“I take care of myself.” She pulled the shirt closed around her.

He stepped closer to her and reached for her hand, which still gripped the shirt closed. “You know I’d take care of you if anything ever happened.”

She hopped down from the table. “I said I can take care of myself.”

The tone in her voice had changed. The entire mood had changed. He was treading somewhere she didn’t want him to go.

He wrapped his arms around her waist. “I love you, Regan.” She rested her head on his chest, and he pulled her against him tighter. “I could really get used to this.”

“Me in your arms.”

“Well, that too,” he joked, and she looked up at him and smiled. “Can’t you see it? Sex on the table and then dessert? What a way to end a day.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “But never when company is around.” He wrinkled up his nose, and it made her laugh.

“I’ve had sex now twice in an hour. I’m feeling lightheaded.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m not used to this kind of attention.”

“I like it in the light. I can see your face.”

“Yours isn’t too bad either.” She patted it and then looked at the floor. “Where are my panties?”

“Here.” He gathered them from the floor then knelt down before her. “Let me.”

She laughed as he held them out for her to step into then he slowly slid them up her legs, pressing lingering kisses to her calves and thighs.

She tucked in her bottom lip and bit down on it as his kisses rose. Then he stopped.

“What is that from?” He accentuated his question with a kiss, and her heart stopped as he ran his finger over the scar on her stomach.

“Nothing.” She pulled her panties from his fingers and hiked them the rest of the way up. Hastily she began buttoning the shirt and turned from him.

“I didn’t mean to upset you.” He grabbed her arm and turned her toward him. “What happened? What is that scar from?”

“I said it’s nothing,” she said again and went back to her preparation of dessert.

He picked up his wine and took a long drink. In a few short weeks, he’d made her forget her promise to herself not to fall for her boss. Thank goodness for that. He’d decided she was the woman with whom he wanted to share his life, but there were still too many walls between them. There were still secrets, and it was killing him. He could wring the neck of the man who had made her so timid around him.

He loved her. He’d said he loved her, even though she’d yet to return the words. In time she’d tell him what it was she was keeping buried inside.

Even though Zach kept his promise to remain professional in the office, he always found a way to sneak in a little romance. He’d leave her a note in her drawer or even on his desk in the morning, knowing she’d find it when she laid out his papers. He’d call her from a job site on her cell phone at lunchtime. Without those around her knowing, he’d speak sweetly to her. Certainly, on the other end her cheeks were flushed and her head hung to hide her emotions. This came through in her voice as she giggled and returned sweet thoughts in a soft whisper.

Whenever they got the chance, they spent the night in one another’s arms. He wondered when she’d open to him and accept him as more than just her boss and more than just her current lover.

“My mother wants us to come for dinner on the weekend.” He intertwined their fingers in the darkness.

“I was hoping we could go to New York and see my sister. She opens this weekend.” She kissed the fingers he’d intertwined with hers. Though her body had tensed beside his, she didn’t sound afraid when she suggested changing their plans to what she wanted. His chest filled with happiness.

“I’ll tell my mother we’ll have dinner another time.”

“Thank you.” She moved in closer to him, and her body was pliant. She was comfortable with him, and he couldn’t have been more pleased to feel that wall she kept between them crumble.

In his bedroom, with moonlight casting a glow over the room, she was comfortable in Zach’s arms. But she was beginning to worry the feeling would go away. She’d felt that way in Alexander’s arms too—at first.

Alexander Hamilton and Zachary Benson were so different. Alexander bullied his employees into doing what he wanted them to do. Zach took care of them, and in turn, they took care of him.

She’d never met Alexander’s family, and until the day he came looking for her in the hospital, in which he’d put her, he’d never met her family. Already, she’d spent time alone with Zach’s mother, and she adored his father.

Alexander had whispered things about trips and jewelry. There were promises of riches and houses. It wasn’t like that with Zach. He spoke of his family with love, and he cherished hers. There was talk of travel, but it wasn’t just a job. There was talk of vacations and destinations for them and only them. He’d spoken of marriage, though it was what his mother had wanted, but he’d said it aloud. Audrey wanted a big wedding to plan and grandchildren running through her home. Could it be that Zach was the man she could do these things with?

What happened to the promise she’d made to herself? Fear settled into her. Perhaps if things were as serious as they seemed, she should think about finding a job away from him.

No, that would be silly. She loved working with him. She loved being with him, and she was quickly realizing she was head over heels in love with him.

Regan turned to him in the moonlight and studied the lines of his face. His eyes were still bright as he looked back at her. He hadn’t asked about her scar again. He didn’t ask about the relationship she’d told him she’d had. He’d let her be. Perhaps it was time to tell him everything. Confide in him her travels into corporate America though the law offices in Los Angeles. She could continue about how the tall, dark, and handsome Alexander Hamilton had swept her off her feet. Would it discourage Zach to find out that he wasn’t the first to turn her head in a matter of a few weeks? With Alexander, she left a perfectly good job and moved to Hawaii. She’d given up the connection she had with her family, just to be with the man she’d thought she loved.

Her heart rate picked up. She’d had a ring. She’d had a condo. She’d been pregnant with a child that she loved.