“I want everything.”

She’s taking control. And it’s driving him wild!

Lucy Baudin’s ex did a number on her self-esteem, but it’s time for her to regain control. In her job as a lawyer she’s bold, confident. But in the bedroom she needs inspiration to reawaken her inner seductress. Asking her friend Gideon Novak for help seems wrong...yet so deliciously right!

“DARE is Harlequin’s hottest line yet. Every book should come with a free fan. I dare you to try them!”

—Tiffany Reisz, international bestselling author

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author KATEE ROBERT learned to tell her stories at her grandpa’s knee. Her 2015 title The Marriage Contract was a RITA® finalist, and RT Book Reviews named it ‘a compulsively readable book with just the right amount of suspense and tension’. When not writing sexy contemporary and romantic suspense she spends her time playing imaginative games with her children, driving her husband batty with what-if? questions, and planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse.

If you liked Make Me Want, why not try

Sweet Thing by Nicola Marsh

My Royal Temptation by Riley Pine

Ruined by Jackie Ashenden

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Make Me Want

Katee Robert

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-07114-7

MAKE ME WANT

© 2018 Katee Hird

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

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Version: 2020-03-02

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To Tim.

Second chances make for the best stories.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Extract

CHAPTER ONE

GIDEON NOVAK had almost canceled the meeting. He would have if he’d possessed even a shred of honor. Some things in this world were just too damn good for him to be associated with and Lucy Baudin topped that list. To hear from her now, two years after...

Focus on the facts.

She’d called. He’d answered. It was as simple as that.

The law office of Parker and Jones was the same as it had been the last time he’d walked through the doors. The small army of defense attorneys took on mostly white-collar crimes—specifically the ones that paid well—and that showed in every element of the interior. Soothing colors and bold lines projected confidence and created a calming effect.

Pale blue walls and good lines didn’t do a single damn thing to dial back the pressure building in his chest with each step.

He usually didn’t contract out with law offices. As a headhunter, Gideon preferred to stick to tech companies, various start-up corporations or, literally, anyone except lawyers. They were too controlling and wanted their hands on every detail, every step of the way. It was a pain in the ass.

This is for Lucy.

He kept his expression schooled on the elevator ride up. When he’d known her, she was somewhere around floor six, proving herself by working cases not big enough for the lawyers with seniority to want but that were too big to turn down. Now she was on floor nineteen, only a couple below Parker and Jones themselves. She’d done well for herself in the two years since he’d seen her last. Really well.

The elevator opened into a large waiting room that didn’t look anything like an actual waiting room. The more money people had, the more care was required in handling them, and the coffee bar and scattering of couches and trade magazines reflected that. The hallway was guarded by a large desk and an older woman with tasteful gray shot through her dark hair. Surprising. He’d expected a bottle-blond receptionist—or perhaps a brunette if they were feeling adventurous.

But then the woman looked up and he got the impression of a general surveying her domain. Ah. They’d chosen someone who couldn’t be bulldozed, if he didn’t miss his guess. Useful to keep unruly clients in line.

Gideon stopped in front of the desk and did his best to appear nonthreatening. “I’m here to see Lucy Baudin.”

“She’s expecting you.” She turned back to her computer, effectively dismissing him.

He spent half a second wondering at her qualifications—and if she was amiable to being poached for a different company—before he set it aside. Stepping on Lucy’s toes by stealing her receptionist wasn’t a good way to start off this meeting.

He’d spent the last week trying to figure out why the hell Lucy would seek him out. New York was rife with headhunters. Gideon was good—better than good—but considering their history, there had to be someone better suited for the job.

You could have said no.

Yeah, he could have.

But he owed Lucy Baudin. A single meeting wasn’t much in the face of the fact that he’d more or less single-handedly brought her engagement down in flames.

He knocked on the dark wooden door as he opened it. The office was bright and airy, big windows overlooking New York, the only furniture a large L-shaped desk and two comfortable-looking chairs arranged in front of it. Gideon took in the room in a single sweep and then focused on the woman behind the desk.

Lucy sat straight, her narrow shoulders tense, as if she was about to step onto a battlefield. Her long dark hair was pinned back into some style that looked effortless but probably took a significant amount of time to accomplish. She raised her pointed chin, which drew his attention to her mouth. Lucy’s features were a little too sharp to pass for traditional beauty—she would have made a killing on a runway—but her mouth was full and generous and had always been inclined to smile.

There were no smiles today.

“Lucy.” He shut the door behind him, holding his place to let her guide the interaction. She was the one who’d called him here. It didn’t feel natural to take his lead from someone else, but for her he’d make an effort.

At least until he heard her out.

“Gideon. Sit, please.” She motioned at the chairs in front of the desk.

Maybe she could pretend this was like any other job interview, but he couldn’t stop staring at her. She wore a dark gray dress that set off her pale skin and dark hair, leaving the only color present in her blue eyes and red lips. It created a striking picture. The woman was a goddamn gift. She always had been.

Jeff, you fucked things up beyond all recognition when you threw her away.

Focus.

She hadn’t arranged this meeting because of their past. If she could be professional, then he’d manage, as well. It was the least he could do.

Gideon sank into the chair and leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. “You said this was about a job.”

“Yes.” A faint blush colored her pale cheeks, highlighting the smattering of freckles there. “This is confidential, of course.”

It wasn’t quite a question, but he answered it anyway. “I didn’t put together a nondisclosure, but I can do that if you need to make it official.”

“That won’t be necessary. Your word that it stays between us will be enough.”

Curiosity curled through him. He’d had clients insist on confidentiality in the past—it was more the rule than the exception—but this felt different. He set the thought aside and focused on the job. “It would help if you’d describe the position you want filled. It gives me a general idea of what you’re looking for, and we can narrow it down from there.”

She met his gaze directly, her blue eyes startling. “The position I need filled is a husband.”

Gideon shook his head, sure he’d heard her wrong. “Excuse me?”

“A husband.” She held up her left hand and wiggled her ring finger. “Before you get that look on your face, let me explain.”

