“Hi, this is Justine. Please leave a message.”

I hung up my cell phone and tossed it on the desk. For the third time today, I was sent to my sister’s voicemail. She wasn’t even answering emails. I was confident that she’d respond to the email about the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, but even that didn’t entice her to resurface.

Where the fuck is she?

I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling the beginning of a headache coming on. I ignored the documents I still needed to sign and the flood of emails that needed to be sorted. I had been working non-stop since eight that morning, but Justine had been on my mind through it all.

The location service setting on her phone was turned off, so Hale was unable to locate her that way. I had Bryan pull up the expense reports and credit card statements, but I still came up empty. The only thing I found were a few ATM withdrawals made in various parts of the city. Each one was for three hundred dollars. Wherever Justine was, she was using cash.

At the very least, that bit of activity led me to believe there wasn’t any foul play. Nevertheless, I planned to go to her condo later on just to make sure. Cautious instincts or not, I could not put it off any longer.

I roughly pushed away from the desk and stood, slamming the chair into the expansive window behind me. I needed a mental break. Between Justine, Charlie’s case, that goddamned article, and the tension between Krystina and me, my nerves were shot. While Krystina and I seemed to be in a better place than we were a few days prior, there was still a faint strain that loomed between us and I didn’t know why. The only positive thing in my life seemed to be business. Everything was running smoothly, all the puzzle pieces fitting nicely together. It was my one constant.

I paced back and forth in my office, a sort of restless energy settling over me. My normal life, one that I strived to keep measured and controlled, had been in a tailspin for months. No matter what I did, there always seemed to be another shoe that dropped. I raked my hands through my hair in frustration before pounding my fists against the window glass.

The sound of my fists against the glass made me pause. I quickly dropped them to my sides and took a few calming breaths. I needed to get a handle on my temper. Fate was giving me the ultimate test. All the strain and turmoil over the past six months could have broken me. It hadn’t, although I came scarily close to losing it a few times. Nonetheless, the challenge wasn’t over. I still had to find the resiliency to withstand the future. If not for myself, then for Krystina.

A good sparring match with my personal trainer always worked to diffuse my rage. I might have considered calling him that afternoon, but a glance at my watch told me Krystina would be here any minute. We were supposed to meet with Kent Bloomfield, the architect I hired to draw up the plans for the house in Westchester. However, little did she know that I canceled the appointment. Instead, I requested that the blueprints be sent to my office. I would review them personally with her, but I knew she wouldn’t be happy with me for canceling with the prominent architect.

As if on cue, the door to my office opened and Krystina entered. Her face looked flushed, almost feverish.

“Hey, handsome,” she greeted with a smile, despite the fact that she sounded like hell. I immediately crossed the room to go to her. I drew her into my arms and placed a palm to her forehead.

“How are you feeling, angel?”

“Better as the day goes on. I sound worse than I actually feel.”

“Are you taking your medication?”

“Yes, Dr. Stone,” she teased and pulled away. “Every four hours on the nose.”

“Speaking of which, how was your appointment?”

She blinked, as if confused, before her eyes cleared again. More than likely, she’d forgotten that I had access to her calendar.

“Oh, um…good. Just a cold like I thought.”

Her eyes darted around the room nervously and her hands began to fidget. Something was obviously bothering her. Since we hadn’t spoken at all during the day, I wondered if she was upset that I peeked at her schedule. However, I sensed that it was something else entirely.

“What is it, angel?”

She moved over to the seating area in my office and sat down on the plush loveseat. Resting her elbows on her knees, she squeezed the bridge of her nose.

“I Googled my name.”

Fuck.

Although I knew she might do something like that eventually, I had hoped to shield her from the press speculation for as long as possible.

“What made you do that?”

“Curiosity, I guess,” she shrugged.

“I suggest you don’t make a habit of doing that. I’m sure you read a lot of untruths.”

“I did. So many were calling me a gold-digger. You don’t think that, do you?”

I laughed at the absurdity as I sat down next to her.

“No, angel. I don’t think that. I tried to give you a portion of my company, yet you refused. Remember? That’s why I don’t think you should Google too often. Tabloid rumors have the ability to hit an individual’s natural insecurities. It can ruin them if they choose to let it. Don’t let the rumors get to you.”

“I won’t. But I have to say, I was surprised to see how popular I’ve suddenly become. I guess you’re a bigger deal than I realized.”

Her tone was light, but I saw the wheels spinning.

