I must be doing a great job of acting as if nothing’s wrong, because Travis seems just as careless as ever while loosening his tie. It’s as if he wants to pretend everything is fine between us, even after he left on such a cold note the other night.

Meanwhile, I’m struggling to keep the pain and guilt from my mom’s phone call at bay. I smile at Travis, but he tilts his head, his gaze reading me.

That’s all it takes.

My smile falters and an oncoming sob shakes me. I wave my hand in front of my chest in an attempt to keep myself together. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” he asks, frowning.

“For…” Tears leak out of my eyes, and I abruptly wipe them away. “For getting emotional like this. So dumb. I promise I’ll pull it together in a second.”

He keeps watching me. He hired me because he didn’t want to deal with sloppy entanglements when it comes to women, so I don’t know if he’s about to leave because I’m suddenly such a mess or if he’s about to come over and soothe me.

I can’t stand the idea of the first option, so I decide to take the easy route and dance around the worst of my problems. It’s better than telling him everything about my awful home life.

Drawing on the last of my strength, I perform what has to be the world’s least convincing shrug. “I’m just hitting a wall because it’s lonely here.” My voice wobbles. “And I’m confused about why you’ve stayed away, that’s all. I’ll get over it.”

Okay, I’m telling the truth, but not the entire truth. My other reasons run far deeper than this, and if he were to hear about my home situation, I’m sure he’d drop me for being too complicated, too much to deal with.

Another sob wells within me at his silence, and I’m forced to admit that his absence does matter a hell of a lot. It hurts, and I push back the sadness of this reality, but it’s too late. I’m already crying again, dammit.

Turning my back on him, I try to compose myself, but then I hear his footsteps on the lush carpet. I feel him push my hair to one side, then stroke my bare neck.

“I’m going to make it up to you, Nova,” he says, his voice taut, but there’s an undercurrent there that I can’t identify.

Are my tears affecting him?

I stifle my grief, because I’m just now realizing that he hasn’t kicked me out yet.

He leans his forehead on top of my head, his words warming me. “We’ll go out tonight. You just tell me what you want to eat, what you want to do. That should cheer you up.”

Now I feel like an even bigger mess. He’s being nice to me for some reason. But how can I tell him that going out is the last thing I want?

My mind is frozen by thoughts of Gary and how any day he could snap and decide that he doesn’t want to hold back his temper with Mom and Tate after all. The thought of going out on a spending spree when I need the money for my family makes me ill, and I give myself over to new tears. They spill out of me as I bury my face in my hands, not wanting Travis to see.

As sobs wrack me, Travis gently turns me around to face him. I can’t look up at him though. I only stumble toward a chair and sink into it to avoid him.

“Nova.” He follows me, and through my tears I see him standing there with his fists clenched by his sides. Then he unclenches his fists and gets to a knee, resting his hands on my legs. “Goddammit, what’s really wrong?” he says impatiently.

I swallow and shake my head. He blows out a breath, lowers his head, then looks at me straight on. I suddenly remember that I didn’t put on makeup after my shower today, and I avert my gaze. Some trophy date I am.

“Beautiful,” he says, reaching out to me and running his finger under my chin until I’m looking at him. “Give me the truth. That’s how it is between us, and that’s how it must stay.”

I nod, still fighting the burn in my throat and chest. It feels as if I’ve downed a sharp cocktail of despair. He deserves the truth, and dear god, I just want to tell someone about my problem, even if it’s the last person who should know.

Fear makes my heart race as I measure his mood. “Remember how I told you about my dad Gary?”

“The domineering asshole who didn’t want you to go to college and wouldn’t let you date?”

“Yeah.” My breath shakes as I exhale. “But things are even worse than all that.”

His grip tightens on my legs. “How much worse?”

