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“And you ate them graciously.”

“You remember all of that?”

Bryce nodded. “My dreams were patchy, but the more I’m with you, the more those gaps are filling in. The more whole I feel. Like pieces of my soul that were lost are finally being reunited.” He dropped her hair over her shoulder. “Like everything finally makes sense and I’m finally where I’m meant to be.”

“You are.” She refrained from indulging her own desires, as deep as they drove, flattening her palms to his chest. “’Tis getting late.”

Bryce gathered her hands in his and kissed the tips of her fingers before he stepped back. “Will I see you tonight?”

“I’ll be patiently waiting.” Trying her hardest to ignore the fresh tearing of her heart—naught could muffle the fears embedded in her past nightmare—she slipped out from between him and the wall. “Gather your things, Bryce. I’ll fix you a dish to take.”

17

For once, she was thankful for the silly time-suck apps on phones. Well, thankful and infuriated.

Kate had used one of the apps she and Bryce shared to locate his whereabouts during the night when she stopped by his home and found his Hummer gone. Lo and behold, she found that damn truck parked outside some stranger’s townhouse, right on the fucking street like he didn’t care who saw it. Sawhim!

“Shameless fucking bastard,” she growled under her breath as she stormed down the hallway to her small office. Somehow, through this embarrassing debacle, she had to maintain her composure in front of her mother and Bryce’s mother. She had to buy herself time to get Bryce back because, God hear her, she wouldnotlet him go. Bryce Hampton belonged to her, and no one would stand in her way.

No. One.

Tossing her purse on her desk, she kicked her chair out and dropped heavily into the cushioned seat with a grunt. No amount of coffee could save her from this dour mood. Smileswould merely cast her deeper into her desolate state. She had to come up with a plan. After all, who the hell could ever deny Katherine Felton what she wanted?

Who could possiblyrejecther?

She’d been stewing in her fury when her mother popped into her office. As always, her suit was pressed and perfect, her hair coiffed as if she had stepped out of the salon, and she wore that no-nonsense edge to her expression that often had her underlings straightening backs and shoulders while turning their eyes down.

Kate scowled. “What?”

“I don’t need your attitude this morning, Katherine. How many times have I told you to keep your personal issues outside of this building?” Mrs. Felton approached her desk and placed a Manila folder on her empty blotter. “Things with Bryce will work themselves out. His mother will make sure of it. As for this case, I need you to focus. I’m giving you an important task, do you understand?”

Kate flicked open the file and suppressed a groan at the stack of papers—from phone records to grainy photos of their client—and discreetly rolled her eyes. The only thing she could focus on was finding out the identity of the damn woman who’d slipped between her and Bryce and screwed up their perfect arrangement.

“I expect some results come noon, Katherine.” Her mother tapped an acrylic nail on her desk. When she next spoke, her voice was low, conspiratorial. “Don’t worry about Bryce, my dear. All will be taken care of.”

Kate waited for her mother to leave before she crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. How the hell was she supposed to concentrate on this case? Granted, when her mother said something, she said it with the kind of conviction she’d proven over years of being a fierce attorney. Whateverher mother and Mary Hampton were brewing would likely prove victorious. It didn’t buffer the pain and anger from being shunned like a damn fool.

She’d barely clawed through her anger enough to tackle the file on her desk when a soft knock interrupted her vile thoughts. Strange, because only her mother, future mother-in-law or the secretary would come to her office. And none of them had a delicate knock.

“Come in,” she said, paging through the loose papers in the file. When she glanced up, she froze. She swore the temperature of the room dropped a few degrees, and the sudden rush of gooseflesh over her arms confirmed her suspicions. Her muscles tensed reactively, her instincts blaring a warning as the door closed behind the stranger. “I’m sorry, but you must have the wrong office.”

The woman—a stunning woman who could easily overshadow her own beauty—slipped a pair of dark-lensed glasses onto her golden hair, revealing hypnotic golden eyes and a face that could make anyone weep. Extraordinary. There were no words to describe this woman’s appearance, her presence, other than imperious.

“I do not make mistakes.” The woman sauntered—yes, sauntered—to one of the two chairs placed in front of Kate’s desk. To her horror, Kate found herself caught up in the way the woman’s hips swayed, and quickly tore her gaze away, fumbling with her file. “I come with a proposition, should you choose to accept.”

“Sorry, I don’t make deals. If you’re here to speak with an attorney regarding a—”

“Nay.” The woman braced her hands on the edge of Kate’s desk. An unnerving pull forced her attention from the file almost against her will, as if she wasn’t the one actually moving her head. Unnervingly, she found herself staring intoeyes the color of liquid gold. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t release herself from the woman’s powerful gaze. “I come to speak specifically to you, Katherine.”

Kate stared at the woman for a long, unsettling moment before her eyes widened. “You’re her.” She struggled to embrace all the anger that consumed her since Bryce’s breakup. Despite the hatred she’d mustered for the unknown woman who’d taken her man, she couldn’t dig her nails into it long enough now to make it effective. “Bitch!”

The woman released a low, seductive sound that might have been a chuckle if Kate wasn’t fighting disbelief, hopelessness, and intimidation inside herself. The golden-haired woman gracefully took a seat, fixing the hem of an A-line skirt that showed off every perfect curve, and rested an elbow on the cushioned arm.

“Aye, many have called me such. Alas, I’m not the woman you seek to punish.” She appraised her red nails, settling in like she owned Kate’s office. “Pain of the heart can be difficult to bear. Most find peace in vengeance.” The woman cut her a hard glance. “’Tis what you seek, aye?”

Kate eyed the closed door to her office, gauging the lack of movement beyond the frosted window to the hallway.

The woman waved her hand, seemingly dismissing Kate’s concern. “No one will interrupt us. I believe we can help each other out. Become…friends.”