Page 37 of Protected Hearts

“Say what’s on your mind,” he told her.

She fiddled with the stemware, swirling the wine before setting the glass down again. “William flaunted his money. At first, I thought my parents just hated him for having it. But I’ve had six months to think about it.”

“What did you conclude?”

“I realized they didn’t like him because of how he acted toward them. Maybe they didn’t despise the money he had. Maybe they just despisedhim.”

He nodded, encouraging her to go on.

“I’ve spent my whole life waiting for the bad parts of people to be revealed to me. Other people around me, then my parents. Even my sister, who I was so close to. I didn’t think it would come out in William…but it did.”

“I can see you don’t trust easily and you’ve been burnt a lot.”

She nodded and took another sip of wine as if using the drink to distract herself from the moment. Then the chef returned with a dainty salad on two more dishes.

As soon as the chef returned to his work, Oaks murmured, “Looks like something my horses would like.”

“Oaks!” She let out a giggle that sent warmth spreading through his whole chest.

The dinner date couldn’t have been more perfect after that. Shiloh relaxed and enjoyed every moment and every bite. He had a great time too. After thanking the chef profusely and agreeing to return again for a new experience, Oaks led her back to the vehicle.

She chatted about the food and wine as he took a route off the beaten path back to the Black Heart Ranch. There wasn’t much traffic to speak of on this road, especially at this time of night. But soon a set of headlights in his rearview mirror drew his attention.

The car traveled a fair distance back, but mirrored every turn he took.

They were in the middle of nowhere. Nobody lived on the roads he took—they only linked ranch to ranch.

Shiloh suddenly grabbed his arm. Her fingers bit into him. “I think we’re being followed!”

She obviously had a little experience with this kind of thing. Enough to be hyperaware.

“It can’t be William. It’s not possible. I didn’t just hide us—I buried us!”

He gave her a sharp look. When he told him she was going to bury the information about their flight, he believed her capable of some basic undercover work. But she just suggested something much bigger.

“I changed the tail number of your jet in ten different places, altering the number each time and creating a paper trail as I went. I made the most confusing breadcrumb trail imaginable. There is no freakin’ way anyone followed that!”

“There was a stretch of time between when we took off and landed, though. Maybe someone got hold of the information before you put everything in place.”

She let out a moan. “Oh god. This is exactly what I was worried about. I thought I covered all my bases.”

He shot a look in the rearview and then focused up ahead. “Hold on.”

He made a turn that cut off the headlights behind them. Then he whipped the SUV into a U-turn. Shiloh rocked in her seat as he backed into a spot between trees and cut the lights.

Her fingers curled into his forearm again, and her breaths came fast and shallow. “Will this work?”

“If not, there’s always plan B.”

She jerked her head to stare at him. “That’s not helpful, Oaks. I’ve seen what your plan Bs look like. And since you can only get married once, that option’s off the table.”

Chapter Nine

As soon as Shiloh and Oaks arrived at the ranch, he checked that she was all right and then went straight to the office and closed the door.

She went to her room and changed into comfortable clothes, then waited for him to come talk to her.

That never happened. Eventually, she fell asleep, too exhausted to wait up for him.

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