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  A large person strode from the beach trail, stopping close to the restaurant. Shar’s eyes fixed on him, and she sighed. Mike. She forgot all about her frustration over the money and drank in the sight of him as he motioned to her. She was powerless to resist any invitations from him, and she hurried across the wooden planks of the restaurant floor, toward him. He smiled and put a hand on her back, escorting her away from the restaurant before he stopped and turned toward her. A tentative smile crossed his handsome face. He was so tall and manly. She felt dainty and petite being near him. She liked it.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “I thought you’d ditched me,” she blurted out.

  “No,” he said quickly. “No, I just walked out on the beach for a bit while I waited for you.”

  She smiled, relief almost as strong as her attraction to him rushed over her. After the impression she’d made last night, she never would’ve imagined that he would be waiting for her. So they could walk on the beach. Nerves and joy assaulted her as he extended his hand. Placing her hand in his, she felt the rightness of his large palm enclosing over her own. This was a man who would protect and love. Could there ever be a world where the man she idolized would honestly be interested in her?

  They walked slowly down the trail to the beach.

  “Thanks again for dinner,” Mike said. “It was amazing.”

  Shar stopped on the trail before they got to the sand. Dinner. “It was supposed to be my treat. You guys shouldn’t have left so much money.”

  Mike shrugged, and those shoulders looked so tough, she wanted to touch one of them. “Sorry, we couldn’t not pay for all that delicious food.”

  Shar started walking again. “Well, next time you’d better keep your money in your pocket.”

  Mike stared down at her. They left the path and squished into the sand. “Is there going to be a next time?” he asked.

  Shar bit at her lip and tilted her head up to him. She squeezed his hand and couldn’t even find it in her to tease. “I hope so.”

  Mike grinned and clasped her hand tighter. “Me too.”

  They walked through the soft sand and down toward the water where the sand was packed harder. Lights from houses and hotels blinked from their right, and a pale moon reflected off the endless waves to their left.

  “You’re lucky to live here.”

  “Yeah, I am.” Though for the past couple of years, luck had had nothing to do with it as she’d worked her tail off to start her own restaurant.

  “How long have you lived here?”

  “Two years. Right after I graduated from culinary school, I found the restaurant. It was run down, and the owner was ready to give up, so I got a loan with a little help from my parents, and worked my butt off.” She still worked hard every day. Her restaurant was doing awesome, and she’d been able to pay her parents back, pay down her loan every month, and had a fat savings account. She was hoping to pay off her loan in the next couple of years and buy one of the houses in her neighborhood of Sea Pines, instead of renting.

  “That’s great. Where’d you go to school?”

  “Atlanta Culinary Art School, but I finished my undergrad at Auburn first.”

  His head whipped down toward her. “What? That’s where I went.”

  “I know,” she murmured.

  “Four years ago?” he asked. “We would’ve been there at the same time.”

  “We were.”

  Mike released her hand and stared down at her. The look in his eyes was conflicted. As if he was interested in her yet wary of her. She supposed as famous and wealthy as he was, he’d have to be leery around women.

  She jutted out her chin and folded her arms across her chest. If he was going to be all scared of her, she was going to call him out. “I told you I was an obsessed fangirl. What are you going to do about it?”

  Mike took an obvious step back. “You’ve been obsessed with me since college?”

  Shar rolled her eyes, her insides churning. Every time they were together, she seemed to mess it all up. But at the same time, why was he so sensitive? I mean, besides being an ultra-handsome superstar sensation, he was nothing special. “You want to make something of it?”

  Mike gave a chortled laugh, but then he shook his head and gestured back toward the restaurant and parking lot. “We’d better go.”

  “No.” Shar surprised herself by saying. “Why do you keep acting like I’m going to attack you or something?”

  Mike’s eyebrows lifted. He folded his arms across his chest. “Why do you keep acting so … fangirl obsessive with me? I’m just a regular guy, Shar.”

  “There’s nothing regular about you. Buck up and realize you’re a superstar stud who’s so stinking handsome, every woman wants you.” Nothing like revealing exactly how much she wanted him.

  Mike looked away from her, gazing at the waves rolling in. “I’d like to actually go on a walk on a beach and just be normal for once.”

  Shar felt a pang. She knew Kim had struggled with being famous, and it wasn’t all peaches. Her sister had had a stalker for years, and Shar knew how unsafe she’d felt. Mike was so big and strong, and she couldn’t imagine anything scaring him, but all the unwanted attention would have to get old.

  She nodded her understanding. “That would be tough. Are you afraid women are only after you for your fame, money, and athletic prowess?”

  He inclined his chin, shrugging.

  “Well, I’ve got news for you, superstar.”

  He gave her a challenging look. “What’s that?”

