Long minutes later, James finally determined that William looked right. They had him lie on a couch and moved one of the lights.
I stepped outside the curtain to watch. Jade darted in and fixed a lock of William’s hair. James lifted his camera and William titled his face toward me. Our eyes met, and I smiled, nibbling my bottom lip.
“Really?” James asked, stepping back and lowering his camera.
William’s bulge was… larger.
“She’s way over there,” James said, gesturing toward me. “Think about something unappealing. I’m not trying to shoot lady porn, here.”
William seemed completely unfazed. He took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling.
We all waited, again. James paced back and forth. After a few more minutes, he looked at William through his camera lens and muttered something that sounded like finally.
I wondered if I should hide behind the curtain, but I needed to use the restroom. I figured I’d sneak away while he was busy. I crept across the loft toward the vanity where Jade had done his hair. Pausing about halfway, I looked back. James had William standing now.
God, he looked delicious. I wasn’t sure if I liked him being photographed like this. I didn’t want to share him.
Our eyes met, and his mouth hooked in that subtle smile I loved so much. Feeling suddenly naughty, I brought a finger to my mouth and slowly licked it with the tip of my tongue. Then I pressed my lips around it and pulled it out, winking at him.
His smile transformed into an expression that was downright carnal. I felt my cheeks flush and my body tingle with desire.
“Damn it, William,” James said. “Forget it. We’ll go with what we have.”
I stifled a giggle and tried to look innocent. The wardrobe guy caught my eye and gave me a covert thumbs-up.
In the bathroom, I took a deep breath and fanned myself. My cheeks were pink, and I was warm. When I came out, William was behind the curtain changing. James looked at me and rolled his eyes. Stifling another laugh, I just shrugged.
James spoke to the tall woman again, and I thought I heard him say, “And remind me to never introduce him to my girlfriend.”
William came out, dressed in his own clothes. “Ready?”
“That’s quite the asset you have there,” I said, running my finger down his chest. “We should hurry home, so I can finish what I started.”
His eyes widened, sparkling blue. “My place is closer.”
I laughed as he grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward the door.
Unexpected Visits
As much as I wanted to get lost in a world where I could spend my days—and nights—tangled up in bed with William, I had classes to teach. Between teaching, updating lecture notes for my Survey of British Literature class and writing test questions for the Literature Across Genres course I taught online, my days seemed to be over before they’d even begun. Fortunately, I had no more government visitors, and neither William nor James heard from Eric Andrews. I thought about calling him to see if he was still looking into William, but I didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention to him.
Friday, I went home, mentally exhausted. I couldn’t wait to curl up on the couch in comfy pants and slippers. William and I didn’t have plans, but I was so tired, I didn’t mind too much. The most I wanted to do tonight was flip through options on Netflix. Maybe I’d just have popcorn for dinner. That counted as a meal, didn’t it?
Edgar needed to go outside and when we came back in, he immediately started growling. Someone knocked, and he barked.
“Who is it, buddy?”
I answered the door to find Blake.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
He looked a little rumpled, dressed in a button-down and slacks, but no tie or jacket. “Can I come in?”
“I don’t think so.”
Edgar put himself between me and Blake.
“Please?” he asked with a wary glance at my dog. “I just want to talk to you and you won’t take my calls.”
“We don’t have anything to talk about.”
He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. “I know I came on too strong before. I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to put you off.”
“Look, you apologized, and that’s fine. But I don’t understand why you keep trying to contact me.”
“Because I want to see you again,” he said.
I crossed my arms. “That’s not going to happen.”
“I just want another chance,” he said.
“Why?” I asked. “It’s not like we had a relationship. We went out a few times and nothing came of it.”
“Because I can’t stop thinking about you,” he said. “I made a huge mistake and I’ve spent every day since regretting it.”
My phone rang, but it was on the kitchen counter.
“Blake, I’m going to be really honest with you,” I said. “Regardless of what happened the last time you came over, this wasn’t going to work out. Even if I didn’t have someone else in my life—which I do—my answer would still be no.”
He glanced down, like he was thinking about what to say next. When he met my gaze, his eyes were hard. “You need to be careful with that guy.”
“That’s none of your business,” I said.
“You don’t realize what you’re getting into,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. “As if you know anything about the man I’m dating.”
“Do you know who he really is?”
I wasn’t going to take the bait. “Enough, Blake.”
“If there’s nothing going on, why is he being investigated by Homeland Security?”
“Now you’re just… wait, how do you know about that?”
His demeanor shifted, the desperation leaving his features, replaced by the arrogance I’d somehow missed when I first met him. “I know enough.”
“Honestly, why are you here?”
“I’m just looking out for you,” he said.
God, it was like I’d stepped into a parallel universe. What was he going to say next? That he had visions about me, too? “I don’t need you to look out for me.”