It’s as if Travis’s question has opened a floodgate, and everything gushes out: how my lazy, crazy dad sits in front of the TV feeding his military and police delusions of grandeur. How he collects weapons and takes karate and jiu-jitsu. How he’s a big, strong, scary-looking beast who rules the family through intimidation, threats, and occasionally even physical or emotional violence. How he’s really pissed off now and I’m afraid for my mom and brother and, god, how I wish I could get them out of Harrisburg as soon as possible with the money I’m going to get from the Highest Bidder website.

By the time I’m done, Travis is gripping the skirt of my peignoir. He slowly loosens his fingers, all while watching me with a gaze that’s turned the color of a dark, flawed emerald. There’s turbulence in there, and I’m not sure if I’m more afraid of Gary or what Travis might want to do to him right now.

“Has that bastard ever touched you?” he asks.

“He’s pushed us around, given us some bruises on our arms from squeezing them too hard when he wants his way. But he’s never done anything beyond that.”

The unsaid word yet hangs in the air.

I inhale, and the breath hitches in me until I calm myself down. “And I’m not just upset because of my mom’s call. I’m an awful person for leaving her and my brother like I did, but I needed the money to get them out. Jeez, maybe they needed me to stay there more than anything…”

“So none of you would have the means to escape? Fuck that.”

Travis’s jaw is tight as he wipes the tears from my face with his fingers. Then he rests his palm against my cheek, using his thumb to erase the last of the moisture from my skin. With a flood of warmth, I lean against him and close my eyes, relieved that things haven’t turned into the nightmare I expected.

I think I hear a low sound, almost like a growl, come from Travis, but when I open my eyes, he stands up. He walks across the room toward my nightstand, where a bottle of water I’ve been drinking from waits. He brings it to me.

My mouth is dry, the saliva thick from my crying, and I gulp some of the liquid down. Meanwhile, his gaze is still murky with shadows.

“Before anything else, there’s something I want from you, Nova,” he says.

I don’t know what to do except whisper, “What do you want?”

He runs his hand through his dark hair then says, “All I want from you is your mother’s name, the name of her bank, and her account information.”

I stare at him, dumbfounded.

He begins to loosen his tie as he takes his phone out of his pocket with his other hand. “I’m going to take care of this immediately.”

A sense of absolute gratefulness washes through me. Am I hearing him right? “If you want my mom’s information, that means you’re going to—”

“Deposit money in her account so she and your brother can get the hell out of there. That’s precisely what I’m doing.”

I want to cry again, this time with a relief so profound that I’m afraid I’ll flood the room with my tears. But I don’t. I only smile at him as he glances up from his phone screen.

I must be looking at him as if he’s a knight in shining armor, because his expression hardens. “It’s nothing anyone else wouldn’t do. Now contact your mom and get those details.”

He’s ordering me around again, but I can’t overlook his concern for me. The cold billionaire does have a heart, I think. He really does care, even if I’m only his latest charity event.

But could it be there’s more to it? Maybe…

I keep smiling at him. “Thank you, Travis.”

He gives me a clipped nod, then returns his attention to his phone. He starts to walk out of the room, but he stops and addresses me without looking back.

All business again.

“This frees you up to go out tonight, so after you get a hold of your mom, let me know which restaurant you want to dine at and then… Well, the sky’s the limit, but you already know that.”

He’s talking around his kindness, as if hoping I didn’t notice it.

“What do you want me to wear?” I ask.

The question seems to throw him off, and this time he does look back at me. He’s frowning, but it’s not in the bewildered way that I often bring out in him. He’s genuinely perplexed, maybe at the way my woman’s mind works.

I laugh a little. “I thought you’d want to have some say in how I’ll look, just like always.”

A beat passes, and something in his gaze flickers before it disappears, as usual.

“Surprise me,” he says.

Then he’s out the door, but it’s not for good this time. I know he’s not going anywhere tonight without me, and as I rise from my chair to get my phone and call Mom, I feel myself glowing.

My reluctant knight in shining armor, I think again. The man I’m falling for against all my better judgment.