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“I trust you to take care of me,” I whisper and he swallows. His gaze is so intense and holds mine for what feels like an eternity. Right there I feel it all. His love. His fear. His hatred of the person threatening me.

“I’ll always take care of you, Gillian. No one will ever hurt you again,” he promises. And I know that if it’s within his power, it’s the truth. Only not everything will always be within in his power, regardless of how much money he has. Money isn’t the end all be all. Sometimes there are really sick and twisted people in this world and unfortunately, one of them wants a piece of me and I’m afraid he just might get it.

“Any leads on Justin?”

He grimaces and continues towards the door. “Unfortunately, no, but I have twenty men on it.”

Twenty? Jesus!I nod as we make our way down the elevator. Our bodyguards are waiting. Austin holds open my door. “You look lovely this evening, Ms. Callahan, Ma’am,” Austin says as I enter the stretch limo.

“Why thank you, Austin. You’re very kind.” I smile and slide into the car.

Chase claps Austin on the shoulder playfully. “You know she’s taken, right?” He cocks his head and grins.

“Oh yes, Sir. I know she’s your lady. I wasn’t intending to…” he stammers.

“He’s kidding, Austin, relax,” I explain and shake my head. Poor guy. Chase, even when acting playful, can come off authoritative.

“Whew. Okay. Anything else, Mr. Davis, Sir.” Austin replies.

“As my lady says, relax, but not too much. She’s priority number one. Nothing happens to her, got it?” And there is my over-protective control freak. I was enjoying playful Chase far too much. I knew Control Freak Chase was just around the corner.

“Of course, no one but you gets to her,” he confirms.

Chase grips his shoulder again. “Good man,” he says and slaps the top of the limo. “Jack, we ready to shove off?” Chase enters the limo. Austin gets into the passenger seat.

“We’ll be there in thirty minutes, Mr. Davis.” Jack replies.

The ride is smooth and Chase holds my hand as we sit in companionable silence. Eventually Chase takes one of his business calls. It really doesn’t bother me. I thought his need to be available at all times to his work was going to drive a wedge between our relationship, but, for the most part, he’s really good at turning it off.

We arrive at the Davis mansion, and I see large white tents covering the grounds. Huge Chinese lantern style lamps loop across the gardens in varying shades of white, blue, green, and pink. The limo stops and Austin opens the door for us. We’re greeted by waiters holding tall champagne flutes. I choose one of the pink ones, feeling a bit girly for my choice. We walk through a huge mansion style home with people milling everywhere. I can hear music wafting in the distance. Chase holds my hand and I follow him through the throngs, silently taking in the opulent surroundings.

“Was this your childhood home?” I ask. Chase nods and smiles. “It’s so…big and beautiful.”

“My uncle taught me early on to enjoy the finer things in life.” He probably was literally fed with silver spoons. I imagine a cherub faced little boy with brown locks falling into his eyes running around this huge house.

We exit to the garden, which isn’t really a garden at all. It’s the size of a football field surrounded with lush greenery and flowers of all kinds. Marble statues litter the grass here and there. A giant fountain bursts water ten feet into the sky. Lights bounce off the water, making the streams look multi-colored. Chase leads me to a large group of men in tuxedos. I can see his Uncle Charles in the center telling a story. Chase pushes through the people and his Uncle clasps him in a tight embrace.

“Chase, my boy,” he says happily. “I see you brought the lovely Ms. Callahan this evening.” He lets Chase go and grasps my hand pulling it to his lips.

“Happy Birthday, Mr. Davis. Thank you for having me,” I offer.

“The pleasure is all mine, and you can call me Charles. I imagine “Mr. Davis” gets cumbersome when you have your own Mr. Davis to contend with.” He tips his head toward Chase. He’s obviously very fond of Chase, and it warms my heart knowing how he came to live with his Uncle early in his childhood.

“Chase speaks very highly of you,” I offer.

He looks at Chase with a grin. “He does? Sharing my secrets, eh, Chase?” his uncle jokes. So far I really like his family. Well, I haven’t spent much time with Cooper aside from that one charity dinner. And his Mother didn’t seem too thrilled with my presence, but the rest of the Davis clan are top notch.

Carson pops up behind me. “Gillian, looking stunning as ever,” Carson says as he comes up to hug me. Kat is close behind him, and she is drop dead gorgeous. She’s in a form fitting silver sequined dress with a sparkling fringe cut at mid-thigh. Her legs go for days, coupled with strappy silver heels.

I pull her into a hug. “Kat, wow. Did you make this one?” I ask, pulling back to assess her dress more closely.

“I did.” She smiles wide. “If you look really close you can see tiny pink sequins setting off the silver,” she adds. I can see them up close and the workmanship is impeccable. She will definitely design for the stars one day.

“It’s incredible. I’m digging the fringe! So hip, so now!” I gush.

“You’re biased,” she says lamely, but she can’t hide the huge smile plastered on her face. “I just wish I’d had the chance to make your dress,” she says with a pout. “Though Gucci does wonderful things for those curves. Damn girl! You are smokin’ hot.”

I smile wide as we spend a couple more minutes going over the fine details of our attire. Then Carson pulls Kat away to meet his family for the first time as his significant other. I stare off into the distance, holding onto the concrete banister. Chase is enjoying the company of his Uncle and his friends, and I want him to feel comfortable without having me glued to his side. I sip from my glass and enjoy the view of the lush gardens and the smell of fresh jasmine in the air. The yard reminds me of what Shakespeare’sMid-Summer Nights Dreamwould look like.

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