He didn’t have any look on his face. A husband. Where the fuck does she think I’m going to find a husband? He opened his mouth to ask exactly that, but Lucy beat him there. “The timing isn’t ideal, but gossip has come down the grapevine that I’m being considered for partner at the end of the year. While that would normally be a cause for celebration, some of the old guard have very strong beliefs about single women.” She rolled her eyes, the first Lucy thing he’d seen her do since he’d arrived. “It would be laughable if it wasn’t standing in the way of what I want, but I watched Georgia get passed over for a promotion last year for this exact reason. She wouldn’t bend and they chose her male competition instead.”

She was dead serious.

Gideon took a breath, trying to approach this logically. Obviously she’d put a lot of thought into the idea, and if she was misguided, that didn’t mean he had to verbally slap her down. This Lucy, put-together and in control, was a far cry from when he’d seen her last, sobbing and broken. But that didn’t change the fact that they were one and the same. He could handle this calmly and get her to see reason.

But calm and reasonable wasn’t what came out of his mouth. “Are you out of your goddamn mind, Lucy? I’m a headhunter—not a matchmaker. Even if I was, getting married to secure a promotion is bullshit.”

“Is it?” She shrugged. “People get married for much less valid reasons. I almost married for love before, and we both know how that ended. There’s nothing wrong with handling marriage like a business arrangement—plenty of cultures do exactly that.”

“We aren’t talking about other cultures. We’re talking about you.”

Another shrug. As if it didn’t matter to her one way or another. He loathed that feigned indifference, but he didn’t have a goddamn right to challenge her on it.

She met his gaze directly. “This is important to me, Gideon. I don’t know about kids—I love my job, and having babies would potentially interfere with that—but I’m lonely. It wouldn’t be so bad to have someone to come home to, even if it wasn’t a love for the ages. Especially if it’s not a love for the ages.”

“Lucy, that’s crazy.” Every word out of her mouth cut into the barrier of professionalism he fought so hard to maintain. “Where the hell would I find you a husband?”

“The same place you find people to fill the positions normally. Interview. We’re in New York—if you can’t find a single man who’s willing to at least consider this, then no one can.”

Gideon started to tell her exactly how impossible it was, but guilt rose and choked the words off. He thought this plan was bat-shit crazy, and the thought of Lucy in some loveless marriage irritated him like sandpaper beneath his skin, scratching until he might go mad from it.

But it wasn’t his call to make.

And he was partially to blame for her single status right now.

Fuck.

Gideon straightened. No matter what he thought of this plan, when it came right down to the wire, he owed Lucy. He knew that piece of shit Jeff had cheated on her, and Gideon had kept his mouth shut for a full month before he’d told her the truth. That kind of debt didn’t just go away. If she was coming to him now, it was because she’d exhausted all other options, and his saying no wasn’t going to deter her in the least—she’d find a different way.

Really, he had no option. It might have been two years since he’d seen Lucy Baudin, but that didn’t change the fact that he considered her a friend, and he’d never leave a friend hanging out to dry when they needed him. Gideon might have questionable morals about most things, but loyalty wasn’t one of them.

She needed him. He’d have found a way to help her even if he didn’t owe her.

At least if he was in the midst of this madness, he’d have some ability to keep her as safe as possible. He could protect her now like he hadn’t been able to protect her from the hurt Jeff had caused.

If she was crazy for coming up with the plan in the first place, he was even crazier for agreeing to it. “I’ll do it.”

* * *

Lucy couldn’t believe the words that had just come out of his mouth. It was too good to be true. Attempting to rope Gideon Novak into this scheme had been her Hail Mary. She was desperate and he was the only one she trusted enough to even attempt something like a search for a husband. But she hadn’t thought he’d actually agree to it.

He said he’d help. Shock stole her ability to speak for a full five seconds. Say something. You know the drill—fake it until you make it. This is just another trial. Focus. She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry—did you just say yes?”

“Yes.” He studied her face with dark eyes lined with thick lashes, which she secretly envied. Gideon had always been too attractive for Lucy’s state of mind. His dark hair was always styled in what she could only call “rakish,” and his strong jaw and firm mouth would have kept her up at night if he wasn’t firmly in the friend zone.

At least, he used to be.

She set the thought aside because going down the rabbit hole of despair that was her relationship with Jeff Larsson was out of the question. It had ended, and her friendship with Gideon had been a casualty of war.

Until now.

Gideon shifted, bringing her back to the present. “How exactly were you planning on going about this?”

This, at least, she had an answer for. Lucy had spent entirely too much time reviewing the steps required to get to her goal with minimum fuss—a husband and her promotion. “I thought you could come up with a list of suitable candidates, I could have a date or two with each, and then we could narrow the list down from there.”

“Mmm-hmm.” He tapped his fingers on his knee, dragging her attention south of his face. He wore a three-piece suit, which should have been too formal for this meeting, but Gideon managed to pull it off all the same. The pin-striped gray-on-gray gave him an old-world kind of feel, like something out of Mad Men.

Thankfully for Lucy, he had better morals than Don Draper.

She fought not to squirm in her seat under the weight of his attention. It was easy enough to be distanced and professional when she’d laid out her proposal—she’d practiced it the same way she practiced opening and closing statements before a trial. Getting into the nitty-gritty of the actual planning and actions was something else altogether.

“I’m open to suggestions, of course.” There—look at me, being reasonable.

“Of course.” He nodded as if deciding something. “We do this, we do it on my terms. I pick the men. I supervise the dates. And if I don’t like the look of any of them, I have veto rights.”

Veto rights? That wasn’t part of the plan. She shook her head. “No. Absolutely not.”

“You came to me, Lucy. That means you trust my judgment.” He gave her an intense look that made her skin feel too tight. “Those are the terms.”

Terms. Damn, she’d forgotten the most important thing.

It doesn’t have to be the most important thing. He doesn’t know it was part of the plan, so it’s not too late to back out.

But if she backed out, the deep-rooted fear from her time with her ex would never be exorcised. She’d spend the rest of her life—and her prospective marriage—second-guessing herself and her husband. It would drive her crazy and ultimately poison everything.

She couldn’t let it happen, no matter how humiliating she found asking for Gideon’s help with this.

Lucy managed to drag her gaze away from his. She pulled at the hem of her skirt. “There’s one more thing.”

“I’m listening.”

She smoothed her suddenly sweating palms over her desk. “Are you seeing anyone?”

“What the hell does that have to do with anything?”