“This isn’t coming out right,” he said. “I think you’re making a mistake with that William guy. He’s not what he seems. You’re sweet and beautiful and you should be with someone who cares enough to be honest with you. How can you trust someone with no real identity? What’s he hiding, Ivy?”
“What makes you think he has no identity?”
“I have connections,” he said. “And if he didn’t want me looking into his life, he should have stayed out of mine.”
“Oh my god, what are you talking about?” I asked. Edgar growled, clearly sensing my growing agitation. “William isn’t doing anything in your life. He’s dating me, which has nothing to do with you.”
“Then why is he following me around?”
I stopped because I didn’t know how to answer that. I wanted to say that William was not following him around, but how could I be sure? He’d followed me. Until now, it hadn’t occurred to me that he might use those stalking skills on someone else. Wasn’t it just about his visions? Finding Ivy? Why would he follow someone else? Especially Blake, who was nothing to me—just a guy I’d gone out with a few times. I had no explanation for why he’d care about Blake at all. William was with me, Blake wasn’t. What else was there?
“He’s probably after your money,” Blake said.
I rolled my eyes again. “Now you’re really reaching.”
“Am I?” he asked. “He came out of nowhere a year after your dad died. You shouldn’t trust him.”
“I have no reason to trust you either,” I said.
“Yes, you do,” he said. “I care about you.”
“You don’t even know me,” I said. “Why are you making this out to be something it wasn’t?”
“It’s not about the amount of time we spent together,” he said, his voice softening. “The first time I saw you, I knew you were going to be
important to me.”
I took a deep breath and touched Edgar’s back. His body was tense. So was mine. “I’m sorry if you thought there was something between us. There wasn’t. I’ve tried very hard to make that clear, but I feel like you’re not hearing me. So let me say this again. I don’t need you to look out for me. I’m not going out with you again. And who I’m dating now is not your concern.”
“Ivy—”
“Go home, Blake,” I said. “I don’t understand what’s fueling this, but whatever it is, get over it. Get help. Something.”
His face hardened into an emotionless mask, just like when he’d brought breakfast. “I tried to warn you.”
Edgar growled again, and I slipped my fingers beneath his collar, just in case he decided to get aggressive. I didn’t need vicious dog accusations added to the drama that was apparently my life now. Fortunately, Blake didn’t say anything else, just turned and walked back to his car. I shut and locked the door.
I released my grip on Edgar’s collar and let him bark at Blake’s retreating car through the window without a reprimand. My head was killing me, and my back was still tense with frustration.
“What is wrong with him?” I asked Edgar. He barked out the window again. “First I’m with Julian who won’t stick around when things get hard. Then I meet someone who thinks he needs to be my personal protector after a handful of dates?”
Edgar swung his head around to look at me, his ears twitching.
“I know, when it comes to personal protectors, Blake has nothing on William.” I sank down on the couch and Edgar jumped up, putting his head in my lap. I scratched behind his ears. “But William is different, isn’t he? You like him. That certainly means something. And I like him, too.”
I kept petting Edgar and leaned my head back against the couch. “I don’t just like him, buddy. It’s so much more.”
The knock on my door startled me. Why hadn’t Edgar barked?
“Ivy.” William’s voice. “Baby, are you home?”
Of course, that was why. William remained the one person who could approach my house without a warning bark from my dog. I got up and opened the door. “What are you doing here?”
He pushed past me into the house. “Where’s Blake?”
“He left,” I said. “How did you know he was here?”
“The camera,” he said, holding out his cell phone. It was frozen on a blurry image of Blake on my doorstep.
“Oh, right,” I said. “You sure got here fast.”
“You didn’t answer your phone.”
I glanced over to the kitchen. “It was over there. I’m sorry, I forgot it rang. I would have checked it in a few minutes.”
“What did Blake want?” he asked.
I went over to the couch and sat back down. “I don’t know. To win an award for being the worst at accepting rejection?”
“What did he say?”
“That he wants another chance,” I said. “And that you aren’t what you seem and you’re probably after my money.”
William looked like he was ready to murder someone. Blake, most likely.
“It’s not like I believe him,” I said. “He did say you were following him, though. Is that true?”
“Yes,” he said.
I cracked a smile. I knew he’d tell me the truth. “Why?”
He sat down next to me. “Because I’m here to protect you.”
“But do you need to protect me from Blake?” I asked. “It’s odd that he won’t give up, but other than that, he seems pretty harmless. What’s he going to do? Annoy me to death? He was here that whole time and he didn’t even try to come in the house.”
“Edgar was here,” he said.
“Well, yeah, but if Blake really wanted to hurt me, would Edgar be enough to stop him?”
“I don’t want to find out.” He brushed my hair back and kissed me softly. “And I don’t think he’s being persistent just because he wants another chance with you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think he’s after your inheritance,” he said.
