Felicity stood at the foot of the large bed in the hotel suite, a towel wrapped around her body and hair wet. Her skin was warm from the shower, but it hadn’t erased the chill from within. She opened her bag on the bed and sifted through her clothes until she found underwear and slipped them on. Her hands paused as they touched the black T-shirt of Jared’s. She lifted it to her face, burying her nose in the soft cotton again. It carried a hint of him, just enough to make her heart shudder. She slipped the shirt over her body and let the towel drop to the floor.

A small flashing green dot on her cell phone caught her eye from where it lay a few inches away from her bag on the bed. She flipped it open and saw three missed calls from Layla and one from Jared…and a voicemail.

I shouldn’t…

She pressed the Play button and lifted it to her ear.

Jared’s voice, rough with pain that came through as he spoke and ripped her heart into even tinier pieces. “Princess, you need to come home to me, please.”

If only she could go home to him. She didn’t delete the voicemail. A tiny part of her refused to give up the sound of his voice. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she dialed her mother’s cell phone number. She was probably working, but Felicity needed to talk to her.

“Hello?” Janet’s voice was a welcome relief to Felicity’s broken heart.

“Mom, do you have a minute to talk?” she asked, shutting her eyes to keep the tears from rushing down her cheeks.

“Felicity, what’s wrong? Is it the baby?” Her mother’s voice was hushed now.

She sniffled and opened her eyes. “No. The baby is fine. I broke up with Jared.”

“What? Why, honey?”

Wiping her eyes, she tried to draw in a slow breath. “It’s a long story,” she warned.

“I’ve got time. It’s slow at the hospital tonight, and I’m on my break,” her mother said.

Felicity told her mother everything about the robbery, the police, Jared leaving work and getting in trouble because he’d been focused on her and the baby, and how she’d decided to leave.

“Honey, men aren’t the best at big life changes. Trust me. Your father almost fainted when he learned I was pregnant with you. But he adjusted. It takes time. They get a little irrational, more than us, even though we’re supposed to be the hormonal ones.” Janet chuckled gently, but then she grew serious again. “Give him a few weeks, let him see how much he wants to fight for you. He’ll come around. I saw him with you—he loves you. That kind of love doesn’t fade or falter, not when it really matters. I know you need some space and time, but don’t close your heart to him, honey, not yet.”

She couldn’t imagine Jared finding a way to juggle being a father and his job. It would never happen, no matter how hard he fought.

“Why don’t you get some rest? I know you’ll have trouble sleeping, but try, okay? It’s important for you not to let your own work and school suffer, remember?”

“You’re right.” Felicity sniffed again. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Sweet dreams, baby,” Janet soothed.

“Good night.” Felicity hung up, and with shaky hands she combed her fingers through her wet hair and lay back upon the bed, not sure how she’d ever get to sleep.

* * *

Jared’s ringing cell phone woke him up before his alarm. He reached for the phone and groggily stared at the screen.

Thad’s name flashed at him. He was tempted to throw the phone across the room. His head pounded in a violent headache, and he glanced down to see he’d fallen asleep in his clothes and hadn’t bothered to get under the covers. With a low groan, he swiped the screen and answered.

“What?”

“Jared, get your fucking ass out of bed.”

“No way in hell.” He was going to stay right here. Fuck work, fuck Pimms. He wasn’t going anywhere today, not when the woman he loved was still gone, his bed still cold. His heart couldn’t fucking stand a minute of facing a world outside when she wasn’t with him.

“You will get up and shower and dress. You want to know why?” Thad snapped.

“Why? So I can kick your ass?” Jared was only half-joking.

“So I’ll tell you where Felicity is.”

He shot up in bed so fast his head swam a little. He hadn’t drunk anything last night, but he’d been tossing and turning for hours worrying about Felicity and the baby, and it had left a hangover as if he’d downed a bottle of whiskey.

“Where is she?” he demanded.