It had everything to do with things. She’d never known Gideon to hold down a relationship longer than a few weeks, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t somehow changed in the last two years. The entire second part of her plan leaned heavily on the assumption that he hadn’t changed.

The Gideon she’d known before had been her friend, yes, but he’d also been a playboy to the very definition of the word. He hadn’t dated seriously. He’d never mistreated women, but he hadn’t kept them around for long, either. Lucy had heard the whispers in college about his expertise in the bedroom—it was legendary enough that most women ignored the fact they had an expiration date from the moment he showed an interest in them.

To put it simply, he was perfect for her current situation.

She just had to find the strength to speak the damn words. She forced her hands still. “I’m going to need...lessons.”

“Lucy, look at me.”

Helpless, she obeyed. He frowned at her like he was trying to read her mind. “You’re going to have to explain what the hell you’re talking about.”

It was so much harder to get it out while looking at him. She pressed her lips together. She’d faced down some of the most vicious prosecutors New York had to offer. She could damn well face Gideon Novak down, too.

You know these words. You’ve practiced them often enough.

“I need lessons of the sexual nature.” He went so still, he might as well have turned to stone, so she charged on. “This might be an arranged marriage, so to speak, but it would be a true marriage. And, as I don’t cherish the idea of being cheated on by yet another fiancé, that means sex needs to be part of the bargain. It’s been a long time for me, and I have to brush up on my skill set.”

Not to mention the only man I ever slept with was Jeff, and he never missed an opportunity to tell me how uninspiring he found our sex life.

Or that he blamed his cheating on my being unable to meet his needs.

She didn’t let what Jeff thought dictate her life anymore, but Lucy would be lying if she pretended his words didn’t haunt her—that they hadn’t been instrumental in her two-year celibate streak. She’d enjoyed sex. She’d thought Jeff had enjoyed it, as well. If she could be so terribly wrong on such a fundamental level before, what was to stop her from failing at it again?

No, she couldn’t allow it. If she trusted Gideon enough to secure his help finding a husband, then she trusted him enough to create a safe space to teach her something she obviously needed to know to be an effective wife. His rumored sex prowess just sweetened the bargain, because he was more than experienced enough to walk her through a crash course in seduction.

He still hadn’t said anything.

She sighed. “I know it’s a lot to ask—”

“I’m going to stop you right there.” He stood and adjusted his jacket as he buttoned it. “I will charge you for the husband hunting—the same rates of a normal client. I’m not a sex worker, Lucy. You can’t wave a magic wand and acquire lessons in fucking.”

She did her best not to wilt.

You knew it was a long shot.

“I understand.”

“That said...” He shook his head like he couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth any more than she could. “Come by my place tonight. We’ll talk. After that, we’ll see.”

That...wasn’t a no. It wasn’t a yes. But it most definitely wasn’t a no.

“Okay.” She didn’t dare say anything more in fear that he’d change his mind. I can’t believe this is happening. He didn’t look happy to have offered the invitation. In fact, Gideon looked downright furious.

He pinned her with a look. “Seven. You remember the address.”

It wasn’t a question but she still nodded all the same. “I’ll be there.”

“Don’t be late.” He turned and stalked out of her office, leaving her staring after him.

What just happened?

A thrill coursed through her. What just happened was that Gideon Novak had agreed to help her. Professionally he had a reputation for always getting his man and, personally, he had everything required to get her pending marriage off to the right start.

He said yes.

With him in her corner, there was no way she’d fail.

The promotion was hers. She could feel it.

CHAPTER TWO

GIDEON SWAM LAPS until every muscle in his body shook with exhaustion. It didn’t help. All he could see was Lucy’s earnest expression as those sinful lips spoke words he would have killed to hear before. Teach me. His attraction for that woman had never brought him anything but trouble, and apparently he was doubling down because he hadn’t told her no like he damn well should have. Instead he’d told her to come to his place.

So they could talk.

About him giving her lessons in fucking.

He pulled himself out of the pool and climbed to his feet. He’d been prepared to tell her no—to both the husband hunt and the lessons. Instead he’d invited her over tonight. What the hell was that about?

You know what that’s about.

Gideon wanted Lucy.

He’d wanted her from the moment he’d seen her across that crowded bar in Queens six years ago. She’d been so fresh-faced and, even too many shots in, he’d known there was something special about her.

Unfortunately so had Jeff Larsson, and that bastard had beaten him to the punch—meeting Lucy, dating Lucy, proposing to Lucy.

Gideon had tried his damnedest to be happy for his best friend—and to table his desire for his best friend’s woman—but it had never quite gone away. It didn’t matter how many girls he’d dated, because his heart had never been in it. When Jeff had made a passing remark on Gideon’s tendency to find willowy brunettes with freckles, he’d shelved dating completely and restricted his interactions to one night.

He showered and dressed quickly. It would be tricky getting back to his place before she arrived, but he’d had to do something to take the edge off or he was in danger of throwing caution to the wind. The temptation of Lucy in his bed, even for such a shitty reason...

He’d be a bastard and a half to do it.

No, Gideon would grab takeout, sit her down to her favorite Chinese and explain all the reasons why sex between them wasn’t an option. He’d be calm and reasonable and use whatever arguments he had to get his point across. She didn’t need lessons. No man with a pulse and a working cock was going to have a problem with anything Lucy had to offer.

His step hitched at the thought of someone else waking up next to her every morning. Of the long nights buried between her thighs and the friction of sweat-slicked skin and—

Fuck.

He glanced back at the gym, seriously considering calling the whole thing off and spending the next three hours back in the pool. Maybe if he was too exhausted to move, his fury at the thought of her with another man would subside.

He knew better.

If he hadn’t been happy that his best friend was with her—even before the idiot had started fucking around—he wasn’t going to be pleased with a stranger. There was no help for it. Lucy would charge ahead with this plan of hers whether he agreed to it or not. He might be able to talk her out of the sex bit, but he wouldn’t be able to convince her that she didn’t need a husband.

He’d failed her when it came to Jeff. Even as his best friend, Gideon had missed the warning signs until it was almost too late—and then he’d hesitated a full month before breaking the news to her. He’d well and truly fucked up across the board and it had cost him her friendship—something he’d valued more than he could have dreamed.

He wouldn’t fuck up again.

