Meg didn't know what was happening when the knocking started. One minute they were asleep and the next Cade had stepped outside. She had to search for her clothing and her hands shook as she rushed to hook her bra. Once dressed, she slowly opened the door. A female officer stood in the hall.

With her ID in hand, she said, "I need to get out of here unseen." She looked around, but the hallway was quiet. Had they questioned the other guests?

She stopped herself from asking where Cade was, because the reality of police at the door woke her up. He was an artist, and she was the attorney general's daughter.

The officer understood and brought her out through the closed kitchen. She opened the passenger seat of a cruiser. "Home?"

Meg shook her head. "No." She rattled off Tyler's address. "What happened back there?"

"Nothing for you to worry about, Miss. Rice."

The radio squawked in the car. Half of it she didn't understand. Suspect in custody. Keeping criminals off the street was a good thing.

In front of the old warehouse building, the officer asked, "Do you need me to walk you up?"

"No, it's fine." She just wanted to get inside.

In front of Tyler's apartment, Meg fumbled with the key. The door opened. Tyler frowned at her. "Did you have fun?"

She sighed dreamily. "I did."

"Are you going to see him again?"

She frowned and shook her head. Blue greeted her looking for attention. "We didn't exchange info."

"You didn't? You didn't like him?"

"I did. I do. Things ended abruptly. Something was going down at the Copley. You know I avoid chaos. Where there's police there are reporters. I snuck out the back."

Tyler nodded. "Smart. What about blue eyes?"

"Cade." She sighed his name. The memories of her orgasms were fresh. "He's amazing."

Tyler winced. "No details, please."

"It happened so fast. I was focused on protecting my identity. I left without saying goodbye."

She didn't know where Cade had gone. He left the room without shoes. She should have left a note and regretted it.

"It's over, unless fate brings us together again." As she spoke the word, regret, settled in. True she only wanted one night, but it had been the night of her dreams. None of her other sexual encounters had been as incredible. She yawned.

"Get some sleep."

"Why were you up?"

"I fell asleep on the sofa and heard you at the door."

Meg followed Tyler into his room. They had shared his enormous bed as friends too many times to count. Tyler kissed her forehead. "Goodnight."

"Nite, Ty." Blue settled on the bed between them.

She woke up in an empty bed. Sitting up, she groaned, "Ten-twenty."

Meg never slept late. Tyler looked up when she stepped out of the bedroom. "Good morning, Princess. I thought you were going to sleep all day."

"Coffee, please." She knew how to fix her own cup on his fancy machine. When Tyler traveled, she stayed over to dog sit.

"Blue's been waiting for her Sunday walk."

"After coffee and a shower." She studied his profile. "Why are you frowning?"

His head jerked up from his phone. "I'm not."

"What happened with Lucy last night?"

Tyler shrugged. "I'm guessing her night paralleled yours."

"It doesn't bother you?"

He sighed. "Would you have left with me if I asked?"

She shook her head. "I meant Lucy. You two seem close."

He smiled. "Lucy? You know we're just friends."

"Oh. I thought. I guess I was wrong."

Tyler gazed at her longer than was comfortable. "Drink your coffee, Meggy. I don't like Lucy like that."

She took her coffee into the bathroom and turned on the water. As she stepped into the shower, she thought of all the places on her body Cade had kissed and touched. Her belly tightened. If they weren't disturbed, she would have woken up with him. No doubt they would use another condom and maybe grab coffee before she left. And talked. They had shared so few details, but she purposely avoided mentioning her last name. He might not have connected Meg Rice with Margaret Rice.

The more she thought about Cade, she missed him, or being with him. Calling the hotel and asking to speak to a guest named Cade wouldn't work. How did she not remember his room number? She was too into him to see which number he pushed in the elevator. When she left with the officer, her biggest concern was not being seen at the hotel in the wee hours of the morning.

