I had to admit to Jessica that I was now dating my stalker. Of course, he wasn’t really a stalker, and he wasn’t following me in secret anymore. She was still skeptical, although meeting William a few more times seemed to help. He had an interesting effect on people that was hard to put into words. It was impossible not to like him, and very hard not to trust him. Even Jessica agreed with me there. There was something about him.

The fact that he treated me like spun gold also made a difference. It wasn’t just that he had good manners—which he did. He always seemed so happy to see me. He texted me randomly throughout the day. Called me at night, often saying he just wanted to hear my voice. We could sit and talk for hours. Even when I talked about books, or my favorite authors, he’d insist he could listen to me forever.

And the way he made me feel… His kisses were like magic. I would have been flitting through each day on a puffy cloud of happy hormones, if not for Blake.

Shortly after William took me hiking, Blake sent me a text, asking if I’d be willing to meet him for lunch or coffee. I politely declined, and hoped that would be the end of it. He tried again, apologizing for the way he’d acted. Asking for the chance to make it up to me. Once again, I said no. When he called the next day, I let it go to voicemail. His message, delivered in that maddeningly soothing voice, implied I was playing hard to get—and he enjoyed the game.

I was not playing a game. I fired back with an angry text—I didn’t want to talk to him—telling him to stop trying to contact me. I was seeing someone else, and he needed to stop. He didn’t reply.

I knew there was a good chance I’d run into him at Dorset Financial. I usually did. So when William insisted he come along to my appointment with Arthur a week later, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. Knowing William would be with me took away the worst of my anxiety over whether I’d see Blake.

My appointment was in the morning, so I met William for breakfast beforehand. We chatted for a while over omelets and toast.

When we were almost finished, he put down his fork and wiped his hands on a napkin. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“What’s your appointment for?” he asked.

I brushed my lips with my napkin. “Well, when my dad died, he left me a considerable amount of money. Arthur at Dorset Financial manages my investments for me.”

He nodded. “I was just curious.”

“It’s fine, you can ask me anything,” I said. “It’s strange because I never knew my dad had a lot of money. He never told me.”

William regarded me with that piercing gaze of his. “It makes you uncomfortable, doesn’t it? Not that he didn’t tell you. I think you understand that part. But the money itself.”

“Yes, you’re right,” I said. “Is this something you already knew about me?”

“No,” he said.

“And yet, you understand me so well.”

He shrugged with a little smile.

“I feel like having all this money should change me, somehow. Or that it will, and I don’t want it to. It’s silly, because there are so many people in the world who don’t have enough. And here I am, worrying about what I’m going to do with too much.”

“It won’t change you,” he said.

“I hope not. I’m trying to do good with it,” I said. “Arthur helped me set up contributions to organizations I believe in, that sort of thing. But as far as the rest of it… I don’t know. Jess kept telling me I should take a vacation. But I didn’t want to go alone.”

He met my eyes and smiled again. An unspoken thought passed between us—that I wouldn’t be alone if he was with me.

I glanced at the time. “We should get going. I don’t want to be late.”

The building was just up the street, so we walked and took the elevator up. My heart beat faster the closer we got to Arthur’s office. Would Blake be here today? Would he try to talk to me? What would William do if he did?

My body thrummed with nervousness as we got out of the elevator. We stopped just outside the doors. Dorset’s floor was in chaos.

Employees stood around in small knots, some talking in hushed voices, others looking around in confusion. A police officer stood in front of the receptionist’s desk, and several others spoke to people nearby. The air was thick with tension. William kept a hand on my arm and stepped slightly in front of me, like he was going to put himself between me and whatever was going on here.

A police officer approached us. “Are you here for an appointment?”

“Yes, I’m here to see Arthur Horace,” I said. “Is everything okay?”

“There was a break-in,” he said. “I’m afraid I can’t let you in.”

“Ivy.” Arthur came up behind the police officer. Perspiration gleamed on his bald head and his cheeks were flushed. “I’m so sorry. I should have called to reschedule.”

“That’s okay,” I said. “What happened?”

“Someone broke into the office last night,” he said.

“Oh my god. Was anyone hurt?”

“No,” he said. “And there’s no need to be concerned. Your information is secure.”

“Do you know what they were after?” I asked.

“I’m not sure,” he said. “As far as we can tell, nothing is missing. IT is going through our system now to see if there’s been a breach. I’ve been here for over thirty years, and we’ve never had something like this happen.”