She wanted a husband? Well, then, Gideon was going to find her the most honorable man he could to make her happy. He owed it to her to do so.

He barely had time to drop the takeout on the kitchen counter when a knock sounded. He skirted the couch and opened the door. “You’re early.”

“I hope you don’t mind. Your doorman remembered me, so he didn’t bother to buzz you.” She gave a tentative smile that pulled at him despite his determination to do the right thing.

Lucy must have made it home because she’d changed into a pair of black leggings and a lightweight slouchy shirt that seemed determined to slide off one shoulder. She saw him looking and bit her bottom lip. “I know we talked about lessons, and this isn’t exactly seduction personified, but I went through my closet and, aside from work clothes, I don’t think I own anything that’s ‘seduction personified.’”

For fuck’s sake, she was killing him. Gideon stepped back and held the door open. “You look fine.”

“Fine.” She frowned. “I know you’re cranky about being cornered with this whole thing, but you don’t have to damn me with faint praise. I asked you to do this because I trust you to tell me the truth. I’ve always trusted you to tell me the truth.”

If she’d taken out a knife and stabbed him in the heart, it would have stung less. Gideon closed the door carefully behind her, trying to maintain his control. It didn’t matter how honest she thought he was, he wouldn’t agree to take her to bed. He couldn’t. “This won’t work if you’re going to jump down my throat every time I say something. I said you look fine. You do. I didn’t tell you to dress for seduction, Lucy. I said to get your ass over here so we can talk. That—” he motioned at her clothes “—is perfectly adequate for a conversation between two friends.”

“Right. Okay. I’m sorry. I’m nervous.” She pulled at her shirt, which caused it to drop another inch down her arm.

Gideon had never found shoulders particularly provocative before but he wanted to drag his mouth over the line of her collarbone. Keep it together, asshole. He cleared his throat and looked away. “You don’t need lessons, Lucy. Not from me. Not from anyone. You’re beautiful and any man would be lucky to have you in his bed.”

“If you don’t want to teach me, that’s fine. I did say that this morning.” She wandered farther into his apartment and circled the couch he’d bought six months ago. It was slate gray with dark blue accents, and the saleswoman had insisted it would pull the room together in a way he’d love. He was still waiting to love it. Lucy picked up one of the ridiculous blue throw pillows and hugged it to her chest. “I’m not fishing for a compliment, by the way, but thank you. Though, beauty only goes so far. Since you haven’t... We haven’t...” She huffed out a breath. “Can I be perfectly frank?”

“You weren’t before now?” If she was franker, she might actually kill him.

“Jeff might be a cheating bastard, but that doesn’t change the fact that even before he started sleeping around, he was never...satisfied. Since he obviously found that satisfaction with those other women, it’s impossible to blame the entire problem on him.”

Gideon watched her pick at the tassels on the pillow while he dissected what she’d just said.

“You’ve been with other men since him.”

“No.” She still wouldn’t look up. “I almost did once. But I kept hearing his voice in my head with those nasty little comments that he always wrote off as a joke and I just couldn’t. I know that’s pathetic, but after a while, the risk of finding out that Jeff was really right all along wasn’t worth the potential pleasure. So I focused on work instead of dating—and now here we are.”

Gideon wished he could go back in time and deliver a few more punches to Jeff’s perfect face. He’d known things weren’t perfect with Jeff and Lucy, but he hadn’t realized just how much of a dick his friend had been. “He’s a piece of shit.”

“I’m not arguing that, believe me.” She gave a faint smile. “Thank you again for saving me from marrying him. I don’t know if I ever said it before, but it couldn’t have been easy to say something. You two had been friends for so long.”

Gideon scrubbed a hand over his face. He read people for a living—both his clients and the people he found to fill the open positions. He was damn good at it, too. That skill made him the best in the business and ensured that he almost always got the secondary bonus for the position still being filled for a year after the initial contract.

Every instinct he had was insisting that Lucy’s sheepish smile covered up a soul wound. If he was a good man, he’d let someone else help her heal from that—someone who’d be there for the long term. Likely that theoretical husband he was supposed to find her. But Gideon wasn’t a good man.

He didn’t want it to be anyone else.

He wanted it to be him.

“Sit down.”

She dropped onto the couch, still clinging to the pillow. “Okay.”

There wasn’t a convenient playbook for how to go about this, but they did need to have a conversation before it went any further. “I will give you...lessons. On two conditions.”

“Agreed.”

He shot her a look. “Hear the conditions first and then decide if you’re good with them. First—you communicate with me. You like something? Tell me. You aren’t into it? You need to speak up. You fake anything and we call the whole thing off. I can’t help you if you aren’t honest with both yourself and me.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Fine. I’m an adult. I can talk about sex.”

He didn’t comment on the fact she seemed to be trying to convince herself. The confidence and ice queen bit she’d played in the office was nowhere to be seen now, which made him wonder who was the real Lucy—the cold and professional lawyer or the unsure woman sitting in front of him now.

Gideon leaned forward. “Second condition is that you’re not with anyone else for the duration.”

“Why?” She held up a hand. “I have no intention of being with anyone else, but I’m curious.”

“It’s respect.” Liar. It’s jealousy. He smothered the snide little voice and kept his tone even. “We’re exclusive—both of us—until the expiration date.”

“Exclusive.” She said the word as if tasting it. “When’s the expiration date?”

Never. Fuck, he was already in over his head and sinking fast and he hadn’t even touched her. “When you decide on a candidate for a husband, we end it.”

Lucy nodded. “That seems reasonable. Should we start now?” She reached for her shirt.

“Holy fuck, slow down.” He made an effort to lower his voice and held out a hand. “You want lessons? We start with the basics. Come here.”

She reluctantly let go of the pillow and rose to cross over to his chair. Lucy eyed his hand, but ultimately placed hers in it. Gideon drew her down slowly, giving her plenty of time to see where things were going. She obliged him by climbing into his lap, though she held herself so stiffly she felt downright brittle.

He kept hold of her hand and set his other on her hip. It would have been innocent if not for the fact that she was straddling him and his cock had not gotten the memo about moving slow.

She shifted, her eyes going wide. “Ah...”

“Are you uncomfortable?” He spoke before she could think too hard.

“No...” She bit her lip. “Right. Honesty. Okay, yes, this feels weird. Awkward. I don’t know where to put my hands and I can feel you, and it’s making me nervous.”

