Jake stared at the screen.

It had been a while since he’d done this. A while since he’d looked.

He could close the laptop. He could—

With a soft curse, his fingers flew over the keys as he searched for the information he wanted.

For someone with his skills, it was easily accessed.

He read, checking for anything new, and saw that she had a new job. Promotion. Everything else was the same.

She was still living in a Tudor revival in upstate New York. Still happily married with two kids and a dog.

Life was good.

With a soft curse, he closed the page.

What the hell was he doing?

But he knew the answer to that one. Maria had given him the “isn’t it time you settled down” look. When-ever she did that, he felt the need to remind himself of the reasons why he couldn’t.

The door to his office opened and he looked up with a frown, irritated by the disturbance. “What?” 

Dani looked at him searchingly, but said nothing. “There’s someone to see you.”

“I don’t have any meetings today.”

“Her name is Paige.” Dani leaned against his door. “It’s weird, boss. She was standing outside for at least ten minutes deciding whether to come in or not. She walked away twice, then came back again. We were watching from the window laying bets as to whether she would pluck up the courage or not. Maybe you have a stalker. Want me to send her away?”

They obviously thought she was one of his ex-girl¬friends, come to give him a hard time.

“Don’t send her away.”

“Do you know why she’s here?”

No, but he could guess. He didn’t know what both¬ered him most, the fact Paige had finally had to come to him for help or the fact that it was clearly killing her to do so.

Jake stood up and flipped his laptop shut. He was glad now that he’d looked. Every piece of information on that screen reminded him to be cautious in his rela¬tionships. “Send her in.”

He didn’t need to wonder why Paige had walked away twice. He knew. She hated asking for help. Es-pecially his help.

What he didn’t understand was what had finally driven her to his door.

He’d assumed things were going well for Urban Genie. He and Matt had shared some beers a few nights ago and Matt hadn’t mentioned anything.

While he waited, he paced over to the glass window and stared across the city, through concrete canyons that stretched from Canal Street to Lower Manhattan. Once an urban wasteland of industrial warehouses, it 

had been transformed into one of the country’s most ex¬pensive zip codes, a thriving neighborhood filled with affluent creative and financial talent. That was the rea¬son he’d chosen to live and work here. That, and the fact that it was a heartbeat from the city’s financial district.

“Jake?” Her voice came from the doorway. Husky. Feminine. It was like being stroked with a fur glove.

He braced himself. All he had to do was treat her like his best friend’s little sister. Little sister. He repeated it in his head like a mantra.

Except that he knew damn well that she wasn’t lit¬tle. He’d been right there, up close and personal, when she’d grown up.

One minute she’d been wearing cartoon T-shirts, her hospital room populated by cheery balloons and oversize stuffed toys, the next she was experimenting with makeup. Out with the kids’ stuff, in with slinky Victoria’s Secret.

The night she’d revealed not only Victoria’s Secrets but most of her own was welded into his brain and yet somehow, despite having her naked body offered to him virtually on a plate, he’d managed to do the right thing.

And he’d done it in a way that ensured neither of them had to go through that again.

He turned and almost swallowed his tongue. She was wearing a tailored black suit that nipped in at her nar¬row waist and skimmed her hips. Her heels were high and her hair—the color of rich, dark chocolate—fell straight and gleaming over her perfect white shirt. She looked efficient and corporate. And all woman.

He was aware of her in a way he never was with any other woman. Her faint floral scent flavored the air but it wasn’t just that. It was her. Something about her seeped through to his brain and senses. 

He wanted to touch her.

He wanted to strip off those clothes and taste her.

He was in trouble. He was in big trouble.

“Paige?”

Underneath her flawless makeup, her face was pale and she looked exhausted, as if she hadn’t slept prop-erly for nights.

He wanted to haul her into his arms and fix every¬thing, an impulse that made him step back.

He wasn’t going to screw with his best friend’s sister.

When he had a fling, which he did far less frequently than people thought, he picked strong women with spines of steel and hearts of stone.

An ex-girlfriend had once told him caustically that dating him was like driving off-road in very rough ter-rain.

Paige looked as if she’d break at the first pothole. If there was one heart he was never going to damage, it was hers. It had already sustained more than enough damage at the hands of Mother Nature and a bunch of doctors. At least that was what he told himself.

“How are things at Urban Genie? Busy?” He saw her cheeks turn from pale cream to strawberry blush. “How was your bachelor party? Any business leads?”

“Not exactly.” She fiddled with the edges of her jacket. “That didn’t work out.”

“No?” He wished she hadn’t chosen to wear that cheerful coral lipstick.

Paige’s addiction to lipstick was a source of amuse¬ment to most people. To him it was one more thing that tested his willpower. It drew attention to her mouth, which made it tough on him because that was one part of her he tried never to look at.  

