I wait, and she flips her hair to one side, then touches Jeffrey's back. I cringe. Next she grabs her purse off the table and heads for the bathrooms on the far side of the bar.

I count to thirty, then follow.

I open the door to the restroom. There's a small entryway with vanities on both sides, no one is inside. I let the first door close, then open the second, which leads to the sinks and stalls. It's a fairly large s.p.a.ce, with tiled walls and soft lights. I find Erin in a corner, working the b.u.t.tons on her cell.

"I don't like seeing you out with another man."

She whirls around, shock and irritation on her face. "Good G.o.d." She covers her heart with her hand. "You scared the s.h.i.t out of me."

"Good place to do that."

She shakes her head. "Not funny."

I tip her chin. "Look at me, Erin."

Intense blue eyes meet mine. "Why are you here?" she asks.

"I stopped by the store."

"Mary?"

"Don't get mad, I make her nervous."

She nods as if she understands. "You make me . . ."

"Finish."

"No." She retreats a step.

I lean in and rest my palms on the wall on either side of her face, breathing in the fragrance in her hair. "I don't like where we left off, Erin."

Her cheeks flush. "Maybe if you'd shown up a year ago, even six months, things might be different. But you didn't."

"I'm here now."

Moments pa.s.s without words. I could get lost in her eyes forever. And I love the soft rhythmic sound of her breath. She's desperate to get away because she knows she's as drawn to me as I am to her.

"It doesn't change anything. I have to marry Thomas."

"Bulls.h.i.t." I say it louder and harsher than I intended. But f.u.c.k, what is she thinking? Why? "I won't let you."

"You can't keep showing up, Foster. I need to stay focused."

"What about the man you're having lunch with? Who is he?"

"Just a friend." She looks away.

Another lie. She thinks she's going to f.u.c.k Jeffrey and the guilt is consuming her. She can't even look at me when she mentions him. "A friend?"

"No one you'd know."

I s.n.a.t.c.h her hand. "Why don't you introduce me?"

"No!" She tries to wiggle free, but I hold tight.

"I want you." I dip my head, grazing her soft lips with mine.

"Feel it?" The bolt of f.u.c.king lightning that strikes every time our lips meet. The air is thick with tension, and I'm not sure I can contain my deepest feelings anymore. "Tell me to leave."

Her shoulders sag and her purse straps slip down her arm. I tug it off, letting it hit the floor. I stash her cell phone in my jacket pocket, then press her against the wall, spreading her legs with my knee, cupping her face with my right hand. She nuzzles my palm, and blood rushes into my c.o.c.k. With a whisper of a touch, she caresses my arm.

Why has she waited all this time to love someone? She reeks of need and l.u.s.t. And the longer she deprives herself, the more Thomas becomes an existential threat.

I palm her stomach, loving how soft she is, how I can feel the heat radiating off her skin through her clothes. "Let me take you out of here. There's a back door in the kitchen."

She shivers against me and I take it as an open invitation. Our lips crash together and my tongue knifes into her sweet mouth.

Seconds later I hear a cough and break the kiss on a curse. I turn around, shielding Erin with my body.

"This is a family restaurant." The middle-aged woman crosses her arms over her chest, clearly offended.

"And quite a public one," I say, frowning at the intrusion. I turn back to Erin, her cheeks scarlet. "Splash some cold water on your face and meet me outside in five minutes, okay?"

"B-But . . ."

"I'll take care of your date." It's not open for discussion.

I pick her purse off the floor and return her cell phone. "Five minutes," I remind her.

With ardent strides I approach Jeffrey's table. He looks up, definitely surprised to see me. "We need to talk. Now." I drop a hundred-dollar bill on the table. He slides a folder off the high top, then follows me outside to my car. "What the f.u.c.k are you doing?"

"What you hired me to do, to help Erin feel confident and comfortable."

"She's a mess."

"I noticed," he says.

"Not outside the club."

"Relax." He gestures for me to ratchet my temper down a few notches.

"I called her last night to see if she wanted to meet for drinks. When she didn't call back like she promised, I got worried and stopped by her store today."

He gazes toward the entry to the restaurant, then shoves the folder into my hands. "You'll want this."