She was right. It was awkward as fuck. But Gideon wasn’t going to throw her off the deep end on the first night, no matter how surreal this whole thing was. She trusted him to take care of her and he’d do whatever it took to be worthy of that trust. Do whatever it took to keep her from changing her mind. He kept his voice low so as not to startle her. “I’m going to kiss you now.”

“Okay.” She licked her lips and carefully tilted forward.

Gideon moved his hand from her hip to cup her jaw, guiding her down as he leaned up to brush his mouth against hers. She smelled of citrus and he had to fight to keep a growl internal. Nice and easy. He nipped her bottom lip and then soothed it with his tongue. She placed her hands on his biceps and relaxed against him, bit by bit. Gideon took it slow. He kissed her, keeping it light, until she shifted restlessly against him.

Then, and only then, did he slip his tongue into her mouth.

His first taste of Lucy went straight to his head. He used his hand on her jaw to angle her to allow him deeper and stroked his tongue against hers. Slow and steady was the name of the game.

Lucy whimpered and went soft against him. Her body melded to his, her breasts dragging against his chest with each inhalation. She shifted her grip and tentatively sifted her fingers through his hair. As if she wasn’t sure of her welcome.

He wanted her sure.

Gideon shifted back to lean against the chair. The move settled her tighter against him as her knees sank into the cushion on either side of his hips. She gasped into his mouth and he ate the sound. He kissed her like he’d wanted to since that first night, when he’d heard her infectious laugh across a crowded bar. She tasted just as sunny as she smelled, as addicting as a summer’s day in the midst of winter.

He couldn’t get enough.

CHAPTER THREE

LUCY’S AWKWARDNESS WENT up in smoke the second Gideon kissed her. She’d expected... Well, she wasn’t sure what she’d expected. For him to take her into the bedroom and strip them down and just go for it. Preferably with the lights turned off to hide her mortification.

He stroked his hands up the sides of her face and tangled his fingers in her hair. The move pulled her out of their kiss, but Gideon didn’t let the distance stand. He dragged his mouth down the line of her neck, raising goose bumps in his wake.

A deep, hidden ember inside her burst into flame.

She was doing this. She was straddling Gideon Novak with his mouth on her skin and his hands on her body. Something she’d never even allowed herself to think about until she’d come up with this plan.

“You’re thinking too hard.”

“I can’t believe this is happening.”

He set his teeth against her collarbone. “If you change your mind—”

“I won’t.” She’d never dared fantasize about him—she hadn’t let herself cross that line, even in her mind—but she wasn’t missing this opportunity for the world. Warmth flared with each breath, the heat centered at her core, where she could feel his cock lining up right where she wanted it.

I want it.

The realization startled her, though it shouldn’t have. Gideon was sex personified and having all his considerable attention focused solely on her was a heady feeling. She wanted... More. All of it. Everything he could give her. She moaned. “More.”

Gideon took her mouth. There was no other way to put it. He claimed her, establishing dominance with a stroke of his tongue, engulfing her entire world in that single contact. He tasted like peppermint—a shocking sensation against her tongue. Unexpected.

Just like the man himself.

It wasn’t enough. There were too many clothes between them. She could feel his broad shoulders flexing, could test the definition of his muscles as she slid her hands down his chest, but his button-up shirt barred her from the skin-to-skin contact she craved.

Her breasts felt too tight, her nipples pebbling until they almost hurt. At least her yoga pants didn’t offer much in the way of a barrier as she rocked her hips against him. His slacks did little to hide the size of his cock, and that little movement felt deliciously good. Intoxicating. So she did it again.

Gideon dropped one hand to her hip. For one horrifying moment she thought he’d stop her—maybe tell her that grown adults did not dry hump in the middle of one’s living room—but he just urged her on. He never stopped kissing her, never stopped exploring her mouth. As if kissing was his be-all and end-all rather than just the first step to get to sex.

God, I am so messed up.

He squeezed her ass and nipped her bottom lip. “How we doing?”

“Good.” Was that her voice? She sounded like she was doing something requiring a whole lot more exertion than kissing Gideon Novak. If this is what kissing is like, am I going to survive actual sex?

Who cares? It’d be a glorious way to go.

He used his grip on her hip to pull her closer yet, lining up his cock with her clit. “And now?”

She hissed out a breath. Please don’t stop. She could come like this if they kept it up. “Really good. But—” She didn’t want to talk about it, didn’t want to do anything to make this stop, so she went in for another kiss.

Gideon tightened his hold on her hair just enough to prevent her from moving. “But?”

His insistence on honesty had seemed like a good idea at the time—how could she improve if she didn’t know what she was doing wrong?—but in practice it felt like he was stripping her bare in a way that had nothing to do with sex. She closed her eyes, because it was easier to answer when she wasn’t meeting his gaze. “Isn’t dry humping kind of juvenile?” Are you going to mock me if I orgasm from this? Maybe make a joke about cobwebs or how long it’s been for me?

His chuckle pulled at things low in her stomach. “Does this feel juvenile to you?”

“No.” It felt hotter than it should have and even a little dirty. She wanted it too much, and that was the problem. She forced herself to open her eyes and found him watching her with a contemplative expression. “What?”

“Pleasure isn’t something you can put limits on, Lucy. There isn’t a right way to go about it. Would you tell someone who was eating one of those double-chocolate-death desserts you love so much that they were eating it wrong if they did it differently than you?”

“Of course not.” She blinked. How had he possibly remembered her favorite dessert?

“Then why is this wrong?” He urged her to rock against him again. “Feels good to me. Feels good to you. No reason to overthink it.”

When Gideon put it like that, it sounded so simple. Deceptively simple. She started to ask another question but forced herself to silence it. This insecurity wasn’t her. This was the ghost of her relationship with Jeff coloring the current interaction.

Exactly what she’d been afraid would happen.

“Thank you for agreeing to this, Gideon. You didn’t have to and—”

“Lucy.” He framed her face with his big hands, preventing her from looking away. Those dark eyes were so incredibly serious. “Stop thanking me for this. The matchmaking shit? Sure. Not this. You’re crazy if you think I’m not getting something out of it—same as you. Enjoy it. Enjoy me. It’s as simple as that.”

