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R afe had a bad feeling in his gut, and he trusted that more than most people. He had heard the whole conversation and didn’t like what he heard. Never having met the man on the other end of the phone call, Rafe instantly disliked him. He knew his type.

He didn’t need to meet the guy to know exactly who he was.

The voice on the other end of that call had told Rafe everything he needed to know.

Her ex-boss was entitled and controlling.

One of those smug sons of bitches who mistook power for charm and silence for consent.

The kind of asshole who used his position and influence, to trap someone like Billie Ann.

He had a proud moment listening to her stand up for herself.

Billie Ann said she had never even dated him. She had been smart enough to steer clear, but from what Rafe could tell, it had cost her.

He did know one thing for certain. If this bastard did show up at Shift Faced with a smug smirk and false concern, he’d find out quickly that this bar had a new bouncer. And his name was Rafe.

“I think I’m going to open tomorrow,” Billie Ann said, her voice soft but sure, the kind of quiet strength that came after a storm.

Rafe nodded once, doing his best to rein in the anger still simmering low in his gut.

“Sounds good,” he said, careful to keep his voice steady and casual, like he wasn’t still thinking about how close he’d come to smashing her phone against the wall after hearing the tone that asshole was using with Bilie Ann.

Do you have everything you need to open?

She gave him a small smile, a smile he wanted to see more of. “Yeah,” she said, then let out a quiet laugh that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I should’ve known better. Davey took better care of this bar than he did himself.”

Rafe’s mouth quirked at that, but his heart clenched. “He’d be proud,” he said, voice low. “Of you.”

“I hope so,” she murmured, looking down at her hands. “I was shocked when he left this place to me… I didn’t understand why. But now…”

Rafe watched her closely as the emotions played across her face. “Now what?”

She looked up, eyes meeting his, wide and full of something raw and real. “Now it feels like maybe I was meant to be here all along.”

“Why did you leave in the first place?” Rafe wanted to know more about this woman, much more. She paused for so long he didn’t think she was going to answer.

“I’m different. If it weren’t for Davey, I never would have been accepted here.

” She finally said. “Don’t get me wrong.

Never once has anyone treated me as if I were, but in my heart, I know I’m different.

I’m human. As na?ve as it sounds, I never thought anything would happen to Davey, that he would always be here if I fell on my face in the big world. ”

Rafe remained silent, waiting for her to continue. He felt she needed to talk, to have something to say, and he was more than happy to be there for her.

“Thorne had gotten me interested in real estate. I started pursuing online schooling and submitted applications to various agencies at a beginner level online. That’s how I ended up in Lexington.” She said, her gaze roaming the property.

“Is real estate something you still want to do?” Rafe asked gently, his voice low, steady. He didn’t take his eyes off her, like her answer might carry more weight than she realized.

Billie Ann’s shoulders lifted in a small, half-hearted shrug.

“I don’t know, honestly.” Her words were quiet, but laced with frustration.

“I was never good enough in Brian’s eyes.

No matter how hard I worked, it was never enough.

He strung me along, made promises about helping me get my license, about mentoring me—hell, he even said he’d put in a good word with the board.

But it was all bullshit. Just another way to keep me where he wanted me. Dependent...on him.”

Rafe felt an angry growl rolling in the back of his throat, but controlled it.

Her voice cracked with the bitterness of it, her jaw tight as the anger she usually kept bottled up broke the surface.

“I spent every day trying to prove myself to a man who never intended to let me grow.” She said with a hiss.

“The more I refused to be just another woman in his bed, the worse it got. I felt stuck.”

Rafe’s hands clenched at his sides, but he didn’t speak right away.

When he did, his tone was low but fierce, filled with a primal intensity.

“You don’t have to prove anything to anyone, Billie Ann.

Especially to that controlling jackass back in Lexington.

” Rafe leaned closer to her. “And any man who uses his position to get a woman into his bed is not a real man.”

“I don’t know why I’m telling you this,” She whispered, looking down in embarrassment.

“Everyone needs someone to talk to, Billie Ann.” He stepped closer, his frown deepening as his eyes locked on hers. “What do you want?”

The silence hung between them like a held breath. Then Billie Ann turned, her gaze drifting to the bar behind her, with its old wood, worn floors, and crooked stools. Her whole chest rose with a deep breath before she looked back at Rafe, something soft and certain blooming behind her eyes.

“This,” she whispered. Then stronger: “I want this .” She lifted her arm, sweeping it out toward the bar.

“It’s not glamorous. It’s not what I thought I’d end up doing…

but it’s real. It’s mine. Being back here is hard without Davey, harder than I ever imagined, but it’s the first time in years I feel like I can actually breathe. ”

She stared at the bar, her gaze distant, as if she were seeing ghosts in the grain of the old wood. Rafe didn’t move. He just watched her in the quiet, soaking in the curve of her jaw, the way her shoulders held a weight she hadn’t asked for.

And even though she hadn’t said much, he could feel her unraveling—softly, silently.

“I didn’t realize it until I walked back through those doors,” she said, her voice fragile with emotion. “This is where I belong. I just… I needed to lose everything. To lose the only person who ever really cared for me… to see it.”

The words broke from her like a confession she hadn’t planned to speak aloud. Her eyes left the bar and rose to his, filled with unshed tears and a grief she’d tried too long to carry alone.

Rafe didn’t hesitate.

He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight to his chest. She stiffened for just a moment—just long enough for him to feel how deeply she resisted comfort—but then she melted into him like she’d been waiting for it all along.

His hand slid up to cradle the back of her head, fingers threading through the soft strands of her dark hair. “You didn’t lose the only person who cared for you,” he murmured, his voice low and fierce against her temple. “You’ve got people now. You’ve got me.”

“But you hardly know me,” She whispered, her voice shaking.

“I know enough.” He whispered back.

She trembled in his arms, and he felt her fingers curl into the fabric of his shirt like she needed something or someone to anchor her.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” she whispered into his chest. “I’m scared, Rafe.”

“I know,” he said softly, holding her tighter. “It’s okay to have a little bit of fear, but you can do this, Billie Ann.”

She leaned back just enough to look up at him, her eyes glassy, searching his face like she was waiting for him to vanish.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“For what?” he asked, brushing his thumb over her cheek.

“For this,” she said simply. “For being here… for seeing me.”

Rafe’s gaze dropped to her lips, then back to her eyes.

“You make it impossible not to,” he said, and before she could reply, he dipped his head and kissed her, soft and slow, like a promise for things to come.