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L ily Snow, also known as Snowflake in high school, hated her name, so it was a good thing that she had married Blake Stevenson. Of course, she loved him for more than just his name.

“I put in regular creamer instead of flavored, is that good for this morning?” Blake asked, coming into the room from the kitchen and placing a steaming hot cup of coffee on the table next to their comfy couch.

“It’s perfect.” She took a sip and savored the espresso. Blake was great at understanding her needs. Sometimes, she preferred not to have the sweetness of flavored creamer first thing in the morning.

Blake sank down beside her on the sand-colored sectional and sipped at his coffee. He had used their matching mugs this morning.

Lily smiled, she and Blake were so in sync sometimes, she had to pinch herself even after almost eleven months of marriage.

Her husband didn’t realize how much he had saved her. Blake had been so attentive and, after the crap that had happened with her client last week, it was just what she needed.

And it hadn’t been the first time he’d saved her. The very first time had occurred when they’d been out for a walk in the evening. Lily had only been dating Blake for about a week, but he insisted on holding her hand.

She had smiled up at him, just as a pot from a window ledge above came plummeting to the ground. Wrapping an arm around her waist, Blake had spun them around, putting his own back to the pot. It shattered against his shoulder and dirt had rained down his back.

Thankfully, they’d both come away unscathed.

Lily sighed and Blake rubbed his free hand down her back, bringing her from the past.

“Don’t stress over it,” he said.

It took Lily a second to remember that they’d been talking about her work.

“I should have double-checked with Starling Services. I just didn’t realize they had already chosen another company,” she admitted, sipping at her coffee. She couldn’t stop drinking the hot brew—that was one of the problems with espresso, it went down too damned smoothly.

“I’m sure you did the best you could. Jenson shouldn’t have gone behind your back,” Blake pointed out.

Lily lifted both eyebrows. She didn’t remember telling Blake the client’s name. She must have mentioned it when she had a meltdown in the car at the supermarket.

With her face tucked into her hands, she had sobbed out her anger and frustration, and Blake had gently rubbed her back until she had calmed.

It hadn’t been a pretty moment, but Blake had taken it all in stride, wiping her tears away.

“Finished?” Blake asked, shifting her attention to the room and the empty coffee cup in her hand.

“You know me,” she laughed and cradled her empty mug, “I want a second cup.”

“It’s bad for your stomach.”

“I know.” Lily poked her lip out.

They sat in silence for a while, but it was a relaxing quiet and a much-needed rest for her.

When the heater kicked off in the high-rise apartment, Lily stood gracefully. On her way into the kitchen, she turned the thermostat up to knock out the remaining chill in the room.

With its stainless-steel appliances and white cupboards, her kitchen was bright. Lily approached the espresso machine and started a second cup to brew.

Once the machine shut off, she added heavy cream and then carried the cup over a few feet so she could gaze at the view beyond the wall of windows.

The Seattle skyline, which included a view of the Space Needle, was breathtaking.

The early October sky was gray as were most fall days and the streets below were wet from the recent rain showers.

Lily loved it here.

Lily loved the city and she loved the wide-open floor plan of her Skye at Belltown apartment. She had been fiercely glad when Blake had suggested moving in here almost a year ago rather than buying something else together.

Theirs had been a whirlwind courtship and they still had a long way to go—

“You’d better hurry, Sara is probably on her way,” Blake interrupted her thoughts as he came into the kitchen.

Coming up behind her, he plucked her half-full coffee mug out of her hands and dumped its contents down the sink.

“Hey!” Lily turned sharply, more than a little irritated. She struggled to hold her temper, but over the past few months—because of his controlling habits—it was getting harder to hold onto her calm.

Ignoring him, she turned back to the window with a frown.

Blake wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and gazed over her shoulder.

“Too much coffee will give you heartburn.”

It may be the truth, but his actions had been rude. She clung to her patience and studied Blake’s reflection in the window.

At six feet, the man stood four inches taller than her and when Blake tipped his head, his chin could rest comfortably on her shoulder.

He was very good-looking with dark hair and deep brown eyes. But it had been his smile that had reeled her in. It had been the kindness in his eyes that had won her heart.

She let her anger at his bossiness go and smiled. He chuckled, lightly closed a hand at her throat, and nuzzled into her hair.

“How long will you be at the hairdressers?” Blake asked and she smiled at his grumpy tone.

She went to Sara’s salon every other month like clockwork, so this was not new. And neither was Blake’s petulant attitude.

“Not long, maybe a few hours,” she assured him as always, being extra patient. “What are you and Chris going to do?”

During her and Sara’s last visit together, Chris, Sara’s significant other, and Blake had watched a game together. The two men had drank beer and ate snacks and Lily had come home to a very messy apartment.

“Nothing, he has somewhere else to be, so I’m on my own.”

She frowned. She had hoped Blake would make a friend in Chris, but over the past several months, it hadn’t happened and the two men had only met once.

Blake had even refused to go to any of her friends’ homes to hang out, the man had no idea where Sara even lived. It worried her that Blake was so cut off from people and for a split second, she was tempted to cancel with Sara, but instead, she bit her lip and stayed silent.

Lily knew that if she offered to cancel, Blake would take her up on it. She also knew that Sara would be unhappy.

In reality, Lily really wanted to go and get her hair done.

She also needed time apart from Blake.

What she wanted was a damned break.

It wasn’t healthy for them to be in each other’s back pockets all the time.

It had become downright exhausting.

Lily had hoped that after almost a year of marriage, the kinks would have worked themselves out by now and Blake would have relaxed.

But that was not the case.

Perhaps when they reached their second anniversary, Blake would chill out? Maybe, Lily thought. She could only hope.

“Just don’t cut it too short,” Blake grumbled, breaking into her thoughts.

He brushed his fingers through her long blonde hair, raking at the thick rich strands before lightly fisting its warmth.

Her husband had been possessive about her hair since the day they met and she gave a light laugh.

“Yes, sir,” she said with a wink.