Nicole was sitting in the rocking chair with Liam. He’d just gone to sleep, and she was staring down at his angelic face and thinking about Zack. After interviewing her for over an hour, the police had turned her loose. She’d asked and asked about Zack, but none of them would tell her anything. As she was picking up her property, Zack’s attorney caught up with her. She’d been devastated to learn that Zack would probably have to spend a day or more in jail, depending on what happened at his bail hearing the next day. Nicole offered to take the next day off and go to the hearing but the attorney had told her that it would be quick, and he assured her that he’d let her know how it went. It was already seven in the evening and she hadn’t heard a thing. The sound of Stacey’s phone pinging brought her out of her thoughts and she reached for hers.

“It was mine, babe.”

“Oh, okay.”

Stacey looked at the phone and smiled before looking back at Nicole and saying, “Are you okay?”

She smiled even though she felt like crying. “Yeah. I just don’t understand why Zack’s lawyer never called me, and I keep thinking about him sitting in jail. This is all my fault for dragging him into this. I know those weren’t his drugs. This has Spider written all over it.”

Stacey sent a text and then put the phone down on the table next to the couch and sat the book she was reading down next to it. “You know what might make you feel better?”

“What’s that?” Nicole knew nothing would make her feel better until she saw Zack in the flesh and knew for sure he was okay.

“You should go shower and put on that red dress of mine you like so much.”

Nicole made a face at her crazy friend. “So that I can sit around and worry looking good?”

Stacey smiled. “Nope. So you can go out to dinner with your man.” She got up and went over to where Nicole sat with her mouth open in surprise. “Give me the little man, I’ll tuck him in.”

Nicole handed her the sleeping baby. Confused, she said, “I don’t understand…”

“That was Zack that texted me. He asked if I could babysit…and he asked if you were mad at him.”

“He thinks I’m mad?”

“He’s like you, girl, confused and not sure what to think. Go get pretty. He’ll be here soon.”

“Are you sure? I left you with Liam last night…”

Stacy looked down at the baby and then at the cutoff sweats she was wearing and said, “I know I look like I have big plans, but that book over there is all I’ve got on my agenda. Please go with Zack and work this out. I’ve never seen you happier than when you’re with him. I think you two belong together, and if I can’t find romance, I’m glad that you did.”

“You’ll find it someday, and hopefully you won’t make it as complicated as I have.”

“The fact that Zack doesn’t see you fighting for your baby boy as ‘complicated’ is one of the reasons I think he’s perfect for you. I see the way he looks at you both and he might not even know it yet, but he’s as in love with Liam as he is with you.”

Nicole could see it too, and it was one of the things that had made her fall in love with him. No matter how rough his exterior, Zack had one of the best hearts of anyone she’d ever met. She stood up and kissed her baby on his soft forehead and then she kissed Stacey on the cheek. “Thank you.”

Stacey winked and said, “Anytime, and Nick?”

“Yeah?”

“When you two get your shit worked out, I really want a crack at Hashtag.”

Nicole smiled. “Since I’m discovering that one bad biker doesn’t make them all losers, I promise not to object.”

Stacey took the baby and put him in her room, and then she took her book and a glass of wine and got in her bed. Nicole showered and dressed in Stacey’s new red dress. It was short, only coming to mid-thigh, and the back was cut out to the waist. It fit her snugly but not too tightly across her breasts and waist, and the little skirt flared slightly over her hips. She also borrowed a pair of red shoes out of Stacey’s closet. They matched the dress perfectly and had a manageable three-inch heel. Nicole didn’t have any nice clothes anymore. When she first moved in with Spider, she used to buy a dress now and then, but after a while of never going anywhere other than to the club or a seedy bar, she decided to stop wasting her money. She was thankful for Stacey. Her friend was almost exactly her size and had a flair for fashion.

After she was dressed, she applied her make-up, another thing she rarely did anymore, and dried and styled her hair with the straightener so that it hung smoothly across her shoulders and down her back. She realized that it had been so long since she dressed up, she barely recognized herself. She hoped that Zack would like it and not think she was silly for getting so dressed up to ride on the back of his bike. She didn’t even know where they were going. She heard his knock on the front door then and realized it was too late to change her outfit; she’d have to make do wherever they ended up.

Nicole looked through the peephole and the sight of Zack made her heart instantly speed up. He was dressed in a blue shirt with a collar and a pair of black jeans and boots. He’d combed his long hair back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck and he was completely clean-shaven. Most surprising was that he wasn’t wearing his kutte and he was holding a bouquet of flowers in his right hand. She pulled open the door and the look on his face made the clean panties she’d just put on damp.

“Oh my God. Baby, you look…amazing. Damn, you’re gorgeous.”

Nicole smiled. “Right back at you. Look at you in regular people clothes.”

Zack looked almost embarrassed but that sexy, confident edge was in his voice still when he said, “Right? I’m rocking them.”

She giggled. “Yes, you are. I’m so glad to see you. I was so worried.” She stepped back and let him in. Zack handed her the flowers and before she could bring them up to her nose and smell them, he captured her mouth with his. He kissed her long and slow, sending chills down her arms and spine as he used his tongue to caress and taste the inside of her mouth. When he pulled back, she was dizzy and she’d almost forgotten her own name.

“I’m sorry you had to worry. Brendan was supposed to let you know I was out.”

