Chapter 2

Kellan Walker had his arm around her waist, and the entire planet had just flipped completely upside down.

“Oh, um. Hi. Great. I’m glad you found me.” How had he figured out that she’d needed saving?

His warmth infused her chilled body, and it was only then she registered how cold she’d been while stuck in the tiny entryway with Scary Guy. Out here on the steps, she could breathe. Mostly. There was still the matter of being held so tenderly by her brother’s friend, a guy she’d known since she was ten, but hadn’t ever thought of as a guy.

Okay, well, of course she knew he was a guy. But he was Ivan’s friend and that automatically rendered him off-limits. Which didn’t necessarily mean she was considering him now, just that it was hard to miss how built he was while pressed up against the granite planes of his torso where she just seemed to fit…

Heat flushed her cheeks as their gazes got tangled up, and she got the distinct impression he’d somehow clued in that her mind had wandered, and holy cow, what was she doing ogling Kellan within seconds of almost being assaulted by Scary Guy?

Shiloh cleared her throat. “I was just about to go to the management office with um, Sergio.” The name left a bitter taste in her mouth, but she resisted the urge to spit. “To talk about the rental agreement for this empty space.”

Kellan didn’t even blink. “Excellent. I’ll come with you.”

The notion nearly made her weep with gratitude, though she wouldn’t have dared suggest such a thing. His simple white T-shirt and running pants sure looked like armor to her. She’d have to thank him for riding to her rescue later, when she had a chance to sort all of this out.

Kellan two-stepped her out of the way without letting his grip around her waist slip an iota, and then gestured down the steps with his free hand, shooting Sergio a pointed look. “After you.”

That’s when she noticed that Scary Guy was looking a little more like Swallowed a Frog Guy. Good. He deserved to be green around the gills. The nerve of him—trying a nasty move like that as part of a “deal.”

Sergio tugged at his ugly tie and flounced past them down the stairs. From this vantage point, it wasn’t at all difficult to see that Kellan had at least five inches and a gazillion pounds of pure muscle on the sales guy.

Once Sergio had moved a good dozen steps into the courtyard, Kellan finally loosened his arm, but didn’t let go, sliding his fingers through hers to grip her hand. A flash the approximate heat and intensity of a lightning strike buzzed through her whole body, tingling all the way to her toes.

Her gaze flew to his again, and he glanced down at her with a smile that rearranged her insides.

Who knew she’d be so affected by this whole protector-savior routine? Not her. She’d have to do some serious work to erase the imprint of Kellan on her insides later. This was strictly a means to an end, one she highly appreciated.

“Thanks,” she mouthed, which he answered with a small shrug as if it was no big deal.

It was a big deal. He’d made her feel safe and circumvented a situation that could have gotten out of hand very quickly. She owed him, big time. Dinner at least. During which she’d have to remember to forget the feel of Kellan’s hand in hers and the very nice sensation of being half of a couple as they strolled through the public courtyard of Vivo.

It wouldn’t be a date. She didn’t date. Not anymore. Ivan had hated nearly every guy who had ever so much as breathed in her direction and she was tired of relationships with shallow losers. But the idea of having a nice evening with someone who basically amounted to a friend sounded heavenly.

When the party of three arrived back at the management office, Kellan held out the hard chair for her to sit in, and once she did, he stood directly behind it like a gorgeous hulking bodyguard. She didn’t bother to squelch the little thrill that unfurled inside her. No one had to know about it and besides, there was no law against liking it when a man made a fuss over her.

Honestly, if it had been anyone besides Kellan, there might have been swooning.

“The lady wants to talk about a rental agreement.” Kellan fairly growled as Sergio took his sweet time getting around the desk to take his own seat. “I would recommend you start on that immediately.”

Actually, the swooning might happen anyway.

“Of course,” Sergio mumbled. “But it’s highly unorthodox to discuss sensitive legal matters in the presence of someone unaffiliated with the business. Perhaps Ms. Anderson would like to call her lawyer?”

“I’m affiliated,” Kellan told him shortly. “Since we’re engaged. Start talking.”

Shiloh’s body went numb when the lie rolled off Kellan’s tongue. Engaged? What in the world? She glanced back at him but he was just standing there, arms crossed to show off the mountain range rippling across his biceps, a heated glower on his face aimed in Sergio’s direction.

Goodness. Even she didn’t have a desire to tangle with Kellan Walker in that instant.

But then he flashed her a tiny, private smile that kablammed her right in the solar plexus, and suddenly her overly active imagination got busy crafting a scene where she became very tangled up with Kellan. She shivered and shut that down.

Right. So, they were engaged. Surely a little white lie wouldn’t cause any problems, and if Sergio thought they were engaged, maybe he’d favor her more in the negotiation, just to stay on Kellan’s good side.

Sergio squared a sheaf of papers and laid them ceremoniously in front of Shiloh, but his attention stayed one hundred percent on the man behind her. “You’ll find this in order.”

After Sergio answered a few questions, she signed on the solid line above the word Owner, her stomach doing a little flip as she drew out the tail on the last “n” in Anderson. It was official.

She had a space for her daycare.

Within moments, Kellan had escorted her into the lobby of Vivo where the amount of traffic had increased. Must be near noon, which meant she’d taken up far too much of her savior’s time. Before he could get away, she pulled him into an alcove across from the desk where Debbie, the management office receptionist, sat.

All at once, the enormity of what he’d saved her from crashed down on her, tightening her throat. The simple thank you wouldn’t come out and felt entirely inadequate besides.

