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“Late night?” Beth asked as I put the lid on my drink.

I took a sip and let the warm, rich vanilla latte coat my throat. Comfort in a cup. “I didn’t get much sleep.”

“Well, good for you.” Beth said.

The first thing I saw when I looked up was the wicked grin on Beth’s face. Did she know I had a date with Jack last night?Oh My God, does she think I was up all night with him?“It wasn’t like that. I had bad dreams.”

“I’m sorry. I was hoping it was because you had a great night with Jack.” Beth squeezed my shoulder.

“It was a fun night.” I didn’t dare say anymore. It had been a great night until my nightmare fucked it up.

Beth was about to say something else when the door opened and the bell chimed and cut her off. She called out over my shoulder, “Hey guys.” I turned so I could help our customers.

My breath caught in my throat when I saw Jack. His steel grey suit highlighted every inch of his perfect body. His purple tie shimmered against his crisp white dress shirt. I felt the color rise in my cheeks.And I thought he looked good in his jeans last night. I forced my gaze back to his face in time to see him turn away from AJ and Doug. His eyes held mine as he walked over to the counter. I was practically drooling.

“Hi Beth.” He nodded in her direction without breaking eye contact with me. “Hey Meg, can I talk to you for a sec?”

“I, uh, I can’t. I’m working.” I organized the counter, trying to hide my embarrassment.

“Go on.” Beth gave me a little push. “I got this.”

“Thanks.” I moved around the counter, painfully aware everyone was watching us. Did everyone know we had a date last night? A date that didn’t end well.Damn it. This was one reason I didn’t want to like him. I didn’t want to trust him, or keep embarrassing myself, either. I was failing miserably on all accounts.

Jack waited for me, ignoring AJ’s teasing better than I could have. He held his hand out to me. “Hi.”

“Hi.” The soft country music drowned out my answer.

When I put my hand in his, he tugged me into his arms. I forgot about my embarrassment and wrapped my arms around his waist. I was tired of being afraid of everything and everyone. Jack hadn’t given me a single reason to distrust him. And I wanted this, so damn bad.

“How are are you this morning?" His chin was a comforting weight on my head. "Did you sleep okay?"

My head was resting directly over his heart, but I couldn’t feel his heartbeat. I flexed my hands a little on his back and realized he felt… hard, flat. I tapped on his back. Then pulled back a little and tapped on his ribs. I made eye contact. “Are you wearing armor?”

I heard AJ and Doug choke back laughs. Jack didn’t bother. “As a matter of fact, I am.”

I scrunched my eyes together, making my forehead wrinkle, and pursed my lips to the side. “Why? I mean, I know you’re not jousting, which is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of armor. You’d be a knight in hidden armor instead of shining armor,” My nervous laugh sounded like a cackle. “But seriously Jack, why do you need to wear armor?” The idea of Jack getting shot short-circuited my brain and I couldn’t stop the steady stream of stupidity spilling out of my mouth. If I hadn’t been so worried, I would have remembered sooner that Jack had a dangerous job.

“You aren’t planning on getting shot, are you?” Thank God there was no one else was in the café because I'd said that a little louder than I probably should have.

“No, I don’t plan on getting shot,” Jack laughed. “Wearing a vest is standard procedure for security detail.”

I looked at his arm. “You didn’t plan on getting stabbed.”

“Burn!” AJ said at the same time Doug cringed, “Ouch.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “I did not get stabbed. And I wasn’t working when it happened.”

“Oh.” Did it matter if he was working or not? I wouldn’t have thought so.

He led me to the corner. “You sure you’re okay?”

I nodded. “I am.”

“Good.” He paused, “I’m sorry I didn’t wake you up sooner. I should have realized it might confuse you if you woke up alone.”

“Where were you?”

“In the kitchen cleaning up.”

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