“This is awful,” I said.

“We’ll get it sorted,” Arthur said. “And I’ll be in touch to reschedule. I’m sorry you came all the way down here.”

“No, don’t apologize, it’s not your fault,” I said.

William stiffened, and I glanced at him. His usually pleasant expression had been replaced by a hard stare—his blue eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched. I followed his gaze and saw Blake watching us. His eyes were locked with William’s and his upper lip twitched.

The tension in William’s body made him seem like a predator ready to strike. I’d never found him frightening, but this side of him scared me. Not for myself, but for whoever dared to cross him when he looked like that. Blake’s face was full of challenge, but William was a stone wall. Unyielding, impervious, and utterly confident.

Arthur looked between me and William, blinking a few times, and the police officer eyed us as well. I decided we needed to get out of here before Blake tried to get into a testosterone-induced pissing contest with William.

I slipped my arm around his and tugged. “We should go.”

For a second, I thought William might not move, but he turned to me and nodded.

“I’ll be in touch soon,” Arthur said.

“Thanks,” I said. Blake was still watching us. I pulled on William’s arm again. “Come on. I think they have enough to deal with. Arthur doesn’t need his coworker and his client’s boyfriend having it out in the lobby.”

William raised his eyebrows, like he was surprised, but he didn’t say anything. Just steered me back to the elevator and pressed the button. I caught the look he gave Blake as we got in—one side of his mouth hooking in a smile. The last thing I saw as the elevator doors closed was Blake’s face, growing redder by the second.

We started going down and without a word, William pushed me up against the wall. He pinned my arms, his hands on my wrists. I gasped as he kissed me—hard and deep. His mouth was firm, his kiss so overwhelming, I completely forgot where we were. He didn’t stop until the elevator dinged, and the doors opened to another floor.

He pulled away and let go of my arms.

A man and woman got in, speaking in low voices, their conversation continuing as the doors closed. My back was still to the wall and William stood in front of me, staring, his eyes intense. He was so close, he almost pressed against me. We were both breathing hard and I was vaguely aware of the sudden silence. The man and woman had stopped talking. Their discomfort was palpable, but it barely registered. All I could see was William, looking at me like he wanted to rip my clothes off right here.

The elevator dinged again, and the doors opened. The man and woman hurried out, and I glanced at the floor number. Ten. The doors closed, leaving us alone.

William brushed my hair back from my face. The fierceness was gone from his expression, his eyes once again sparkling blue. He touched my chin and kissed my lips, soft this time. “I liked hearing you say boyfriend.”

My heart was still pounding when we reached the building lobby. William took my hand, twining our fingers together, and we walked out.

We were halfway to where we’d parked before either of us said a word.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said, although my lips were still sensitive and swollen from that mind-numbing kiss. “I just feel bad for Arthur.”

“How do you know him?”

“My dad knew him for a long time,” I said. “Arthur handled Dad’s investments from the beginning, as far as I know. That was close to thirty years ago.”

William pulled me to the side so people could get by and stopped, turning to look at me. “Ivy, how much money did your dad leave you?”

“It’s a lot,” I said. “Just over ten million dollars.”

“Who else knows about it?”

“Only Jessica and Peter,” I said. “Why? What are you worried about?”

“Nothing,” he said, squeezing my arm. “I just wondered who knew.”

He took my hand again and we kept walking.

“Well, at least I probably don’t have to worry about Blake calling again.”

William stiffened. “He called you?”

“Yeah, last week,” I said.

He tightened his grip on my hand. “Not since then?”

“No.”

We got to his Jeep and paused next to the passenger’s side door.

“Tell me if he does again,” he said.

I pulled my hand away. “William, there’s nothing going on between me and Blake.”

His expression softened, and he kissed my forehead. “I know. That’s not what I’m worried about. I just don’t trust him.”

“He’s nothing but a guy with a sore ego,” I said. “I wounded his pride. I’m sure he won’t have any trouble finding someone to help him get over it.”

“Still. Let me know if he keeps calling. I’ll take care of it.”

I laughed. “Take care of it?”

“You don’t need to worry.” He kissed my forehead again. “But if he touches you, I’ll end him.”

The smile left my face and a chill ran down my spine. He opened the door for me and I got in. He’d said that so matter-of-factly, I could have almost believed he was kidding. Or exaggerating.

He got in the driver’s side and took my hand, bringing it to his lips for a kiss. And I knew he wasn’t kidding. Not in the slightest.