasn’t paid to talk to you.” He mimicked her by placing his hands on his hips.

“So this is how you’re going to play it.” She lifted her cellphone and started dialing Carly’s number but pretended she was calling the police. If she called the cops, she would add even more drama to her life, and right now, that’s not what she wanted.

“Okay, stop,” the man shouted.

“There’s no need to yell at me.” Livvie stopped dialing. Thank goodness she had only pressed two numbers. The last thing she wanted was to get her best friend involved in whatever this was.

“Look, I’m supposed to watch you to make sure you’re safe.”

“Okay, but who’s paying you?” Livvie had a feeling she knew, but she needed to hear it directly from this stranger.

“The man who’s paying me wanted to remain anonymous.” This time, the man did look her straight in the eyes, and his gaze was filled with what looked like panic.

“And is the man who’s paying you a nice man?”

“Put it this way, I’ve worked for him on and off for years. He’s an honest guy who always seems to get what he wants.”

“And how do you know he always gets what he wants?” she asked.

“Because he said that if you found out he hired me, you’d get all mad. He then said that no matter how mad you got, there was no way you’d win this one.”

“Win what?”

“I’m your new bodyguard. My name is Mitch. Nice to meet you.” Mitch held out his hand, as if she would actually take it.

“And why do I need a bodyguard?”

Looking offended, Mitch rubbed his hand down his jeans. “Because some guy named Zachary Kagin tried to assault you at two o’clock in the morning.”

“And so Drake decided he needed to be my knight in shining armor?”

“Hey, lady, you said his name, not me.”

“Look, Mitch, one way or the other, you’re not watching me, so either Drake is going to fire you, or I am.” Livvie ran her hands through her hair.

“You can’t fire me because you didn’t hire me,” Mitch said, sounding a little too cocky.

“Listen, mister cocky asshole…”

“Hey, you don’t even know me. Don’t take out your hatred for Mr. Morganthal on me.”

Livvie looked up at the sky and groaned. Did all of his employees call him Mr. Morganthal? “Look, I don’t want you watching me. I also don’t want to call Drake, but apparently, I have no choice.” Livvie didn’t want to call Drake after what happened at two o’clock in the morning, so she decided to send him a text instead.

Fire Mitch. Now! She typed.

No. His response came quickly.

Livvie groaned again and stomped her foot. YES! I DON’T NEED OR WANT A BODYGUARD! She shouted at him in all caps.

TOO BAD. WHEN YOU BEHAVE LIKE AN ADULT, I WILL TREAT YOU LIKE ONE. SINCE YOU REFUSE TO COME TO ME, I’VE SENT SOMEONE TO YOU.

Livvie sighed. She knew she wouldn’t win this battle, so she would have to figure out a way to make Mitch quit. And she hated that Drake kept offering her to return to Napa. It’s not like he was offering her a commitment. What Drake didn’t realize was that she was done listening to men. She was taking charge of her life. In all areas.

She unlocked the caps button and typed: Fine. Thank you for the bodyguard and for your concern.

You’re very welcome, he responded.

Perfect, thought Livvie. What could she say to that? He was probably sitting in his big leather chair in his office, feeling all smug and thinking he had won. Livvie glanced at Mitch, who was shifting on his feet, definitely more arrogant than confident. Besides, how good of a bodyguard was he? She needed to figure out a way to deal with him, but now was not the time. She had a novel to write.

“Okay, suit yourself. But I’m not inviting you into my house for coffee or even water, for that matter.” Livvie turned around and stormed into her house. “Oh, and Mitch?” she said before she slammed her door shut. “Please call me Olivia. You haven’t earned the right to call me Livvie.”

Mitch raised his eyebrow. “Oh, and Drake Morganthal has?”

“No. He calls me Olivia, too.” She slammed the door before he made another snide comment.

At least she’d had the last word. That was a start. And as far as she was concerned, the game was on. Apparently, Drake didn’t think she could take care of herself. She was sick and tired of men thinking they could control her. When they wanted to spend time with her, they did, and when they didn’t, they ignored her. And they would go on to the next woman, as if she hadn’t given them her heart and soul.

Livvie grabbed her cell and called Carly, who answered on the first ring.

“Hey, Carly, meet me at Le Club at nine. We have some work to do.”

“I can’t wait!” Carly squealed with excitement before hanging up.

Livvie ran to her closet to look for something sexy to wear for the night. After all, this was the first night of her fresh, new life.