“Sorry,” Kellan said in the awkward silence. “If I messed anything up. I forget to look before I leap.”

“No!” That got her tongue moving. “It was amazing. Perfect. I appreciate your impulsiveness more than you can possibly know. The part where we’re engaged was a bit of a shock, but it was inspired.”

“Yeah.” Kellan made a face that managed to be endearing, but he shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. “I couldn’t let him kick me out. All the talk of contracts tripped me up, though. I should have just waited in the hall.”

“We have no secrets now,” she teased, hoping to set him at ease.

They’d known each other as kids but she hadn’t really had much contact with him as an adult. Shame. He was a tall, dark and handsome hunk of masculine perfection that she appreciated immensely. Not because she had any interest in him, no siree. That kind of thing was off the table. Also a shame.

His wall of muscle had served to intimidate her would-be assailant into submission and that was the extent of this little interlude.

If only she could get the fireworks inside to stop crackling every time she merely thought about holding hands with him.

She’d never had trouble relegating him to the not-for-her category before, dang it. It should be easy to wrangle him back into the box and shut the lid, but that didn’t seem to be happening the longer they stood in this cozy little alcove in close proximity. Probably that was the issue. She should thank him again and go back to her condo. Right now.

“Let me take you to dinner.” It fell out of her mouth all on its own. Or that’s what she’d swear in a court of law. “To thank you. It’s the least I can do. We should catch up anyway. It’s been years since we were in the same place at the same time.”

Kellan stared down at her, his hazel eyes maddeningly blank. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

The implacable expression on his face didn’t change and the vibe between them grew a lot colder than she’d have credited given how warm everything had gotten back when his arm had first settled around her waist. “Not as a date. I meant the three of us. Ivan included. It’ll be fun.”

“As long as Ivan’s there, that would be cool. Have him text me the details.”

And that seemed to be that. She nodded like it was fine. It was fine. She was just Ivan’s annoying little sister who Kellan had been forced to rescue. And now he was done here. “Have a good day.”

She fled the alcove before she said something else stupid and tried to put the entire thing out of her mind. When she got back to her condo, she shut the door and bolted the lock, double checking it. Ivan lived in the unit next door, so if she needed anything, he’d be there in a heartbeat.

This was not one of those times. Kellan had taken care of the immediate threat and it was over. She had a daycare business to launch. She spent the rest of the afternoon working on the endless number of administrative tasks, a list that never seemed to get shorter. She had employees to hire, a website to commission. It was more than enough for her to focus on instead of Kellan.

She wished it was that easy. On the flip side, she had no trouble forgetting about Creepy Guy.

But when she got her mail the next day from the box in the lobby, she had the strangest crawling sensation down the middle of her shoulder blades. She glanced over her shoulder to find Sergio standing at the reception desk watching her. Sure, he was talking to Debbie casually, one hip leaned on the desk, but his beady gaze tracked Shiloh.

He was definitely trying to earn his Creepy Guy badge today.

She ignored him and flipped through her mail, spying an envelope from Vivo Management. Curious, she immediately flipped it over, fingered open the seal, and pulled out the single sheet of paper. A welcome letter thanking her for her business. But it was the handwritten note at the bottom that drove a spike of ice through her stomach.

Your fiancé can’t be around all the time.

She swallowed and kept the revulsion off her face through some force of will she’d be hard-pressed to explain. Obviously he’d parked at the desk in hopes of catching her reaction. She’d show him exactly what she thought of his veiled threat. She crumpled the paper in her hand and tossed it in the nearby trash can with a defiant glare at the man who’d written it.

What was he going to do to her in a crowded lobby? Nothing. He’d written that message strictly to scare her. Surely he wouldn’t do much more than write threatening messages. But just in case, she’d buy a can of mace. Walk with her cell phone in her hand at all times, poised to dial 9-1-1.

When she got back to her condo, a knock on the door startled her. Heart in her throat, she stared at the flimsy barrier.

Why hadn’t she kept the welcome letter and gone to the police? That had been evidence. Stupid.

“Shiloh.”

She almost laughed with relief as she recognized Ivan’s voice. Gah, she was being so silly, letting a dumb comment on a letter scare her.

She yanked the door open and nearly flinched. The expression on her brother’s face could peel paint from the wall. She stepped back to admit him into her condo wondering what she’d done now. Had someone seen her walking through the courtyard with Kellan and mentioned it to Ivan?

“What are you doing here? It’s the middle of the day. Shouldn’t you be working?”

“Hard to concentrate when I see a man following you all the way from the lobby to your door,” Ivan advised her flatly. “He took off down the hall when he saw me coming but he had his attention trained right on your door.”

“What? Surely you’re mistaken. He was probably waiting on a friend.”

“Second day in a row.” Ivan held up two fingers to punctuate his point. “I ignored it yesterday because I figured it was a coincidence. Today, I followed him to see what he was up to. He was standing outside your door. Just standing there. Watching it.”

Oh, that was not good. Her eyelids slammed shut as she processed that. Slim possibility it might be someone else, but she had to narrow that down for sure. “Kind of short, squat guy? Gray suit with a yellow tie?”

“Yeah. You know who it is.” It wasn’t a question. “Has he been hassling you?”

“No. Not really. Well, okay, yes. But Kellan handled it,” she told him as Ivan’s expression got decidedly more unhappy.

She quickly ran down the details, highlighting how brave his friend had been to come to her rescue, just in case Ivan had a mind to get cross with Kellan about taking liberties.

But instead of coming unglued, Ivan just smiled grimly and nodded. “Stay here with the door locked. I’ll be right back.”