He’d kissed plenty of women in his time and not one of those kisses had stayed with him.

He’d never kissed Paige, and he thought about it con¬stantly.

“It’s not important.” She dismissed his question with the smile he’d seen her use a million times with her par¬ents and her brother.

“What happened?”

She eyed him. “It was everything you said it would be, so unless you’re longing to say ‘I told you so,’ now would be a good time to move on. You don’t need de¬tails. Let’s just say it didn’t work out.”

He watched as she curled her fingers into her palms. “What happened, Paige?”

“Nothing.”

He knew her well enough to know that “nothing” was a whole lot of “something.” “I want to hear about ‘nothing.’”

“You’ll freak out and overreact. Then you’ll tell Matt and he’ll freak out and overreact. If I wanted Matt to know I would be sitting in front of him now, not you.”

“I promise not to overreact.”

“They wanted a few too many extras. Extras that weren’t included in our list. That’s your cue to say ‘I told you so.’ Laugh and get it over with.”

He’d never felt less like laughing.

Anger stirred inside him. “They made a move on you?”

She gave him a warning look. “You promised you wouldn’t overreact.”

“I lied.” He spoke through his teeth. “And I want details.”

“They thought we were the entertainment, but we handled it. That’s all you need to know.” 

His vision darkened. “Give me their names.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. What are you, Batman? Are you going to beat them up on a dark night? I told you, we handled it.”

“But what if you hadn’t been able to?” The thought of what could have happened sent rivulets of ice down his spine. “You never should have put yourself in that position.”

“What position? We were doing a job. Trying to start our business. You want me to take female-only clients? Sit at home all day in case something bad happens?” Her tone told him that she was close to the edge and he took a deep breath. He’d pushed all her hot buttons and he tried hard not to do that.

“Now you’re the one who is overreacting. I’m not trying to protect you. All I’m saying is—”

“That you want to wade in there and take over. De¬fend me. That’s being overprotective.”

He rubbed his fingers over his forehead. No wonder Matt always got it wrong. It was like walking on egg-shells in heavy boots. “Is that so wrong?”

“Yes.” Her eyes were fierce. “Don’t do that, Jake. Don’t look at me as if you’re ready to lock the door from the outside and never let me out. You’re the one person who doesn’t do that.”

He forced himself to relax. “You called Security?”

“No need. We had Frankie.” The corner of her mouth flickered into a faint smile. “The human weapon.”

“Frankie?”

“They’d already been drinking when we arrived and we knew right from the moment we walked through the door there was going to be trouble. We probably should have left then and cut our losses but we were so desperate for business we all agreed we’d keep going and hope it worked out.”

A film of sweat chilled his brow. “Paige—” he spoke through his teeth “—fast-forward to the part where Frankie turned into a superhero.”

“Eva was doing her usual thing where she speaks without thinking. She was aiming for good customer service and asked what would make their evening spe¬cial.”

Jake swore under his breath. “Someone needs to talk to her.”

“Frankie already did. Anyway, predictably one of the guys said ‘you and me, horizontal, baby.’ He stuck his hand under her skirt. The next moment Frankie had thrown him and was standing with her stiletto jabbed in his abs.” She started to laugh. “I don’t know why I’m laughing. They certainly won’t be recommending us.”

“I don’t know why you’re laughing, either.” Jake gripped the corner of his desk. “If Frankie wasn’t a black belt with a bad attitude—”

“We would have handled it a different way, and Frankie has a perfect attitude. She’s the total opposite of Eva. Eva trusts everyone. Frankie trusts no one. Eva thinks the world is full of sunshine. Frankie sees black storm clouds everywhere. But the best thing is that she’s so slight, everyone misjudges her. There are no hints that she can knock you unconscious with one kick so she always catches people off guard.”

Jake started to breathe again. “From now on you deal with companies, not individuals. Go through for¬mal channels.”

“Companies haven’t exactly been queuing outside our door. You have no idea how many calls I’ve made.” The laughter had gone and now she looked tired and 

dejected, as if all the spirit had been sucked out of her. “That’s why I’m here. This is me, crawling to you for help. Savor the moment.”

He’d never savored anything less. “It isn’t a weak¬ness to ask for help, Paige. It’s sound business practice.”

“Couch it anyway you like, but it comes down to the fact I couldn’t do it by myself.”

“That’s crap.” He stood up and walked around his desk. “I know you hate being smothered and pro¬tected—”

“Yes, I do. And you don’t usually do it. You’re a pain in the butt—” she sent him a look “—but even when you’re being a pain in the butt and goading me, part of me likes the fact you don’t hold back.”

She had no idea what he was holding back.