As soon as we arrive at Lance’s villa, he heads straight upstairs to Rose’s room. I remain downstairs, pretending I need something to drink. In truth, I’m looking for a few minutes away from him. I totally underestimated how much he knows me. I should be more careful if I don’t want my secrets to be exposed—if I don’t want to lose him.

I walk into the kitchen, switch on the lights, and open the fridge. The cool air touches my skin as my mind drifts off. Then I catch myself and force my mind to return to the present. I have to stop this. I have to pull myself together.

I take out the bottle of fizzy water, but as I pour myself a glass, guilt gnaws at my insides. I feel guilty for drinking Lance’s water, for being in his home, surrounded by his things. I feel guilty for being in his life. I don’t belong here. If he had known who I was, there’s no way he would have let me into his world.

I drink the water slowly, taking my time. The cool stream slides down my throat to my stomach, allowing it to cool my insides. During our drive to the villa, I had considered asking Lance to drop me off at my place, but I need to spend as much time with him as possible, to reassure him of my love.

Left with no more reasons to remain downstairs, I climb the stairs one at a time. I want to get to the top, but at the same time, I don’t. What I most want to do is walk out the door, to find a place to hide. But if Lance finds me gone, he’d get suspicious.

He’s already in his bedroom, sprawled out on his massive bed, hands clasped behind his head, peering at me through his thick lashes. I shiver at the intensity of his gaze. It feels as though he can see right through me, as though he can read my thoughts and see my fears.

“Ready to finish what we started?”

“Sure.” I run a hand through my hair, loosening the knots. “After I give Rose a good night kiss.”

“Funny thing.” He gives me a dimpled smile. “She’s out like a light. Apparently, she fell asleep five minutes after I talked to Luisa.”

I shake my head with a chuckle. “That’s all right. I’ll go give her a kiss anyway. Wherever she is in dreamland, maybe she’ll still feel it.” I turn to walk back out the door.

“Jia,” Lance calls. I turn around.

“You’re so good with her,” he says. “She loves you so much.”

“The feeling is mutual.” I reach for the doorknob. “I’ll be right back.”

I take my time walking through the hallway toward Rose’s room. At first, I come to stand at her door, wondering what I’m doing. Lance was right that Rose is attached to me. What if things don’t work out between him and me? How would she react to never seeing me again? What if she hates me for what I did? Maybe the best thing for me to do is to keep a distance from her. But that, too, would raise questions in Lance’s mind. I have to keep going, to keep pretending I’m the person they think I am.

I open the door and stand in the dark, listening to Rose snoring softly. The sound of her breathing is calming. I send up a quick prayer to the god I’m not even sure exists. I pray that no matter what happens between Lance and me, Rose will get to live a happy, untroubled life. I pray she never has to live with the weight of a dark secret on her shoulders.

The room is so big that it takes several steps for me to reach her princess bed. I sink down onto the edge, my hands between my knees, my eyes closed. I continue to listen to her gentle sleeping sounds. Then I open my eyes to look at her small frame. I place a hand on her head, her soft hair curling around my hand. I keep it there to draw in her warmth and comfort.

I lean down and plant a kiss on her cheek. My lips linger there for a moment longer than necessary. When she stirs, I sneak out of the room before I wake her.

I find Lance still on the bed, but this time he’s naked.

My gaze runs down his strong chest and settles on his erection. “That’s risky. What if I’d brought Rose to sleep with us?”

He points to the baby monitor on his nightstand. “If she were awake, I would have heard her talking.”

“True.” I allow a smile to warm my heart. As I walk to the bed, I force myself to forget what had happened at The LaClaire and take my time getting undressed.

Lance’s gaze sweeps across my naked body. My body heats up in response. It’s so sexy to know he only has eyes for me.

“Come here. I need to fuck you.”

“Yes, sir.” I climb under the sheets, where he turns me away from him and slides in from behind.

When it’s all over, and Lance has his arms tight around me in the darkness, my tears come. I close my eyes, begging for sleep to take over, but an image of the man from the restaurant flashes behind my eyelids.

I open my eyes again and stare into the darkness. I wait for Lance to fall asleep, my heart pounding wildly in my chest. Once he is snoring softly like Rose had done, I lift his arm from my body and slide out of bed.

I tiptoe to the bathroom, my phone in my hand, and lock the door. I had switched it off before leaving the ladies room at the restaurant. When I switch it back on, I’m not surprised to find fifteen missed calls—all from the same number.

Beads of sweat push through my skin and join to form rivers flowing down my temples. I lower myself onto the lip of the tub. I want to call the number, to tell Kirk to leave me alone, but that might be a bad idea. For all I know, Lance could have woken up and is on the other side of the door.

I draw in a few deep breaths and lift my phone to my ear to listen to one of the voice messages.

His voice thunders through the line, raspy from years of smoking.

“Alana, it’s me. We need to talk. Call me back. If you don’t—”

I switch off the phone before I hear the rest of the message. The phone falls from my slippery hand onto the bathroom rug. I bring my hand to my mouth, and for the first time in years, I start to chew my nails again. I’ve been such a fool to think the past wouldn’t catch up with me. Since I haven’t prepared for his return to my life, I have no idea how to protect myself from him.

My phone vibrates to life, and I almost jump out of my skin.

A sigh of relief floods from me when I see Grace’s smiling face on the screen. I consider not picking up, but what if Grace’s call is a sign that I should confide in her? Maybe I should come clean. She might be able to help me.

I answer the call.

“Jia, sweetie, I’m so sorry. Were you sleeping?”

“I … no. I’m fine.”

There’s a pause on the other end. “Oh, sorry to call so late. We just got home. I wanted to see if you’re feeling better.”

“I ... Yeah.” I grip the phone tighter, forcing myself to say something more. “I’m okay.”

“Is the headache gone?”

I swallow hard. “I’m fine,” I say again, unable to come up with more words.

“Jia, are you sure you’re all right? You sound upset. Did something happen?”

I nod my head, but the word ‘yes’ doesn’t leave my lips. “No,” I say instead. I pull in a breath. “Everything is great. I… I’m great.”

“Wonderful. Will you make it to Unique Bridal tomorrow?”

I lay a hand on my forehead. “Unique Bridal?”

“Yeah.” Grace sounds confused. “Brooke and I are going to try on our bridesmaid dresses. You wanted to come.”

“Oh, yes, sure. I’ll be there. Goodnight.”

I’m glad I didn’t confide in Grace. She’s a LaClaire. She wouldn’t feel comfortable keeping a secret from Bryant, who would tell Lance immediately. It would be unfair of me to ask Grace to betray her family.

I have no choice but to deal with Kirk Dillon all by myself.

I switch off my phone and go back to bed.