“Don’t go there, Krystina. Don’t feed the beast. You know who I am. I just don’t brag about my wealth, that’s all. How much money I have or what properties I own is not their business. Unfortunately, public records make it hard to hide certain things, but all they have is speculation about the rest.”

She took a deep breath and sighed.

“I know you’re right. It was just so strange to see my picture everywhere. Now I understand why you want Hale or Samuel with me all the time.”

My fists clenched. I knew the pictures she was referring to. The intrusion of her privacy was maddening. The fact that her face was all over the internet drove me absolutely insane. And I hated that I had no control over it. The only thing I could do was ensure that she was always protected.

“Does that mean you’ll stop arguing with me about it?”

She smiled sheepishly.

“I suppose I should,” she murmured. She glanced down at the table in front of us and noticed the roll of blueprints for the first time since she arrived. “Oh! Are those the plans? But wait – where’s Kent Bloomfield?”

“I cancelled him. I thought we would go through the blueprints ourselves first.”

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at me.

“You knew I was looking forward to being a part of this process, Alex. Why would you cancel him?”

Her tone was accusing, almost lecturing, and it set me on edge.

“I don’t feel like dealing with people anymore today,” I answered testily. My tone was gruff and I felt her body stiffen beside me. When I spoke again, I adapted a gentler approach. “Look, prying eyes just seem to be everywhere lately. I want a break from it. I know this is important to you, but I need you to meet me in the middle on this. I want to discuss the house plans amongst ourselves. Just me and you, angel. At least for today.”

Her eyes searched mine, so expressive, yet I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Seeming to come to a decision, she placed her hand on my knee and gave it a light squeeze.

“Okay. Let’s have a look at what you’ve come up with so far.”

“Thank you,” I told her, appreciating her agreeability. Leaning in, I pressed a chaste kiss to her temple before pulling the blueprints out of the clear tubular case. I unrolled the plans and spread them out on the low table in front of us. Krystina leaned forward and inspected the drawing. I had already reviewed it, so I allowed her time to absorb the layout and waited for her to speak first. After a moment or two, she gasped.

“Alex, this house is huge! I won’t be able to keep up with anything this big!”

I laughed.

“I can assure you, ten-thousand square feet in that neck of the woods is small by comparison.”

“But why in the world would we need seven bedrooms?”

“Maybe I want six kids,” I said, waiting to see how she would react. I didn’t really want that many children. In fact, I didn’t know if I wanted the responsibility of even one. However, I would be open to hearing Krystina’s thoughts on the subject. My statement was only meant to feel her out. A look of panic flashed across her face before she quickly recovered.

Interesting…

Unfortunately, that fleeting expression was all I got from her. She didn’t take the bait. Instead, she pointed to another area of the plans.

“There’s a massive carriage house on the back corner of the lot. Who is that for? And what’s this? An eight-car garage?”

She fired off one question after another, her eyes widening more with each one. I needed to put her mind at ease.

“Relax, angel. The extra bedrooms are for overnight guests, such as your mom and Frank. Westchester is a bit of a hike, so I suspect Allyson or Justine might stay on occasion as well,” I explained. My heart tightened at the mention of my sister, but I continued on. “Hale will be in charge of security on the property. Vivian will be responsible for keeping up the house and the grounds. Each of them will have their own private suite in the carriage house.”

“They are just going to pack up and move with us? Where do they live now?”

“One floor down from the penthouse,” I told her, somewhat surprised that she didn’t already know that. “They are aware of the move and have agreed to it. Don’t worry about that. In fact, they are pleased with the arrangements. The extra rooms in the carriage house are for whomever Vivian decides to hire to assist her with her duties. She likes it because the staff she brings on will be right on site.”

“The staff?” she asked, her voice sounding slightly high pitched. She was recognizably overwhelmed.

“Krystina, look at me,” I ordered. When she turned her head, her chocolate brown eyes seemed to grow impossibly larger in her beautiful face. I took her chin between my thumb and forefinger. “I never wanted the domestic life before you. A house in the suburbs just wasn’t for me. But now that I want it, I will only have the best for you. For us. The sooner you come to terms with that, the easier time we’ll have with planning our new home.”

“I’m no stranger to nice houses, Alex. My mom and Frank have a nice four-bedroom. But before Frank, my mom and I lived in a small apartment,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief. “This house you planned…it just seems a little over the top.”

I grinned.

“Have you ever known me to do things any other way?”

She relaxed then and returned my smile.

“No, I haven’t.”

