My favorite thing about art galleries was always the lighting. I did enjoy looking at the art, and attending exhibitions with Jessica had increased my appreciation for it. But there was something about the lighting. Soft, casting subtle shadows. Illuminating the pieces to show off their best features. It created a mood, like music does for a movie. Without the right lighting, an art gallery was just a room with paintings.

Blake had suggested the gallery exhibition when I’d mentioned Jessica’s idea to go on a double date. He knew the gallery owners, and had offered to get us tickets to the event. It had definitely earned him a few extra Jessica-points. She’d still subjected him to the third degree during dinner. He’d taken it in stride. Her patented eyebrow arch hadn’t done anything to shake his confident demeanor.

It was me who was uncomfortable.

From the moment Blake had picked me up at my house, I’d sensed something was different. On our first few dates, he’d been friendly and courteous. Tonight, he was bordering on aggressive.

Nothing he’d done so far had been inappropriate, really. A lot of touching. A hand on my back or my arm. He’d moved my hair over my shoulder once or twice. And there was an intensity in his eyes. It all said that he was ready to take this to the next level. That tonight, he didn’t expect the date to end at the art gallery.

If it had been another man, I might have found it all very arousing. Jessica had clearly noticed and gave me knowing smiles from across the table. But I wasn’t getting pleasant tingles of anticipation. It was making me jumpy and nervous.

And I couldn’t stop thinking about William.

I wondered if he knew where I was tonight. What book he’d bought earlier. What he did other days of the week. Did he always bring the homeless man a sandwich on Fridays? And what did he do for a living? His apartment was in a nice building, so it couldn’t be cheap.

Blake’s gentle hand on my elbow steered me to the next painting and I blinked, coming back to reality. Jessica and Peter had wandered off together, but I could see them across the gallery. I took small sips of champagne from a fluted glass as we moved, taking our time to admire each piece. Soft classical music played in the background and people spoke in low voices, like in a library. It was all very smart and sophisticated, and I felt guilty for not paying better attention to my surroundings.

“What do you think of this one?” Blake gestured with his champagne glass toward a painting of a cliff with ocean waves breaking against it.

“It’s beautiful.” I took a quick sip of champagne and tried to think of something else to say. Something that would bring my mind to the present. To my date. “There’s such a sense of movement in the water.”

“Powerful. It’s almost violent, don’t you think?” His fingers lingered on my elbow, giving me a light caress.

I thought about pulling away, but he dropped his hand. “Yes. Very powerful.”

“Callahan.”

We both turned at the voice behind us. A man in a dark suit stood with a glass of red wine perched in his hand. He was attractive and businesslike, with a smooth jaw and hair that looked like he’d just had it cut.

He looked a lot like Blake.

“Darrington,” Blake said, shaking his hand. “Ivy, this is Samuel Darrington. He used to be one of my colleagues at Dorset, until he got too full of himself and went elsewhere.”

I offered my hand and he took it. For a second, I thought he might bring it to his lips, but his eyes flicked to Blake and he simply shook it gently.

“Ivy Nichols,” I said. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” Samuel said.

Blake cleared his throat. “Dr. Ivy Nichols. She’s being modest.”

“Oh?” Samuel asked.

“I’m a literature professor,” I said. “I teach at Woodward College.”

“Impressive,” Samuel said, but I wasn’t sure if he meant he was impressed with me, or impressed that Blake was with me. He turned to Blake. “So are you in for next week?”

“Now isn’t the time,” Blake said.

Samuel took a sip of his wine. “Just wondering if you want to keep playing with the big boys.”

Blake’s eyes narrowed and there was an edge to his voice. “I’ll be there.”

“Good,” Samuel said. His tone was relaxed, but there was a tightness around his eyes that didn’t match his casual response. “Did you get my invitation?”

“I did,” Blake said.

“And you’ll come?” he asked, then looked at me again. “I’m throwing a little housewarming party in my new place. You should see the view. It’s incredible.”