Easier said than done. The malicious voice that had spent far too many years lurking in the back of her mind wouldn’t be silenced. Not completely. Pity fuck. She pressed her lips together. “I want to have sex now.”

“No.”

She frowned. “What?”

“No.” He sat up, forcing her to grab his shoulders to stabilize herself, and then stood, taking her with him. “You want me to teach you? Then we’re doing this on my terms. You were enjoying the hell out of this and something tripped you up.” He laid them down on his ridiculously comfortable couch. She sank into the cushions as his weight settled over her. It felt good. Right.

It scared the shit out of her.

“Gideon.”

“My terms, Lucy.” He kissed her again. Before it had been sweet, and then intense, but she hadn’t realized he was holding back until that moment. Gideon kissed her like he owned her. He took her mouth, urging her to meet him halfway.

She held back for all of one second; it was impossible to maintain distance with his very presence overwhelming her. So she let go, tangling her tongue with his. The second she did, he started to move.

It had felt good when she was on top, but it was nothing compared to him pressing her into the couch as he stroked his cock against her clit. One long slide up and then another back down. The desire that had been put on hold while she’d let her insecurities get the best of her seared her—with interest. As if it’d been waiting for her to just let go and enjoy this moment for what it was. Pleasure. No questions asked.

She arched up to meet him. “That feels good.”

Gideon hitched a hand beneath her knee and drew her leg up and out, opening her farther. He kissed her again and kept up that slow drag that had sparks dancing at her nerve endings. Her body wound tighter and tighter with each stroke until she teetered on the brink. Lucy writhed against him, trying to get closer, to get him where she needed him, to do whatever it took to reach that edge. “Gideon, please.”

He shifted back and she sobbed out a breath at the loss of him. But he didn’t make her wait long. He slid a hand beneath the waistband of her yoga pants and into her panties. His rough curse would have made her smile under other circumstances, but she was too busy holding her breath. So close. Please just touch me.

He did.

He made a V with his fingers and slid it over her clit in the exact same motion he’d been doing with his cock before. She lasted three strokes before she came apart in his arms, her pleasure drawing a cry from her lips and blanking out her mind into delicious static. He softened their kiss to the barest brushing of lips and then shifted to the side so his weight wasn’t completely on her.

Lucy blinked at the pale gray ceiling and tried to reconcile what had just happened with reality. I just came. Without pressure. Without having to force it or fake it. A world-ending orgasm and Gideon was the one who’d coaxed it from her. “Wow.” As soon as the word popped out of her mouth, she cringed. What a stupid thing to say. She was hardly a virgin and she wasn’t an idiot teenager, no matter what they’d just done.

Gideon gave another of those low laughs. “All flavors, Lucy.”

Against her better judgment, she couldn’t help comparing what they’d just done to her experiences with Jeff when they’d first started dating. Night and day. Even though it’d taken her and Jeff a bit to work up to sex, he’d always had an air of impatience about him when they were intimate—like he couldn’t wait to get to the next step. Add that to his competitive need to make her come multiple times every time they were together and the pressure had twisted with the desire until it made her jumpy every time they’d been alone together. Things had changed a little once they’d finally had sex, but then other elements had come into play.

Boring.

Uninspired.

Like fucking a doll.

“Lucy, look at me.” Gideon’s voice drew her out of the horror show that was her past.

She shook her head. God, I can’t even do this right. What they’d just done was so incredibly perfect and she’d had to go and ruin it by letting her issues with her ex creep in. “I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry.” He stroked a hand through her hair, the move so tender, her stomach tried to tie itself in knots. His dark eyes took on a distance as he looked at something she couldn’t see. “I knew Jeff was an asshole, but if I’d known what a piece of shit he was, I would have warned you off before he got his hooks into you.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered.” Six years ago, in the midst of her headlong rush into adulthood, she was so sure that she knew better, she hadn’t listened to anyone. Not her sister, not her friends, not her fledgling instincts. As nice as it was to think otherwise, she wouldn’t have listened to Gideon, either.

Being this close to him, talking like this while her body still sang from the pleasure he’d given her... It was too intimate. Too revealing. Just plain too much.

She slid off the couch and stood. A quick look at the front of his slacks confirmed that he was still, in fact, painfully hard. Nice job, Lucy. Bask in your post-orgasmic bliss and ignore the fact he’s still in need. “Do you want me to...?”

“These lessons aren’t about me.” He sat up. “They’re about you. And you need space.”

Yeah, she did. His airy living room was suddenly too small, the walls closing in even as her heart beat too fast. “I asked for this.”

“You don’t have to explain.” He gave her a half smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “We poked at some old wounds tonight. If that means you need some distance from the whole thing, then so be it. You’re being honest, and fuck if I’m going to punish you for that.” He grabbed his phone off the coffee table. “But if you’re headed home, I’m calling you a cab.”

She should push back. She was more than capable of calling her own damn cab and the subway would be running for hours yet. But if Gideon could respect her need to flee without his pride being injured and throwing a fit, she could respect his need to get her home safe. “Okay.”

He made the call quickly and set the phone down. “What’s your schedule look like tomorrow?”

The change in subject left her discombobulated. “I have court in the afternoon, so I’ll be doing last-minute preparations beforehand.” It was as close to an open-and-shut case as such things got. The cops had mishandled the evidence and the lead detective had an established vendetta against her client. She had every intention of getting the whole damn thing thrown out.

“I know that look on your face. You have this one in the bag.”

Her stomach gave another of those flutters that wasn’t altogether uncomfortable. He’d said that with such confidence, as if there wasn’t a single doubt in his mind that she would win. Lucy tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I should be free in the evening.” For another lesson? She didn’t know if she’d look forward to it or dread it. Liar. You haven’t even left yet and you’re already craving another hit.

“Good.” He stood, suddenly taking up too much space. She tensed, half expecting him to touch her. But Gideon headed for the door. “I’ll have a list of preliminary candidates ready for you, and we’ll go over them at dinner.”

“That I’ll pay for.” She cast a pointed look at the way his jaw tensed at her words. “Don’t be like that. If I was a normal client, I’d pay and you wouldn’t blink because that’s how things are done.”

“You aren’t a normal client, Lucy. There’s nothing normal about this.” He motioned between them.

