He gestured for her to slide into the booth first, then instead of sitting across from her, he edged in by her side.

“Make yourself comfortable,” she said, her eyes gleaming with questions at his seating choice.

“I intend to.” Not only did he want to take full advantage of whatever time they had together, he didn’t want her to mistake his intent. He’d decided to gamble on Molly and he wasn’t going to do things halfway.

“Can I get you folks something to drink?” a waiter asked, pad and pen in hand.

“Molly?” Hunter glanced her way.

She wrinkled her nose in thought. “Light beer. Whatever you have on tap is fine,” she said.

“Regular for me. Tap’s fine for me, too.” Hunter couldn’t help but notice the choice had flowed off his tongue easily.

For the first time in a while, he’d given no thought to ordering a martini or one of the premium vodkas he’d begun drinking as a statement maker. One that said I’ve arrived. With Molly, Hunter didn’t feel the need to prove anything to her other than the fact that he cared. That said something important, he knew.

“I heard what happened at Ty’s apartment today.” Molly shifted in her seat, too aware of the man sitting beside her. She could barely concentrate thanks to the tingling in her leg where his thigh touched hers.

Hunter inclined his head. “It wasn’t pretty. I got there just in time.”

She placed her hand over his. “I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what you must have gone through thinking your friends…” She shivered, unable to continue.

The waiter interrupted with their beers, placing them on the old wooden table and handing them menus, as well. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he said.

“I love their pizza.” Hunter flipped the menu over to the back, focusing on the words and not on her. “I’ll eat any topping you like, so just choose.”

“Someone doesn’t want to talk about the fire.” Molly reached out and placed a hand over his. “Just know that I’m glad your friends are okay.”

“My family is okay.”

His words settled in her belly, telling her as nothing else could that he didn’t have feelings for Lilly. At least not the kind that were a threat to Molly. Her stomach flipped with excitement and relief.

Taking his cue to change the subject, she picked up her menu. “So how do mushrooms sound to you? And maybe some onions and pepperoni?” she asked.

“Sounds delicious.” He pulled the menu out of her hand and placed their order.

Then he turned his full attention her way. They shared a large pizza and relived old law school stories. They laughed about professors Molly had forgotten all about and by the time he’d paid the check, she realized she’d smiled more than she had in ages.

He drove her back to the house and walked her to her front door. Her stomach fluttered making her feel like a teenager on her first date.

“Would you like to come in? I could make a cup of coffee or we could have an after-dinner drink,” she offered. When they weren’t discussing his past or Marc Dumont, they had a lot in common and she didn’t want her evening with him to end.

Hunter placed one hand on the door frame and looked into her eyes. “I’d like to.”

“But?”

He let his fingertips trail down her cheek. “But I don’t think we should push our luck.” A sexy grin tipped his lips. “We had a good time. Let’s do it again soon.”

She smiled. “I’d like that.” A lot, she thought.

She dug into her purse and pulled out her keys, glancing up at the same time he leaned down and brushed his lips over hers.

His mouth was warm and enticing, his kiss as sweet as it was arousing. She reached up and cupped his face in her hands, the new position allowing a deeper kiss. The minute her tongue touched his, he groaned and took over, sweeping inside her mouth with demanding energy. He kissed her like he cared and she’d had too little of that in her life until now.

She heard a scraping noise and then Anna Marie’s voice. “Isn’t that what’s called an inappropriate public display of affection?” the older woman asked.

Hunter jumped. Molly stepped back and hit the wall.

“It’s only considered public if you have an audience. We didn’t,” he said to the older woman.

Anna Marie slammed the window shut tight.

“I really need to move,” Molly said, laughing.

Hunter grinned. “That’s a little drastic. How about next time you can walk me home?”

She leaned her head back, meeting his gaze. “Albany, right?”

“Close enough to drive in twenty minutes, far enough away from prying eyes.” He gestured toward Anna Marie’s side of the building with a nod of his head.

Molly put her key in the door, her hands still trembling from the impact of their kiss. “I’ll have to take you up on the offer one day.”