“I’m sure it is,” Blake said before I could respond. “We’ll be there.”

“Great.” Samuel leaned closer to Blake and said something in a low voice. Blake’s face was a hard mask. Samuel stepped back and both men’s expressions smoothed over, like the interaction hadn’t happened. Samuel took my hand, and this time he did place a light kiss on the backs of my fingers. “Ivy, it was an absolute pleasure. You two enjoy your evening.”

Samuel walked away, and I got the sense there was some sort of rivalry between them. I didn’t like feeling as if I were a piece on a game board that Samuel had just attempted to steal. And why had Blake said we would be at this housewarming party? We weren’t a couple who automatically did things together.

“Keep playing with the big boys?” I asked. “What was that about?”

Blake ran a hand down my arm. “Sorry about that. He was talking about our monthly poker night; he takes it way too seriously. Samuel is… interesting. But he’s harmless.”

I didn’t believe that for one second. Samuel seemed about as harmless as a hungry shark. “Why did you tell him we’d be at his housewarming party?”

“Well, if we’re both free, it would be good to make an appearance,” he said. “We won’t have to stay long.”

That wasn’t the answer I was looking for. Everything about this evening was making me uncomfortable. I set my champagne glass down on a little table. “Excuse me for a moment. I need to go to the ladies’ room.”

Blake licked his lips and looked at me like I was on his own personal dessert menu. “Sure. Hurry back.”

My stomach felt uneasy as I walked away. I found Jessica and hooked my arm with hers.

“Restroom?”

She startled a little but nodded. “Okay. Peter, I’ll be right back.”

The restroom was single occupant, but I dragged her inside with me anyway.

“What’s going on?” she asked once I’d closed and locked the door.

“I don’t know,” I said. “Blake just had a strange conversation with someone he knows. Then he said we’d be at some housewarming party without even asking me. And he’s looking at me like…”

“Like he’s thinking about taking that little black dress off your cute little body?” Jessica asked.

“Yes, exactly.”

Jessica sighed. “And what’s wrong with that? Don’t you want the man you’re dating to look at you like he wants you?”

“I’m not dating Blake,” I said. “That’s not what this is. This is just…”

“Just what?” Jessica asked.

“Just a date,” I said. “There’s a difference.”

“Okay,” Jessica said. “Does he realize that?”

I crossed my arms. “I don’t know, and that’s the problem. I’m not sure if I like where this is going.”

“What do you need, honey?” she asked. “You want me to sneak you out? I can have Peter distract him.”

“No,” I said. “I’ll handle it. I just want you to tell me I’m not crazy.”

“You’re not crazy,” she said. “But are you sure you’re not balking because he obviously likes you, and you’re scared of what that means?”

I sighed out a long breath. It was a fair question. “Maybe? I don’t know.”

“What’s going on with you?” she asked. “You’ve been distracted all night.”

“You’re right, I have been,” I said. “I just have some other things on my mind.”

“Well, if you’re distracted, maybe that’s why the date feels a little off to you.” She gave me her signature maternal smile. “He’s not Julian. It’s okay to let someone get close to you again. Not every guy is going to bail at the first sign of trouble.”

“I know.”

“Blake obviously likes you,” she said. “If you’re not ready for things to heat up, just tell him. But don’t make this about Julian, or your dad, or anything else.”

I took a deep breath. Talking to Jess was calming me down. Yes, his conversation with Samuel had been a little odd, but maybe the undercurrent of antagonism I sensed was just typical male banter. And maybe Blake had accepted the invitation for both of us because he expected we were going to keep seeing each other. After all, he didn’t know I was having doubts.

“I’m sorry, I just got a funny feeling and kind of panicked.”

“You’re doing fine,” she said. “But if you’re really uncomfortable, Peter and I can take you home.”

“No, I think I’m okay.”

“Then get out of here or I’m going to pee in front of you,” she said.

I laughed and went back out to find Blake.