Sarah waited in the hallway, just out of view from Tyler’s room. It was silly, but she’d been unable to do anything except spy on them all evening long.

Zane had followed through on his “scary” story for Tyler by telling him a story about animated barnyard animals. He’d made it scary in a very non-scary way. Which Sarah had been surprised at. Clever. Very clever.

He was telling Tyler good night, but Tyler said, “No.” She recognized that whiny, tired voice, and she peered closer in time to see Tyler reaching out to Zane.

Zane paused at the door. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Wait. Are you really homeless?”

The fact her son was worried about it and how much she knew Zane would hate it made Sarah smile.

Zane went back to Tyler’s bed and crouched down, taking his hand. “Well, I’m living here for the time being, so no, I’m not homeless.”

It mystified her to watch the easy way Tyler and Zane had taken to each other. It felt so natural, like they had always been part of each other’s lives.

“Are you homeless most of the time?” Tyler asked.

His voice was so sweet and pure that Sarah felt a pang of guilt at even suggesting the idea. Not one of her finer parent moments.

Zane whispered something in Tyler’s ear that made him giggle, then stood and gently put a hand on his head. “Night, future frogman. Remember, the only easy day was yesterday.”

It made her smile to hear the SEAL motto. Zane had said that to her nearly every day in high school.

Zane came out of the room, gently tugging the door halfway closed.

Their eyes met, and the familiar flutters were back. They were relentless around this man. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling at him. He’d just put her kid to bed and had been truly amazing at it. She wondered if she would ever get used to him being in such close proximity to her.

A thought dawned on her about how he’d called her son future frogman. “Is that tattoo on your back a frog?” The question was out before she could stop it.

A slight smile played at his lips. “Yep.”

All the facts Zane had told her about BUDS training were coming back to her. “And you and your BUDS team all have the tattoos, and the number is your number. 266.”

“Yeah, it is. Got it right after …” He broke off.

And she knew. He got it after they had ended.

“Can we talk for a minute?” he asked quietly.

Wanting to say no, she simply nodded and walked down the hallway. She went back into the living room and stood next to the French doors.

Neither of them sat, and she felt the usual tension between them ratchet up a notch.

“Look,” he said, leaning back and crossing his arms. “I know today has been a long day, but we need to get some things straight. Your security and Tyler’s security are my top priority. So let’s talk about tomorrow’s schedule.”

Feeling a bit put on the spot, her mind flitted to her calendar. “I drop Tyler off at school at eight-thirty. I have three appointments with new clients tomorrow.”

“I’m going to need to follow you to Tyler’s school.” He looked troubled. “I guess no one has bothered him at school at this point, so he can go, but we might have to go in and talk to the administration staff to be sure he’s safe. Also, I’ll need to come with you to your client meetings.”

This was feeling a bit extreme. “No, I’m just going to meet them at the coffee shop and go through what they want in a partner. You don’t need to come.”

He scowled. “Where did you get these clients?”

“What?” This felt invasive.

“I still need your client list, and I need to know where all clients are referred from. Website, other clients, we need to make sure we know who is a possible suspect for breaking in,” Zane said.

She knew that this was an extreme situation, but she didn’t like the idea of handing over her client list. And she really didn’t like the idea of him being with her all day tomorrow.

He put up a finger like he’d just thought of something. “Also, who do you leave Tyler with? I’ll need to run a background check on them.”

Now he was really putting her on the spot. “Mrs. Morris, an older widow down the street. She won’t need a background check.” Sarah stomped her foot, feeling like a two-year-old. “She has been watching him for almost two years.”

Zane shook his head, his jaw tightening like he’d already decided it. “Everyone gets a background check.”

She wanted to fight back, but his phone buzzed. He pulled it out, putting up a hand. “Sorry, I need to check something at your door.” He went to the door and flung it open.

She couldn’t see who was there, but she did hear a female voice. They were whispering, and she couldn’t stop herself from wandering over.

“I didn’t realize you would be coming tonight,” Zane said, holding the door with one hand and standing in the middle of the doorway.

“Hey, I need to be kept in the loop,” the female voice said. “You haven’t been communicating, and I’ve been texting you for the last hour.”

He gestured back. “I’ve been putting her kid to bed, okay? I didn’t know you would just come over here. I don’t think that’s cool. I don’t really want Sarah feeling weird about this.”

“About what?” Sarah said, moving into the foyer.

Zane let go of the door and stepped back, giving her a view of the woman. A beautiful woman, if truth be told. She was tall and wore black pants, heels, a T-shirt, and a leather jacket. The kicker truly was the platinum blonde hair and the red lipstick that gave her a Marilyn Monroe vibe.

Sarah couldn’t believe it. She felt just like she had all those years ago on the cross-country team when she’d come upon Zane kissing Megan Sanders after practice. Later, she’d discovered Megan had just grabbed him and gone for it, but still.

Pushing a hand through his hair, Zane let out a light laugh and then pointed at Sarah. “This is not a Megan Sanders situation at all.”

It annoyed her that he knew exactly what she was thinking. Even more so, it annoyed her that she was thinking it at all. She crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow, hating how she was feeling possessive of Zane. “Fine, then who is she?” Eyeing the woman, she said, “Mind you, I only care because this is my home and he is a guest in my home.”

Zane laughed again, and this time, it sounded nervous. “Just hold up, Sarah.” He moved to her side and touched her lightly on the forearm.

She yanked her arm back. “Just tell me who is showing up at my house this late at night.” Dang it, she was jealous.

The woman gave her an up-and-down look and scoffed. She turned away, looking bored. “I just work with him, lady. Chill.”

Lady? Lady? Since when was she called lady? The word felt like a slap to the face and made her feel old. And motherly. She didn’t like the tone either.

Zane moved between them. “Sarah, this is Cheryse. She works for my private investigation company.”

The woman gave him a doubtful look, then shrugged. “Sure.”

The way she said “sure” made Sarah feel like it was a lie.

Zane rushed on. “I have some other clients she needed to brief me about.”

The blonde shifted her gaze back to Sarah and gave her a challenging look. “Yes.” Her voice had turned to satin. “I need to brief Mr. Kent on a situation. A confidential situation.”

Sarah’s heart raced and she rushed away, feeling like an idiot for acting like that just now. An idiot for kissing him earlier. An idiot for all the crazy attraction she’d felt for the man for her entire life!