“Get up and take care of yourself and meet me at Sabine’s in half an hour.”

“Fine,” he growled and hung up.

In the next fifteen minutes he showered, shaved, and dressed. He felt like shit, but at least he didn’t look like shit. If he was going to Sabine’s, it was likely that Felicity would be there. She didn’t have classes in the morning. His heart gave a hopeful leap as he left his apartment and rushed to catch a cab.

By the time he arrived at Sabine’s, Thad was standing in the main gallery with Sabine, talking and drinking coffee. There was no sign of Felicity.

“Ah, Jared, I had some additions to the contract with Sabine. I wanted you to look them over. Sabine’s just got to make a quick call, and then she’ll join us in the conference room.”

Sabine smiled at Jared and stepped into her office.

Jared turned and jabbed a finger into Thad’s chest. “Start talking. Felicity is the only reason I’m here.”

Thad stared down at the finger poking his chest until Jared dropped it. “She’s safe. She called me last night hoping I’d help her find a new apartment within her budget. She said she’d broken up with you.”

“We’re not broken up. This is a minor road bump. One I intend to get over fast. Where is she? I thought she’d be here.”

“Sabine said she’s actually giving a few tours at the Art Institute today, but you should know she’s staying in my suite at the Gold Circle.”

“What?” Jared knew exactly what suite he was talking about. Thad’s private suite. He clenched his fists.

“Get that jealous rage out of your eyes. I’m not staying there with her. You owe me, Jared. I talked her out of going anywhere else. She’s staying there as long as it takes.”

“As long as it takes for what?”

Thad smirked. “For you to win her back, of course. I hope you have a good plan to do that.”

Jared tugged at his tie, feeling it choking him as he met his friend’s stare. “I fucked up, Thad. Big-time. I let her think work matters more than she does, and it doesn’t. But I don’t know how to prove it. She said she needed time and space and…” He trailed off, his voice breaking.

His friend’s eyes narrowed. “Then give her time and space. I’ll keep her safe and sound for you at the hotel until you’ve got a game plan mapped out. She won’t go anywhere without me knowing, and she’ll be safe. I’ve got maids who watch that private floor around the clock.”

For the first time in his life, he realized how much his friends Thad and Angelo had his back. They’d helped him more than they could ever know.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

Thad nodded. “She’s worth fighting for, Jared. Stand up to that dick Pimms. Don’t let him take her away from you. If you want to go out on your own, Dad and I have agreed that we’ll go with you. We can keep you busy and paid until you build another client list if you can’t bring other clients with you.”

Leave Pimms & Associates? He’d never considered it, not when he’d been on track for partner, but the thought of losing Felicity made him face it. He would leave the firm if they wouldn’t give him fair hours and some leeway for his personal life. He could stand up to Pimms, because Felicity was his first priority.

Sabine popped her head out of her office. “You boys ready to talk shop?”

Jared and Thad glanced at each other before they replied in unison. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Great.” She waved them to her office.

Jared’s heart felt a little lighter, a hint of hope on his horizon.

I will fight to get you back, princess. I’ll prove to you I’m the man you deserve.

* * *

“I can do this,” Felicity whispered as she stood at the foot of the steps leading up to the Art Institute of Chicago. The bronze lion, now tinted green, stood a few feet from her, staring stoically out at the street before it. She climbed the steps, her heart pounding.

She couldn’t believe she was here—well, at least here as a worker of sorts and not a visitor here to admire the pieces. Sabine had called her early this morning, asking if she wanted to spend a few hours giving tours to exclusive art patrons who were interested in private viewings of some of the currently closed European galleries. Felicity had jumped at the chance. It was huge to get asked to provide tours to these upper-end donors who gave money to the major museums. It would part of her duties if she ever became a curator. Donors liked to have face time with the top staff at museums and institutes and get special treatment, since they donated a lot of money to keep the exhibits open. And it was a joy for the staff to share their love of art.

