I nod and readjust my back against the pillow. “I’ll be ready.”

“Good girl. He’ll have some great advice for you. Brady’s smart and I trust him like he’s my own son. He’ll point you in the right direction. I have no doubt.” I roll my eyes, catching the subtleties of how much my father likes my old boyfriend.

“Okay, thanks. I’ll call you later and let you know how it goes,” I say just before we say our goodbyes and make plans to meet for dinner later that evening.

I stay in bed running through what my father said. Now that I’ve had time to process everything, I think my father’s full of shit. There’s no way Zach’s tired of me already. He wouldn’t have come here with me. He’s too straightforward for that.

Zach stirs next to me and rolls over to towards me. He opens one eye and peeks up at me. “You’re awake already?”

I study his handsome face and nod. “I’ve been up for over an hour now.”

He wraps his arm around my waist and closes his eye. “What for? Can’t sleep? I get that way in some hotel beds too, but this one is pretty comfortable.”

I shake my head. “Been up thinking.”

“‘Bout what?” He snuggles into my side.

“About you leaving me.” His body goes rigid next to me.

“What makes you think that would happen? Didn’t I make that pretty clear last night that you’re mine?” His tone sounds a little annoyed.

Things still don’t make sense. Something else is missing. Something both Zach and my father are keeping from me. “You did, but my father’s under the impression that you might not be sticking around. Care to tell me what went on between the two of you while I was gone?”

He lets out a heavy breath against his pillow. “Nothing went on, babe. Your father just doesn’t like me very much.”

I rest my hands on the arm that’s around my waist. “So the impression I just got from my father that you’re ready to leave me to run off and fuck a slew of groupies. Is that the truth or just his wishful thinking talking?”

“Babe, I’m too selfish a man to leave you, even if it’s the right thing to do. I’m fucking addicted to you and there’s nothing anybody can do that would make me give this up. I’ve decided.”

I slide back down under the covers and snuggle into my man’s arms. Instantly, I feel silly for even considering the idea that he’s unhappy. We’re obviously still solid. Guess I’m going to have to have a chat with the Judge about trying to interfere with that.

***

I’ve decided Aubrey Jenson is my fucking kryptonite. The smart thing would be to take The Judge’s warning seriously and leave the girl the fuck alone, but I can’t do that. Last night only reminded me how much I fucking love this woman. She’s mine and no one is taking her away from me. I don’t give a fuck what the cost is to keep her. Trip’s just going to have to deal if his shit blows up—just like I will.

I lay on the bed and watch Aubrey pull a brush through her thick, red hair as she gets ready to go and meet with Brady. I want to hate the guy since I know he’s the first man to ever have tasted of her sweetness, but I can’t—not if he’s going to help her get back the job she wants so desperately.

I am curious about him though. “So what’s this dude that we’re meeting like?”

Aubrey stares into the mirror. “He’s a nice guy. Cocky, but generally a nice guy.”

A nice, cocky guy? That’s the equivalent of the high school quarterback type with a lot of money—a douchebag in my book. I’ll probably want to kick his ass in the first five minutes.

I clear my throat. “If he was so nice, why’d you break up?”

She sighs as she opens her lip gloss. “He’s older than me. I was still in high school when he was in his junior year of college. There was just too much of an age difference to stay together back then. We were at different points in our lives.”

I raise my eyebrows. If this fucker had better things to do than to keep a beautiful woman like Aubrey on the back burner back then, I don’t want him trying to take care of her now. I’m worried he’s not worthy to be the one to get her what she wants. This woman is my world and I’ll do anything to make sure she’s happy. “Maybe we should reconsider hiring him.”

She glances over at me with a smirk, expecting I have a smart-ass remark to follow that. She knows me so well. “Why’s that?”

I shove myself off the bed and move into the bathroom to stand behind her. I grip her slender upper arms with my hands. “Because the asshole must be crazy if he let you go.” I lean in and kiss her cheek. “How smart can he really be?”

Kitten smiles. “Smart enough to know he was never going to be man enough for me.”

I smirk. “That’s right. You have a thing for the bad boys.”

She turns in my arms and places her hand over my heart. “Only bad boys with hearts made of gold.”

There it is again—her believing the best of me. I wish I could believe her—that deep down I’m a noble man, but only hours ago I was willing to walk out on her for my own selfish reasons. Granted, I’m still not happy about The Judge dragging Trip into this fucking mess, but I figure the only reason he did that was because he knew I would tell him I didn’t give a fuck if the world knew about my history. I don’t give a shit what people think of me. I only care about her. Aubrey is my world now, and damn it, I’m keeping her—no matter what.