She couldn’t really argue that, but that didn’t mean he’d win this battle. “I’ll handle the reservations and text you the details.”

“Stubborn.”

The twisting in her stomach took on a sour edge. Jeff had thrown that word at her like a curse more often than she could count. Stop it. Oh, my God, stop. He’s in the past and he’s staying there. “It’s my best trait.”

“I wouldn’t dream of arguing that.” He held the door open for her. “Until tomorrow.”

“See you then.”

She headed for the elevator, stopping several steps down the hallway and leaning against the wall as she tried to calm her racing heart. She hadn’t known it could be like this. He’d just...taken care of her. Both physically and emotionally. Bringing her to orgasm and recognizing and respecting the panic driving her to leave. Lucy hadn’t expected that. She didn’t know what to do with a version of Gideon who was different than she’d expected.

What did I get myself into?

CHAPTER FOUR

“YOU’RE FUCKING CRAZY.”

Gideon didn’t look up from his computer. “You don’t have to tell me that.”

“And yet I’m telling you all the same. What the hell are you doing? Matchmaker? For Lucy Baudin?” Roman Bassani paced from one side of the room to the other, his restless energy irritating as fuck.

“I know we’re supposed to have lunch, but this came up and can’t wait. I’m going to have to take a rain check.” Gideon wrote down another name and moved to the next candidate on his preliminary list. When Roman paced another lap around the office, he cursed. “Sit down or get out. You’re distracting me.”

“You need the distraction. Hell, you need a goddamn intervention.” Roman threw himself into the chair across from the desk and slouched. He would have been at home in some artsy perfume ad with his brooding good looks and the way he seemed to pose without noticing he was doing it. On any other man, the affected attitude would have pissed Gideon off, but with Roman it was just... Roman. He was too honest, too brash, too comfortable in any space. It was part of what made him so good at his job—he had never met a challenge he wasn’t fully confident he could tackle.

Whether his confidence was misplaced or not was an argument for another day.

“Gideon, why are you doing this? Wait—don’t tell me. You’re not still feeling guilty because you didn’t tell her what a douche Jeff was immediately? Look, we all fucked up. You’re the only one who stepped in, and that’s something I have to live with.” He made a face. “I convinced myself that it wasn’t my place or my business.”

“Jeff’s good at spinning any situation to benefit him.” He’d sure as hell laid on the guilt and idiotic bro code heavy enough to give even Gideon pause at the time.

“Changes nothing.” Roman shrugged. “Including the fact that you are not qualified to be a matchmaker, let alone for Lucy. She’s a good girl and, damn it, she deserves a professional. I know a few in the city. I can call in a favor and get her shoved to the top of the list and wrap this whole thing up without anyone crossing any lines.”

He tried to be rational and actually consider it. He fucking failed. The line had been crossed last night and there was no going back now. “No. She asked me, so I’m the one who’ll do it. And don’t get any funny ideas, Roman. You meddle in enough people’s lives. I have no interest in being added to the list.”

“As if you’d let me.” Roman affected a sigh. “You’re as mean as a junkyard dog.”

“And you’re wasting my time. Unless you have something worthwhile to add to the search, get out.”

He realized his mistake the second his friend perked up. “Who’s on the list?”

Fuck me. “No.”

“Come on.” Roman shot to his feet, towering over the desk, and snatched the paper from beneath Gideon’s hand. His hazel eyes went wide. “Shit, Gideon. You put Aaron Livingston on here. Shooting for the stars, aren’t you?”

“She’s worth it.” He grabbed the paper.

Roman studied him for a long moment. “Interesting.”

“For fuck’s sake, Roman, don’t you have some business to buy up or small children to terrify?” He still had several hours’ worth of work to do before he met up with Lucy tonight. The address she’d texted him wasn’t far, but rush hour would be a bitch to navigate, so he’d scheduled in extra time. That didn’t mean he was going to dick around with this damn list.

His friend pointed to two names on the list. “Take Travis and David off the list. They’re fuckheads with women, though they both hide it well.”

Gideon crossed out their names. “I hadn’t heard.”

“Why would you? You don’t date, and that handsome mug of yours might have people intrigued, but it’s from a distance. People aren’t rushing to confide in you because there’s a solid chance you’ll rip them a new one for wasting your time.”

Gideon glared. “Are you finished?”

“Not yet.” Roman gave a lazy grin. “My point is that people talk to me, so using that as a resource is a smart thing to do. Aaron Livingston is as straight as they come. If that guy has any skeletons in his closet, they’re buried deep. The other two left on the list are up in the air. I’ll find out what I can and let you know.”

He fought down the need to snap back. The truth was that Roman was right. People didn’t open up to Gideon. His clients only cared that he got the job done and had one of the highest ratings in the industry. The people he placed for his clients only cared about their endgame in a company that would pay them well to do what they loved. Friends? He had them. He just preferred them at a distance.

Roman had never been able to take that hint.

“Fine. Look into them.”

“It’s charming that you think I need your permission.” Roman grinned. “I’ll come by in the next few days and let you know what I dig up.”

A call would have been preferable, but Gideon knew Roman well enough to know that arguing was pointless. His friend did what he wanted, when he wanted. He sighed. “Fine.”

“Chin up, Novak.” Roman paused. “All joking aside, if you’re going to do this, do it right. I know your history with Lucy is complicated, but playing this straight is the only way. Otherwise, there are a lot of potential complications that could arise.”

Last night had been nothing if not one long, agonizingly good complication. Even almost twenty-four hours later, he could still taste her in his mouth. It made him crave more, which was a dangerous path to walk.

Lucy wasn’t for him.

He had to remember that.

If she’d wanted him, she would have said so. Even this almost-timid version of her wouldn’t have balked at putting it out there. She was direct, as evidenced by her plan existing in the first place. But she hadn’t brought him into her office to ask him to step into the role of husband.

Husband.

What would that even look like?

Gideon shook his head and focused on his friend. “I have it under control.”

“Keep telling yourself that.” Roman headed for the door. “I’ll check in tomorrow, but in case I don’t see you before then, we still on for Friday?”

“Yeah.” They had a standing reservation in Vortex’s VIP lounge on Friday nights. It was one of the only social appointments he held consistently, despite occasionally running into Jeff there. But that asshole had started coming less and less in the years since he and Lucy had broken off their engagement. People had started to see through his charming act and called him out when he was acting like a douchebag—which was often.