“I’m going to hold you to that,” he said. And with a brief wave, he took off, leaving Molly wishing he’d taken her up on that cup of coffee after all.

Eleven

Ty knocked once on Lilly’s door and let himself in without waiting for her to answer. They needed to talk. Most of all, he needed to just be with her and know she really was safe. But when he stepped inside and shut the door behind him, he realized she was lying on top of his old double bed and was fast asleep.

He smiled and sat down beside her, watching as her chest rose and fell. Her face was so peaceful, so beautiful. His heart ached just looking at her. Far from getting her out of his system by making love with her, he’d only fallen harder and deeper. He reached out and brushed her hair off her cheek, letting his fingers linger on her soft skin.

He wondered what she thought about them being together last night. And he was curious to know how she’d handle that boyfriend of hers now that she’d been with Ty. All questions he wanted answers to, even though he sensed none of those answers mattered. Not to Ty’s future.

Whether or not she remained with the guy, she had a business back home that meant everything to her. A life that she’d created without him. What did she have here? Painful memories and an uncle who seemed to want her dead. Ty doubted his pull could overcome those obstacles.

For now they had more important things to think about than them. Their priority now had to be in proving her uncle was behind the two attempts on her life.

A few phone calls earlier confirmed that although someone had broken in, there were no fingerprints to go on. No leads. Ty knew someone had to have been watching Lilly, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Ty’s grocery trip this morning hadn’t been routine so unless someone had been outside his apartment, they wouldn’t know or anticipate Ty leaving Lilly alone. The police were investigating but that didn’t give Ty comfort as long as the culprit was still out there.

The only thing they had going for them was that her uncle was turning out to be an inept killer. Thank God.

He decided right then and there to call his assistant and turn his business over to Derek for the time being. Until this mess with Lilly was resolved, Ty wasn’t leaving her side.

Starting now, he thought, setting himself on top of the covers and pulling a pillow beneath his head. Then he wrapped one arm around her, snuggled her curves into his and settled in for the night.

Next thing he knew, the sun shone through the open window blinds. Beside him, Lilly lay facing him and when she stirred, her knee came into contact with his thigh.

She opened her eyes, looked directly at him and a warm smile curved her lips. “Well, this is a surprise,” she murmured.

“I came by to lure you into the kitchen for milk, cookies and late-night conversation but you were fast asleep.”

“So you decided to stay.” Laughter danced in her brown eyes, her joy at finding him here obvious.

Pleasure surged through him. “It is my room.”

She laughed. “Well at least I know now why I slept so well.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said as he caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. He didn’t see any reason to scare her by telling her he planned to be her twenty-four-seven bodyguard. “Seriously, are you okay?” he asked.

She nodded. “The paramedics said I’m fine and after your mother’s cooking, I’m even better.”

She obviously didn’t want to get into detail, but they had to touch on some important things. “I wasn’t talking about physically.”

She swallowed hard. “I know. I’m trying to avoid thinking about it,” she admitted.

“I wish that was the answer.” He paused, then asked, “Do you have a will?”

She blinked in surprise at his question. “Well, yes. I wrote one recently. Alex said anyone who owns a business needs to plan for all possibilities.”

Alex. Another conversation they needed to have. This time it was one he wished to avoid. Coming from Lilly, the man’s name reminded him better than anything else that she had another life, and everything inside him froze.

Ty cleared his throat. “A will ensures all your possessions will pass the way you want. Which means you need to claim the trust right away. As soon as you do, your uncle will have no claim to it. He’ll have no reason to kill you in the hopes of getting his hands on the money.” He spoke in a clipped, businesslike tone.

Then he rose, intending to get out of bed. They were too close, too cozy for comfort.

She touched his back, her hand warm through his shirt. “Ty, listen-”

“Your appointment is in the morning, right?” he asked, cutting her off.

“Yes. And we’ll talk some more about the trust fund and about my uncle later. Right now I need you to hear me out.” She paused. “Please,” she said, her tone plaintive.

He never could deny her anything. He lay back, propping his hand beneath his arms as he stared at the ceiling. “I’m listening.”