Alex took her elbow and gently turned them back toward her house. “Then that’s where we’re headed.”

“I didn’t get much fresh air.”

He started them walking. “The spa is full of fresh air. They probably import it from the Alps.”

She laughed. She knew he was taking care of her, and it was sweet beyond words. Thomas had never been that way. Maybe in the beginning a little bit, but it certainly hadn’t lasted. Alex was such a different man. If she wasn’t careful, she might fall for him.

Without thinking, she looped her arm through his. She stiffened as soon as she realized what she’d done. She started to slip her arm back.

But he tightened his arm against his body, keeping her from completely breaking the connection. He smiled and gave her a look that felt like he was telling her he had her back.

She relaxed and let it be. She realized for the first time that she never felt she had to be on alert around Alex. Her years with Thomas had conditioned her to watch him for mood swings and the telltale signs that a rage was coming on. But Alex was easy to be around, and it was nice. No, it was more than nice, it was like breathing again after being held under water for far too long.

That alone caused some of her tension to slip away. With friends like Alex and Delaney at her side, she was going to be all right. She knew that. The divorce and the book would both be done eventually, and as time went on, she’d get the rest of her boxes unpacked, and life would smooth out. It just would. No one stayed overwhelmed forever.

She hoped.

Part of not being overwhelmed was sharing some of the burden. It was high time that Roxy learned to let go of some of the smaller stuff. Easier said than done, but Em, her assistant, was more than capable.

Roxy just had to loosen her grip on the things that weren’t as critical.

“Lost in thought over there?”

“A little. Sorry.” She looked up at Alex. His profile was essentially flawless. Almost feline in the way his cheekbones and brow were shaped. Diego had the same characteristics, so it was clearly a family thing. On Diego, the results were pretty, which probably fed his confidence. Unfortunately. On Alex, they gave him a rugged handsomeness that went from warm and welcoming to guy-you-wouldn’t-want-to-mess-with, depending on his smile.

“Don’t apologize. I know you have a lot on your mind.”

She’d have less to worry about it if she shared with him what Thomas had been up to. And Alex was a cop. He might have some advice on how to deal with all this nonsense. They stopped at her drive. “Can you come in for a minute?”

“Sure.” He followed her up to the door.

She unlocked it, let him in, then locked it again.

“What’s up?”

Without a word, she walked past him and into the kitchen where she went up on her tiptoes and felt around on top of the fridge until she found the note she’d thrown up there. She snagged the envelope, then plopped it on the counter. “This is what’s up. My ex sent this. And yesterday, he left a rose on my car.”

In a half-second, Alex went from friendly neighbor to cop on the job. It wasn’t something easy to explain, but everything about him went hard: his stance, his expression, the look in his eyes. “When did you get this?”

“You brought it over on Saturday.”

“What made you keep it? And the envelope?”

She shrugged. “I’m a writer. We always think in worst-case scenarios. So, you know, in case I turned up dead and you had to dust it for prints or something—”

“Are you serious?” A feral light shone in his eyes. “Do you think that’s a possibility?”

“I was joking.” She stared at the note. “Kind of. Thomas does have a temper.”

“Do you still have the rose?”

Had Alex just…growled? No, of course not. She was just projecting the reactions of one of her romance heroes onto a real man. That was silly. “No, I put it in the garbage can.”

“Any note with that?”

“No.”

“Why do you think he’d do these things? What’s his end game?”

“Maybe he’s trying to intimidate me about the divorce. I was the one who left him, so him ‘losing control of me’ probably did some serious damage to his macho image. If he could get me to drop the divorce, he could spin that into me begging him to take me back because I couldn’t live without him…you get the picture.”

A growl, a real one this time, rumbled out of Alex’s throat and turned into a curse. “Give me his full name, current address and phone numbers. I’ll see what I can find out about what’s going on with him and whether he’s in town or knows anyone in town, other than you. Anything else happens, anything, you tell me okay?”

She nodded, the rare sensation of being protected sweeping through her. He really cared what happened to her. She went up on her tiptoes for the second time that day, but this time it was to reach something far more interesting.

Alex’s mouth.

She meant the kiss to be a brief thank-you. But the moment their lips met, the heat of him seared into her, and brief was forgotten.

He sucked in a surprised breath, his hands coming up to grasp her shoulders. The growl she’d heard out of him before resounded, this time deeper and softer, like an engine starting up in the distance.

It was strangely encouraging to have that sort of effect on a man. She flattened her hands on his chest. His very solid, broad chest. And kissed him harder.