“Blake?” I asked. “What makes you think he’s after my money? He seems to have plenty of his own.”
“I don’t think he does,” he said. “He has a gambling problem.”
“How do you know that?”
“I hacked into his laptop.”
“You just said that with a completely straight face.” I paused, waiting to see if he’d tell me he was kidding. But he didn’t. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Of course I’m serious.”
I laughed a little. “So you’re a model and a hacker?”
“I model to pay the bills,” he said. “And you can learn anything on the Internet.”
“Okay… let me work this out,” I said. “Let’s say Blake has a gambling problem, so he needs money. For what, more gambling?”
“No, he’s in debt,” he said. “A lot of debt. And I don’t mean to a bank.”
“A loan shark or something?” I asked.
“Something like that.”
“When I was out with him once, we ran into someone he knew. He said something to Blake about playing with the big boys. Blake said it was just a monthly poker night.”
“High-stakes poker, maybe,” he said. “I know I already asked who knows about your inheritance, but is there any way Blake could have found out how much money you have?”
“I’m not his client, so he shouldn’t…” I trailed off, realizing something I hadn’t considered before. “Wait, the estate had to go through his department when ownership was transferred to me. He probably had access to my information then. But how was dating me supposed to solve his problem? Was his plan to make me fall for him and offer to pay his debts?”
“Possibly,” he said. “That’s a lot less risk than stealing from you. His company must have safeguards against employee fraud. Maybe he thought if he wormed his way into your life, he could have the best of both worlds—get his debt paid and keep his job.”
And get in my pants, I thought. But I didn’t say that out loud. “And I’m screwing up his plan because I keep rejecting him.”
“Exactly, and he’s getting desperate,” he said. “I think he’s the one who broke in to your house.”
“What makes you think that?”
“I started doing some research after we saw him at Dorset,” he said. “I didn’t like the way he looked at you. And then there was the break-in here. It was just a gut instinct, but I had a feeling he might have been responsible. That’s how I found out about the gambling debt. He owes a lot of money to some very bad people. I think they’re putting a lot of pressure on him.”
“So if he broke in here, what was he after?” I asked. “Personal information?”
“Yes,” he said. “Passwords, Social Security numbers, maybe even copies of your dad’s will or other estate paperwork. I think he was behind the break-in at Dorset, too, looking for the same thing. But in both cases, he made it look like something else.”
“So he trashed the whole office instead of just Arthur’s, so no one would know what the real target was.”
“Right. And here, he made it look like a home invasion. He might have even paid someone else to do it, just told them what to look for.”
“Do you have any proof?” I asked. “Can we go to the police?”
“Not yet,” he said. “That’s why I haven’t said anything. I didn’t want you to think I was making it up.”
“I wouldn’t have thought that,” I said. “But you need to be careful. You have someone from Homeland Security sniffing around, and now you’re telling me you’ve been stalking Blake, and you hacked into his computer. I don’t want you getting arrested.”
“I know,” he said. “I’ll be careful.”
“I should call Arthur and make sure there hasn’t been any suspicious activity on my accounts.” I put a hand to my forehead. “Is this really happening? This is too crazy to be my life.”
He
put his hand on my thigh and squeezed. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. But I don’t want you to be alone right now. Especially since he showed up here today.”
I smiled. “If only there was a sexy man in my life who had vowed to protect me. He could stay here and keep me warm at night.”
He grinned and pushed me down onto the couch, climbing on top of me. “If only.”
I melted into his kiss and in seconds, all thoughts of Blake, the break-ins, and my inheritance were far from my mind.
We’re in My Office
After Blake showed up at my house, William hardly let me out of his sight. A few days later, when I saw Blake drive past campus, I stopped telling him he was being overprotective.
So I got used to William being my shadow. He didn’t go to work with me all day, but he did pop in to check up on me. And he charmed everyone I worked with. Lisa couldn’t stop talking about how dreamy he was. My boss met him and later went on and on about him being so likable and engaging.
Even Jessica, who’d held onto her skepticism because of the whole stalking thing, had come around. Although she did complain that we hadn’t spent any time together recently. She was right. I made it up to her by taking her out for a girl’s night that weekend. Peter happily stayed home, and I pretended I didn’t notice William following us the whole time.
The following Friday, William came to my office in the afternoon. I was just finishing up with a student who was attempting to persuade me to raise his grade. His name was Danny, and he wasn’t nearly as cute as he seemed to think he was. I wasn’t impressed with his cocky grin and thinly veiled hints that he’d make it worth my while.
William appeared in the doorway and waited.
“Look, I’m sure we can figure this out,” Danny said. “I need a better GPA or my parents are going to give me all kinds of crap. And maybe you could use… you know… a little relaxation. You work hard. You deserve it.”
William crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame, looking amused. “She does deserve it. But I don’t think she needs your help.”
Remembering Ivy Page 14