When she entered the institute, she headed to the information desk and asked for the woman Sabine had told her she was to meet, a Mrs. Burroughs. The man in the information booth got on his phone and dialed a number.

“Mrs. Burroughs, Ms. Hart is here, and she says she has a meeting with you this morning at eight thirty.” After a pause, he continued. “Very good, ma’am. I’ll send her up.” The man hung up and pointed at the elevators. “Second floor. She’ll meet you once you get off.”

“Thanks.” Felicity tugged her purse higher up her shoulder and walked toward the elevators. It would be so wonderful to work here. She’d come here for her undergrad and her master’s hoping to work here, but Sabine had told her the job openings were slim to none and that LACMA would be a better try.

She got into the elevator and focused on staying calm while she rode up to the second floor. A woman in a dark-blue business suit, who looked to be in her early forties, greeted Felicity as the doors opened.

“Ms. Hart. Welcome!” She shook Felicity’s hand. “Sabine is a dear friend of mine, and when I told her I had board meetings today and couldn’t conduct my patron tours, she recommended you. I was thrilled to have you come. She’s told me you’re quite wonderful.” Mrs. Burroughs was smiling warmly, and all sense of nerves fled as Felicity followed her to the closed European wing. A group of fifteen or so well-dressed men and women were drinking champagne and chatting with a security guard who was watching over them next to the gallery entrance.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is Ms. Felicity Hart. She’ll be giving you the tour today. She’s a specialist in European paintings and sculptures.” Mrs. Burroughs gave her a gentle nudge toward the crowd and made introductions to all of the patrons before she quietly slipped away and left Felicity to start the tour.

Still a little nervous, but also excited, Felicity dove into her task and set thoughts of the baby, Jared, and her broken heart aside.

After the tour was over, Felicity felt as though she could fly. It had gone so well. She’d been comfortable talking about every piece in the gallery, and she’d answered all of the questions put to her by the patrons. By the time she headed back down to the front of the museum to leave, Mrs. Burroughs caught up with her and thanked her.

As she walked down the steps to find a cab, her cell phone rang. She checked the name, her heart dropping when she saw it was Layla and not Jared, not that she would have answered. It would have been hard, but she would have fought the urge to do that.

“Hey, Layla,” she said with a sigh, unable to hide her disappointment.

“Hey, so I thought we could do lunch today? I’ll meet you at Sabine’s. Sound good?”

“Yeah, okay. See you in a few minutes.” She hung up and stopped a cab that was ready for a passenger and climbed in.

She stared at the screen of her phone for a long moment, and then against her better judgment she scrolled through the photos from Christmas break. Her favorite was a photo that Jared’s mother had taken of the pair of them in front of the fireplace, cuddled up and warm, and laughing at a joke that his father had made. Her body quivered with a hundred emotions too strong to stay bottled up.

By the time the cab reached Sabine’s gallery, Felicity was feeling completely low again. She paid her fare and climbed out, her mind far away, lost in memories of kisses by a warm fire in a Colorado cabin. When she saw Layla standing there outside the gallery doors, her face pale, Felicity’s pulse leaped.

“What’s wrong?” she asked as she reached Layla.

“Um, we should go to lunch right now. Like now.” Layla tried to grab her arm, but Felicity saw what her friend had been afraid for her to see.

Jared was sitting in a chair inside Sabine’s office, just visible through the glass doors of the gallery entrance. She soaked up the lines of his profile and ached to rush inside to throw herself at him.

It has to be the hormones, me wanting him when I know it will only hurt, right?

“You’re right,” she said thickly. “Let’s go.” She turned to Layla. “I don’t care how cold it is outside, I want ice cream. A lot of it. Right now.”

Layla’s sad smile echoed her own feelings. “I do, too.”

With one last look at Jared, Felicity left her aching, beating, hurting heart at the doors of Sabine’s gallery.

How will I ever stand to be around him with the baby and not be with him? She didn’t know the answer, and that terrified her.