Then she laughed. Instantly, the mood in the room shifted and my shoulders relaxed. All the tension I felt twenty minutes earlier just slipped away. The sound of her laughter, no matter how bleak of a mood I was in, would always brighten my world. It amazed me. She amazed me.

I reached up to touch her face again. I ran my hand over the soft line of her jaw, before cupping her cheek and turning her head to face me.

“You’re beautiful,” I told her.

Her cheek warmed under my palm from the unexpected compliment.

“Cut that out,” she said as the delicate blush deepened. She playfully swatted my arm.

“Cut what out?”

“That look in your eyes. It’s like you want to throw me down and devour me.”

“Maybe I do.”

I removed my hand from her cheek and slid it between her thighs. Pressing my thumb against the material of her slacks, I exerted pressure in all the right places. She closed her eyes and leaned into me. Then, rather abruptly, she pulled away and sneezed. Not once, but twice.

“Damn it!” she swore and she reached into her purse for a tissue. “Sorry. I’m not very sexy right now.”

I chuckled, amused by her irritation.

“I need you to feel better, Miss Cole. I left you alone last night so that you could get your rest.” I paused and flashed her a wicked smile. “But my cock won’t be patient for much longer.”

“Your sexual appetite is absolutely insatiable. Do you know that?” She shook her head at me, then stood to throw away her tissue. When she returned, she looked back at the blueprints. “So tell me about this eight car garage. Are you planning to buy enough cars to fill it?”

Her tone was somewhat mocking and I grinned at the sarcasm I’d come to love.

“I already have enough to fill it,” I stated with a deliberate hint of arrogance. “Well, technically I have seven, one of which is yours, and a bike.”

“How did I not know that you had eight vehicles?” she asked incredulously.

“You never asked. Two of them only get pulled out in the summer months. We haven’t been through a summer together yet, so I never thought to mention it. However, I did tell you that collecting expensive cars was a hobby of mine.”

“You did, but…”

I could tell she was over thinking again. No surprise there.

“What’s going on in that inquisitive brain of yours?”

“I just feel like lately…I don’t know. There’s so much I don’t know about you. Well, not you personally, but about your world. Your business and your possessions.” She paused and shook her head. “I know it shouldn’t matter, but it kind of does. Am I making sense?”

“You’re making perfect sense, but it doesn’t matter right at this moment. You’ll know about all of my holdings soon enough.”

“What do you mean?”

My newfound good mood instantly vanished. One minute we were planning our home, then the next I was feeling the sharp slap from reality. It was a reminder that we may never be free from it. I sighed, a heavy tiredness settling in my bones. I didn’t want to have this conversation today, but there was no use putting it off. She would know everything in a few days anyway.

“Depending on what happens with this fucking news reporter, I might need to protect my assets. There are too many unknowns at the moment. As we speak, Stephen is drawing up papers to transfer everything over to you in the event that something happens to me.”

Krystina’s brow furrowed. If she was shocked at what I told her, she didn’t show it. Instead, she looked sad and confused. Her eyes searched mine as she placed a hand over mine.

“Everything will be okay, Alex.”

“We don’t know that.”

“Let’s not talk about what-if’s. Okay?”

“We need to,” I asserted. I pulled my hand from under hers and pushed the blueprints aside. “In fact, we should discuss some of it now while we have the time. There are things you need to know about my assets.”

She shook her head.

“Alex, I will look forward to the day when I can learn all about it. I’m actually kind of excited by the idea. But I want to do something else right now.”

My eyebrows rose when she unexpectedly stood, grabbed her coat, and slung her purse over her shoulder.

“And what might that something else be?” I asked curiously.

“Well, you know that I was surrounded by car talk for years because of Frank. I’m sure my stepfather will want to hear all about your collection. Take me to the storage facility. I want to check them out.”

I wasn’t sure where this sudden need to see my vehicles came from. I was sure she had an angle, as Krystina rarely did anything without purpose. But whatever it was, I was grateful. The distraction might be good for me.

Perhaps it would clear my head before I made the trip to Justine’s place.

Almost immediately, a knot of dread formed in my gut at the thought of going to my sisters. I tried to suppress it as I stood to help Krystina into her coat. Once she had it buttoned, I pulled her into a fierce hug. I held her tight and breathed in the scent of her hair. It was always a soft smell, like magnolia blossoms on a warm summer day. After a moment, I pulled back and fixed an intense gaze on her.

“Thank you,” I murmured.

“For what?”

“For always knowing exactly what I need.”