“He must have forgotten,” she said, finally sticking her nose in the flowers. “They’re beautiful and they smell wonderful. Thank you, Zack.” She didn’t realize that her eyes had filled with tears until he said:

“What’s wrong, baby? Don’t cry. I’m sorry about all this shit. I promise you that those drugs weren’t mine, but I should have been more careful…”

Nicole sat the flowers down on the table next to the door and put her arms around him. She cut off his words with her mouth and after she gave him a soft kiss she said, “I never doubted that they weren’t yours. I’m the one who is sorry for getting you into this mess.”

He hugged her tightly and then put his mouth to her ear and said, “We’re going to enjoy tonight and you’re going to relax…and then tomorrow, after suffering through looking at Spider’s ugly face at the hearing, you’re going to be able to get on with your life, okay, baby?” She nodded. Going out for a change was going to be nice, but if he kept holding her so close, she was going to start ripping off his clothes and change their plans. “Come on,” he said. “We have an eight-thirty reservation.”

“A reservation? Fancy.”

“Only the best for my baby,” he said with a wink. Nicole put her flowers in a vase and grabbed her purse before they left. She was surprised when they stepped out and she didn’t see Zack’s bike. He led her instead to a dark brown minivan. She tried to control her smile when he unlocked the passenger door for her, but it won out. “Are you laughing at my ride?”

She giggled. “Never. It’s just going to be an…experience, seeing Zack Leoni behind the wheel of a minivan.”

He laughed. “Yeah, I tried to borrow Stone’s old lady’s SUV, but she had plans. This was the best I could do. I didn’t want my pretty baby to get all messed up on the back of the bike on the way to dinner…not that I can even imagine you messed up.”

She was touched that he had thought so much about her comfort. He helped her into the van and got into the driver’s seat. He looked just as hot behind the wheel of a soccer mom car as he did on the back of his Harley. Nicole had never thought about sex so much before she met Zack, but it was like he oozed it out his pores and she couldn’t help but breathe it in. On the way to the restaurant, she asked him about the charges and what was going to happen.

“They’re putting together a case while I’m out on bail,” he said. “If they think they have enough, they’ll set a court date and maybe offer me a deal.”

Nicole’s chest hurt again at the thought of his going to jail or prison. “They didn’t believe you were set up?”

“Nah, they didn’t care to hear any of that,” he said, as he drove in the direction of the river. “But it’ll be okay. I know Brendan doesn’t look like much, but he’s a really good lawyer.” Nicole laughed and he glanced over at her with his sexy blue eyes narrowed. “What’s that about? You think he looks like much?”

Zack’s attorney, although nowhere near as sexy as Zack, might be one of the best-looking men that Nicole had ever seen. He had short, finger-styled, jet-black hair, dark green eyes, olive-colored skin, and what looked to be a killer body underneath his expensive suit. “No, baby, he didn’t look like much to me at all,” she said with a sly little smile.

Zack snorted. “Whatever. He’s a pretty boy.”

“Yes, he is,” she said. Changing the subject back she said, “So if it goes to court…”

Zack pulled the van into the lot of a restaurant called Memphis Rose. It was a really nice place near the water, where Nicole had often fantasized about being taken on a date. She assumed it was outrageously expensive just from things that she’d heard from customers at the bakery and the fact that it was built almost entirely out of glass and dark red brick. Large potted plants and tropical-looking flowers adorned the outside and a valet desk sat in front of the door in the circular drive. She’d almost forgotten what she was saying when she realized that was where Zack was taking her.

“How about we make a pact?”

“Okay…?”

“No talking about court tonight. Tomorrow we deal with Spider and when the time comes, we’ll deal with my charges. But tonight, we’re on a date. No business. No bullshit.”

Nicole smiled. “Sounds perfect,” she said. Zack drove up to the valet entrance and got out of the van. Her door was pulled open for her and before she stepped out, Zack was at her side with his arm out. She thought she felt it shaking slightly as she took it, and she saw a small shadow cross his face as they approached the door. “Hey, everything okay?” she asked.

Zack stopped, took a deep breath, and then took both of her hands in his and stood facing her. “You know, I have spent my whole life not being afraid of anything. I was always the first one to try everything and even though most of the city of San Antonio was afraid of my father, he didn’t scare me. I was brave to the point of stupidity, but I don’t think I even knew how to be scared. Since I met you, Nicole…I’ve been scared to death of everything. You’re my weakness.”

She wasn’t sure she understood what he meant, or if that was a good thing or bad. “I make you afraid?” she asked.

He nodded and smiled. “I realized that the reason I’ve never been afraid before was because I never had anything to lose. I don’t want to lose you, Nicole.”

She shook her head. “You’re not going to lose me.”

He smiled and kissed her forehead. “I hope not.” His blue eyes looked worried again but before Nicole could ask him why he steered her back toward the door and said, “Okay, that’s all the mushy stuff.” They stepped inside and he turned back into her confident, amazing lover as he took charge and told the hostess they had a reservation, but Nicole was touched deeply by his words. She’d been threatened not to leave by her parents and again by Spider, over and over again, but no one had ever simply bared their soul that way to her and admitted how much she meant to them; besides Liam, Zack was the first person she’d ever met that she was sure she wouldn’t ever be able to live without.