Erik walked into the bar and glanced around. He needed to talk this thing through.

He spotted the table in the corner and walked over and pulled out a chair.

“You look like hell,” Luke Grant said as Erik sat down.

“Well, then I look like I feel.”

A waitress approached the table and placed a bottle of dark ale in a tall glass on the table.

“I thought you’d like their specialty home brew so I went ahead and ordered for you,” Grant said.

Erik tipped back the glass. It was full bodied and a little bitter with a hint of orange. He did like it.

“So any particular reason you wanted to meet for a drink, or you just want to catch up?”

Erik knew damned well that Grant would know all about Erik and Kalie. And how it had ended. Kalie was a good friend of Sylvia’s and surely she’d told Sylvia what had happened.

“I guess I want to know how it’s going with you and Sylvia.”

Grant smiled. “Sylvia and Slade and I are making it work.”

Erik knew Slade had become part of their relationship, but it was Grant that Sylvia loved.

“You fought having a relationship with Sylvia so hard. What made you finally think you could make it work?” Erik asked.

Grant chuckled. “I got pulled into it kicking and screaming. But in the end, I had to face the fact I love her. And once I understood that…” He shrugged. “I really had no choice. I was miserable without her, so I had to find a way to make it work.”

Erik sipped his beer. “But for a long time, you were sure you didn’t love her.”

“I was a fool. And, you know, deep inside I really did know I loved her. But I thought I could keep her with me as just my sub, and keep my feelings locked up inside. But she needed more than that. When she left, I realized I had no choice but to get over my fear.”

Erik nodded. He knew Grant had gone through a rough time.

“But that’s not what’s going on with you and Kalie,” Grant continued. “You’re not afraid to love. You loved Sylvia.”

The beer Erik sipped turned sour in his mouth. “And look where it got me. Rejected and in pain.”

“But Sylvia didn’t reject you. You released her from the contract and gave her back to me.”

Erik sighed. “Yes, but I wouldn’t have if she’d loved me.”

“I understand you’re gun shy, but there’s a woman out there who loves you, and I’m betting you love her, too. So what’s stopping you from being happy?”

“You don’t know if she really loves me.”

Grant shrugged. “That’s true. There are no guarantees. But you’re already in pain and you don’t have to be. If you can be with her now and find some happiness, why don’t you? If things fall apart in the future, will it really be worse than it is right now?”

Grant sipped his beer and stared straight into Erik’s eyes.

“Why not take a chance on love? What do you have to lose?”

* * *

Kalie pushed away her half-eaten dinner with a sigh. The thought of a lonely evening ahead made her stomach churn. She knew she could call Becca and the others and go out for an evening together—in fact Jan had called her today to see if Kalie would join her for a movie—but as much as Kalie didn’t want to spend the evening alone, the thought of going out with her friends was too much for her.

There was a knock on the door.

Was that Becca with some excuse to come check on her?

Kalie walked to the door and peered out the peephole.

She sucked in a breath at the sight of Erik standing outside her door.

She opened it and stared at him with wide eyes, her heart racing.

Oh, God, he looked so handsome in his tailored charcoal suit, dove gray shirt and burgundy tie.

“May I come in?” he asked. His deep, velvety voice rippled through her.

“Yes, of course.” She stepped aside.

The moment he stepped into her entryway, her whole apartment seemed smaller.

“These are for you,” he said. He offered her a bouquet of flowers…pink roses and baby’s breath.

“Thank you.” She realized her hand was shaking as she took them from him. “I’ll go put them in water.”

She didn’t know why he was here and was afraid to hope it was because he wanted her back. Maybe he just wanted to make sure she was okay.

In the kitchen, she placed the flowers on the counter, then opened a cupboard and reached for a vase on the top shelf, but Erik grabbed it and put it on the counter for her.

She turned around slowly and found herself staring at his square chin. Heat rippled through her being this close to him. She tipped her head up and his deep blue gaze caught on hers.

“Aren’t you going to ask me why I’m here?”