“See you then.” Roman opened the door and paused. “You should bring her.”

Gideon tore his gaze away from the list of names yet again. “What?”

“You should bring Lucy on Friday. I know Aaron Livingston since we worked together last year. We can orchestrate a non-pressure meeting. You’re on your own with the other two, but I don’t think Aaron would agree to a blind date for shits and giggles.”

Since Gideon had only met him in passing, he couldn’t argue that. “Do it.” He spoke before he had a chance to think up half a dozen reasons why it was a bad idea. It wasn’t a bad idea. It was his issue if he didn’t want to see her with someone else—not hers.

He waited for Roman to shut the door behind him before he grabbed his phone. Both Mark and Liam were acquaintances he’d come across in the last few years who had seemed like upstanding guys. He’d feel them out for interest and then take the list to Lucy to see where she stood with all of it.

The knowledge that she’d likely end up with one of these men sat in his stomach like a rock. He hesitated, his contact list staring back at him. It would be the easiest thing in the world to sabotage this. All he had to do was feed some false information about Lucy and they’d say no. Or feed her false information about them to prove New York had a shitty dating scene.

“No.” He’d promised her to do his best and he’d damn well do his best. Gideon had lied to her once before and it had almost destroyed them both. He wasn’t going to do that to her again.

Fuck, he was in this situation because of what happened before.

Gideon would do right by Lucy. He’d have to be a heartless bastard to do anything else. The only option was to find her a damn husband.

No matter what it cost him to do it.

* * *

Lucy was on her second glass of wine by the time she caught sight of Gideon’s familiar form moving toward her table through the darkened room. He towered over the tiny host and the poor man kept shooting looks over his shoulder as if he expected Gideon to club him over the head. The thought made her smile and was almost enough to distract her from her nervousness.

She’d woken up this morning from the single hottest dream of her life, starring none other than Gideon Novak. It started identical to their encounter last night, but they hadn’t stopped until they were naked and in his bed, both shaking from their respective orgasms. Her body flushed at the memory and she took a shaky sip of wine.

What was the protocol for greeting a man who’d used his fingers to make her come on his couch the night before? They weren’t dating, so a kiss seemed inappropriate. They weren’t even really friends anymore, so a hug was likely presumptuous. A handshake was just absurd.

Gideon saved her from having to decide by sitting before she had a chance to stand. He shot a look at the host. He probably meant it as a polite dismissal, but it actually looked scathing. Lucy watched the man nearly run from the table. “You really have to work on your attitude.”

“My attitude is fine.”

“Without a doubt, but you have a very intimidating persona. You know most women judge a man by how he treats the waitstaff on their first date—and you would have just nixed the possibility of a second date and we haven’t even had appetizers yet.”

Gideon raised his eyebrows. “Good day in court, I take it.”

“We’re not talking about me.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. Enjoying poking at him a little. “Though that was a very smooth change of subject.”

The corners of his lips twitched upward. “Yes, it was. We’re not here to talk about my dating prospects. We’re here to talk about yours.” He looked up as a waiter approached and she actually saw the effort he put into forcing a smile. It looked downright pained, but it was better than nothing. “I’ll have a seven and seven.” He glanced at her half-full wineglass. “Another?”

“Sure.” She didn’t drink more than two glasses often, but she’d busted her ass on today’s case and the judge had been persuaded to dismiss the entire thing. It was a coup that should have been the tipping point for her promotion, but when Rick Parker had come by her office to congratulate her, he’d made a comment about the big, broody man who’d been in to see her yesterday. Because, of course, who she was or wasn’t dating was just as important as her professional skill set.

Well, damn it, Parker’s crappy attitude wasn’t going to ruin her night.

“Tell me about the case.”

She almost refocused the conversation, but the truth was that she didn’t have anyone to talk to about it. Her sister was supportive and wonderful, but Becka had her own thing going on and couldn’t be less interested in law. Get together for drinks and chat about life and what their parents were up to? Sure. Hash out the details of whatever case Lucy was working on? Not a chance. And Gideon actually looked interested.

She picked up her wineglass. “I got the entire case thrown out today. All they had was circumstantial evidence and a bad attitude about my guy’s priors. They were so certain he did the crime, they didn’t look at anyone else. Anyone on the outside would have come to the same conclusion, but it’s always a crapshoot with Judge Jones.”

“That’s great, Lucy. Congrats.”

“Thanks.” She smiled and then took a drink. “How was your day?”

“Productive.” He leaned over and pulled a tablet out of his briefcase. “I have some things to show you.”

Disappointment coated her tongue when he slid the tablet across the table to her. They’d barely gotten their conversation started and now they were back to business. You hired him as a business decision. You don’t get to have it both ways. It wasn’t fair to ask him to go back to being her friend along with her being his client.

She picked up the tablet and found pictures of three men. She clicked on the first one—a blond guy with a close-cropped beard and a seriously expensive suit—and found a file. “‘Aaron Livingston, born May thirteenth...’” He’d compiled a list of information ranging from where Aaron was born to where he graduated high school and college—and his GPA at both. There was also a notification about possible likes and dislikes. “Wow, Gideon. You really don’t do anything halfway, do you?”

He had compiled the same information for each of the other two men. Interestingly enough, all three of them were local and had gone to prestigious business colleges, graduating close to the top of their class. All three had moved on to respected companies and seemed to be doing well for themselves.

Using their information and ignoring their pictures, she wouldn’t have been able to pick any of them out of a lineup. “This... Wow.”

“You said that already.” He frowned. “Is something wrong? I assumed that you were looking for someone in the same financial class as you, and leaning toward white-collar businessmen. That is why you came to me, correct?”

Yes, at least in theory. In reality, this whole thing was playing out much differently than she’d expected. It didn’t make a bit of sense, especially because it was proceeding exactly how she’d hoped. “No, it’s fine. They’re excellent candidates.”

Seeing them laid out like this, the situation just became so much more real. In a very short period of time she’d be sitting across the table from one of these men, rather than Gideon. She’d be torturing herself with wondering if they’d kiss her after dinner—if maybe they’d expect more to happen.

I’m not ready.

She took a gulp of her wine. “Can we get dinner to go?”

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