"What is it?"

"She completed the worksheets, and let me be the first to congratulate you. You've chosen well."

I snarl, disliking the idea of him reading her intimate thoughts. But without the information I wouldn't know her fantasies. I unlock my car door and stash the folder in my briefcase. Just in time, too. Erin is walking toward us.

She looks so pale and delicate. "Is everything all right?"

"Perfect," Jeffrey answers. "Foster explained you had a standing appointment. I apologize for making you late."

She gives him a hug. "I'll call you," she offers as Jeffrey turns to go.

Finally alone, she relaxes. "What did you think of Jeffrey?"

I don't want to discuss him, but can't risk her finding out we know each other. "Polite and professional."

"Yes, he is."

"Ready to go?" I escort her to my Jaguar and open the door.

"Where?"

"My place."

Chapter 20.

Erin After Foster pulls into the same condominium parking lot I had lunch with him at, I throw him a disgusted look. "Company condo?"

"Technically." He shrugs, kills the engine, and climbs out of his car.

I open my own door, hugging my purse close, wondering what in the h.e.l.l I'm doing here. All the warning bells went off already. I'm in too deep. Between Foster and Jeffrey, life is complicated enough. Add Thomas's blackmail, I simply need to cut myself off from the world until I meet Thomas at church to take vows.

I follow Foster upstairs, my stomach churning. He opens the door and I step inside. He places his keys and wallet on a ceramic dish on a table in the entryway, then turns on the lights in the living room.

"We could both use a drink."

I don't disagree and watch him head to the wet bar in the dining area. "How long have you lived here?"

"Three years. This is my main residence, but I spend a lot of time in Galveston, too."

"Galveston?"

"We opened an office there last year. I manage a small engineering team, lots of refinery work."

"Sounds challenging, travelling around the world, mixing it up with oil barons and Saudi princes."

He gazes over his shoulder. "Not as romantic as you think."

"I'm lucky if I get to Europe once a year."

"I always appreciated your sensibilities, Erin. You never bragged or showed off. What you saw was what you got."

"Is that your nice way of saying I'm boring?"

"What?" He turns around with two gla.s.ses in his hand. "Where did you get that from?" He offers me my drink. "Rum and c.o.ke."

I take a tiny sip. "I sell books."

"I sell oil. What's the difference?"

I can think of a million things, but he's kind for not marginalizing my career choice. I wander to the wall of windows overlooking the bay. "You've done well for yourself."

"Followed in the old man's footsteps. Pretty hard to fail when you have a financial giant on your a.s.s 24/7. My father doesn't take no for an answer."

I can relate. "I know how it feels."

I hear him set his drink down on the dining room table. "Don't do it, Erin."

I wish I could open up to him. "Sometimes you have to accept fate for what it is."

"Bulls.h.i.t." I'm turned around. "Thomas isn't your fate, I am."

I can't stop the tears. All the pressure breaks me, I weep like a baby.

At first Foster can't believe it. He just stares down at me, his eyes wide with surprise. But then his expression changes and he sweeps me off my feet and carries me to the sofa. He cradles me on his knees, letting me bury my face in his shoulder. "I'm an a.s.shole," he says. "I didn't mean to make you cry."

I latch on to him like he's my savior, snorting and gasping for breath between the violent sobs. "Not your fault," I manage to croak.

He rubs my back, his strong hands easing my stress. "Please trust me."

I shake my head. "I can't tell anyone what's going on, Foster."

He sighs. "Say the word, I'll cap his a.s.s."

I laugh so hard my insides hurt. "Pretty sure you can't do that."

He grins and thumbs a couple tears off my cheek. "If you only knew."

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what's boiling underneath his calm faade. Foster knows how to fight. I witnessed it first hand in high school, on and off the football field. Time doesn't change that in a man, but his education probably included lessons in diplomacy.

"Whenever I need rescuing I know who to call." If I can focus on the positive, enjoy what time we have left together, I'll be okay. Humor is never misplaced, no matter how bad things get.

"Erin?"

His gravelly voice could talk me into anything. So could his eyes. There's only one thing on his mind now. "Please. Don't."

I don't know how to react.