“I’m sorry I left. I was at a hotel.” I know that doesn’t come close to answering his real question, but I have to start somewhere.

Noah slams the door shut and strides toward me. “Jesus Christ, Olivia. I thought you were gone for good. Why didn’t you say anything?”

Biting my lip, I swallow hard. The pain in his voice is palpable. I betrayed him . . . there’s no other way to put it.

His outrage keeps pouring out, burying me like an avalanche. “You left me standing at that altar for a fucking hour. I’ve never been so humiliated in my whole life. And I’ve been losing my mind ever since. We’ve had to lie our asses off to keep the media from suspecting anything, all while I had no idea where the fuck you were. I knew you didn’t want to marry me, but for God’s sake, I never thought you hated me this much.”

The word feels like a cold needle in my heart. Hate him? No, I don’t, I couldn’t . . . but that’s exactly how I acted, wasn’t it? Like I didn’t consider him worthy of basic respect. How can I fault him for thinking that’s how I felt?

Scowling, Noah cuts his hands through the air. “You abandoned me. Without a word. Without giving anyone a chance to do anything. I had no idea what the hell was going on. What was the point of running away? Why didn’t you just tell me you were upset? What happened to being partners and working together? I thought we were getting somewhere, but apparently—”

“I know, okay?” I yell.

Hearing my own voice crack is the final straw. I suck in a shuddering breath and it spills out again as a loud sob. Tears start leaking down my cheeks as I hug myself tight, unable to meet Noah’s eyes. I hate that I’m falling apart in front of him like this.

“I know I hurt you,” I said. “I treated you like shit. You worked so hard to earn my friendship, my trust—and what did I do with yours? I was stupid and awful, and there’s no excuse. But Brad just scared me so bad, I didn’t know what to do. I—”

“Whoa, hey, wait a minute.” Taken aback by my sudden breakdown, Noah sits down awkwardly beside me, his eyes wide. “Brad? What’s he have to do with this? You didn’t run away because of the inheritance contract?”

“What? No. Why would I?”

A look of disbelief and wonder crosses his handsome features. “Because I went to see you before the ceremony started and left it on your desk, right before you disappeared. What was I supposed to think?”

His confusion blurs things even more. I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts enough to say what I need to. “That’s not it. I need to tell you something.”

I swallow hard to gather my courage. It’s time to let down my defenses. Not only because Noah deserves an explanation, but because I’ve realized something. I trust him to help me without judging me. Like I should have trusted him all along.

“Right before the wedding started . . .”

Dammit, my voice won’t stop trembling. I take a deep breath. Maybe it’ll help if I pretend I’m telling a story that happened to somebody else.

“Brad called me. He said he’d release . . . n-naked pictures of me if I didn’t sell Tate & Cane to Daniels Media by next week. So that’s why I left. I thought I could stop him, but then I realized I had no idea what to do. So I came back here to ask you for help.”

There, I got through it. Not much detail, but I told the truth and the world didn’t explode.

Although Noah just might. His nostrils flare and I watch in astonished horror as his face turns brick red. It would almost be funny if the situation weren’t so dire.

Finally, very softly, Noah growls, “I’m going to rip his rotten dick off and feed it to him.”

A hysterical little half giggle, half hiccup bursts from me. “Please don’t.”

I wipe my cheeks with the back of my hands, already feeling more in control. Noah’s not going to let Brad win. More importantly, he’s not going to let me go through this alone.

“Right. You probably already thought of that idea.” Suddenly Noah’s warm, strong arms enfold me tightly. He presses a gentle kiss to the crown of my head. “I wish you’d come to me sooner, Snowflake. You don’t always have to bear everything alone.”

And that fact seems so obvious now. I thought I understood that before, but now I’ve learned that Noah is here for me—for real, for always, no matter what.

Sniffling, I turn to wrap my arms around his waist and let myself relax into his comforting embrace. Our first hug that isn’t motivated by a contract or a bet or anything but honest affection. It’s pure and solid and exactly what I need. Already I’m starting to feel a little calmer.

“You’ve got me in your corner now,” Noah murmurs into my hair. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

My breathing slowly deepens and evens out as my tension ebbs away. I was so anxious about Brad’s threat hanging over my head, but my fears seem much smaller with Noah here to help me fight them.

A few minutes later, he breaks the soothing silence to ask, “Do you want some tea?”

I give a weak chuckle through the last of my tears. “Wow, you really are English.”

“Mum swore by it.” Noah pulls back slightly, just enough to look at me. “And once you’re feeling better, we can start figuring this thing out.”

I nod. “Do you have any ideas?”

His lips curl up in a sly smile. “A few.”