Her family didn't need a scandal. Her father was a political figure. Meg's job was to smile and look pretty. She hated politics, the news (it was too depressing), and most social media unless it was necessary for her job.

Meg dressed conservatively in a cardigan sweater. She loved cardigans because they were versatile, casually classic or dressy. Most of all they kept the peace between her and her mother. Along with the sweater, she wore a matching headband.

Tyler chuckled. "Where are your pearls, Shannon?"

"I'm not my mother." She followed him and Blue who led them down the stairs. It was a sunny day and Tyler slid on his sunglasses as they started up the sidewalk.

"No, your mother would never hook up with a stranger."

"You're just assuming I had sex."

He frowned slightly. "Only a saint could sleep with a woman and stay a gentleman."

She pushed his shoulder. "You can."

"I'm a saint."

She giggled. "No, we're friends. It's not like that with us. I thought you liked Lucy, and I was jealous."

He stopped walking. "Seriously."

"Because we're best friends and if either of us got serious with someone, it would affect things."

"When we came clean with your parents?"

"Well, yes, but no!" His parents too. "I'm your best friend and I thought Lucy was going to take my place."

Tyler chuckled. "Listen to yourself. Lucy is your best friend too."

"I know it's irrational. My birthday is over and it's back to normal."

When they entered the park, Blue led the way, stopping to sniff along their route. "So you didn't like the artist guy?"

"I did. I mean I could, but I left, so it's over."

"But what made him different from other guys who sniffed around you?"

His eyes. "I felt something the moment we bumped into each other at The Copley."

"Whoa! Backup! You saw him at the hotel? When?"

"When I got up. There was a line, so I went to the lobby, and Cade appeared and gave me directions. My surprise came later when I saw him at the club."

"Maybe he followed you."

She laughed out loud. "Because I looked like I was going to a club. I watched him leave the hotel. He met his friends before they dragged him to the club."

"Okay, but what do you really know about him?"

She shrugged. "He has a sister. His parents are divorced. He's a graphic designer." I know how great he kisses and a lot more.

"He could be a murderer for all you know."

She laughed. "I know he doesn't even kill bugs."

"Right. He said that. Everyone kills ants."

"It doesn't matter. I don't know his last name, and he didn't harm me."

Tyler held up his hands causing the leash to pull. "I concede. What are we doing the rest of the day?"

"I should go home."

"Maybe Mick wants to hang out."

"I should call Emily. She left early."

Tyler laughed. "Because she hates clubs. Only Lucy likes them."

"I'm done with that scene." She worried she would grow old and wilt away in her parents' home.

An hour later, she entered her family's stately home on Beacon Hill and followed the sound of her mother's voice. Shannon stood in the dining room talking to their housekeeper, Mrs. Hopkins. She had been running the family home since Meg was a preteen. It was unusual for her to work on the weekend.

"We'll have six for dinner."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Who are your guests?" Don't include me.

Shannon smiled. "We've invited Arthur and Chickie for dinner."

Tyler's parents. "And who else?"

"You and Tyler, of course."

"I don't think he knows. He was calling Mick to hang out."

"Chickie said she would tell him. You could tell him, too."

Meg felt trouble brewing. Once in her room, she called Tyler. "Ty, what are they up to?"

"Dinner. Meggy, relax. Two nights in a row is unusual, but I can handle it."

"They're hatching something."

"Don't worry. It's not like they know where you were last night."

"I know. I trust you to keep our secrets."

"Meggy..."

"What Ty?"

"Nevermind. See you at dinner."

Meg wanted to watch a romance movie and think about Cade, except she kept thinking about dinner.

She looked up the hotel. Press to call. Taking a deep breath, she tapped on her phone screen.

She asked for a guest named Cade. "No one by that last name."

"No, it's his first name."

"What's his last name?"

"I've forgotten."

'I'm sorry we need a last name or a room number."

"Okay. Thanks anyway." Short of sitting in the lobby waiting for him to walk through, she would never find him.

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