  “I’m pretty sure women are after you because you’re stinking hot, an incredibly nice guy, and fun to banter with.”

  Mike finally smiled at her. “Really? Is that why you’re after me?”

  She grinned back at him but said flippantly. “Naw, it’s all about you having over fifteen hundred receiving yards last season.”

  Mike chuckled. “You really do like football.”

  “I was more stoked than Ally when she married Preston.”

  “What?”

  “I knew I’d get tickets to the games. Huge Patriots fan.”

  He laughed louder. “Somehow, I doubt you were ‘more stoked than Ally’ about their marriage.”

  “You’re right. She’s pretty gone over the guy.”

  Her phone rang in her purse and chirped, “Ally Steele. Prettiest twin sister on the planet.” She ignored it and smiled at Mike. She wasn’t interrupting this conversation for anything, even her sister.

  Mike’s phone rang too, but she couldn’t hear who it was, or maybe he didn’t have voice alerts on his phone. Her phone was still ringing and seemed shrill in the peaceful night. Suddenly, two people were walking quickly up to them. Shar wasn’t the nervous type, but the way these two were deliberately coming straight at them in the semi-dark on a deserted beach, was a little unnerving. She backed into Mike. He put an arm around her and turned to face whoever was coming.

  She squinted at the couple in the semi-dark, finally recognizing them as her phone fell silent for a minute. “Gunner? Lily?”

  Neither of them was smiling. “We’ve got to go,” Gunner said shortly. He gestured with his chin, and Mike turned Shar with his arm and hurried her back toward the parking lot.

  “What’s going on?” Shar asked. She wasn’t complaining about being held close to Mike’s side, but Gunner and Lily were scaring her. She peeked over her shoulder at the two of them, grim-faced and taking up the rear.

  Nobody said anything as they all hurried past her restaurant and loaded into an Escalade that looked like it was built like a tank. Shar’s phone started ringing again, but she quickly hit the button for Can I call you later? They drove west away from the ocean and toward the middle of the island. Ally responded quickly with, Come home. Right now.

  “What’s going on?” Shar repeated. They were scaring her, and Ally’s text didn’t help.

  “We need to talk to you,” Gunner said shortly, driving the vehicle with a tight grip. He tu
rned into her neighborhood.

  Shar sent Ally a quick, Ok, and looked at Mike. He was studying his hands.

  “Are Gunner and Lily … your protection?”

  Mike glanced at her and nodded shortly. “Yeah.”

  “I know you’re famous, but do you really need two of Sutton Smith’s operatives to protect you? That’d be a bit of an overkill for the President.” She smiled to show she was teasing.

  Mike’s jaw was tight, and nobody returned her smile or laughed at her joke. Mike opened his mouth to respond, but Gunner cut him off. “We’ll talk about it inside.”

  Shar’s body felt tight and uncomfortable. What was Gunner’s deal? She knew he was a hard-nosed, military, muscle head, but when she’d met him and Lily at Preston and Ally’s wedding, she’d really liked both of them. Since seeing them here on her island, Gunner had acted very offish with her. Now it felt like they were in the middle of some spy movie. She’d rather rewind to the beach where she was looking into Mike’s eyes. One glance at Mike’s tight posture told her it wasn’t going to be happening anytime soon.

  Chapter Six

  They pulled into the driveway of Shar’s rented house. She loved it here, with the huge Spanish oaks decorating the small yard and a running trail right out her back windows. The exterior lights were blazing, but it was darker inside the house with blinds shut that she’d never closed before. She walked up to the door with Mike by her side, Gunner and Lily taking up the rear again.

  The door burst open, and Ally ushered them inside. She clasped Shar to her and muttered, “Don’t worry. I’ll kick all of their butts for you, especially Gunner’s.” She shot her brother-in-law a dark look.

  Shar wasn’t sure why Ally would need to kick anyone’s butts for her. She said, “You do realize Gunner and Lily work for Sutton Smith and are highly trained?”

  “I don’t care. I’ll smash them like a bug, separately, or at the same time.”

  “They’re not only superhero material,” Shar felt it her duty to point out, “they’re also your brother and sister-in-law.”

  Ally glared at Gunner and Lily. Gunner looked defiant. Lily looked apprehensive. Gunner pointed to the open living area as if they should march in line to their lecture.

  Usually, Shar had all the retractable blinds up to let in the sunshine and the great view of trees and the lagoon. Tonight, those blinds were all closed tight, and only a few lamps were on.

  “We can turn on more light,” she said.

  “Please don’t,” Gunner muttered.

  Shar raised her eyebrows but didn’t comment. She followed the group into the living room and sat on the camel leather couch. Mike sat on her right, Ally on her left. Preston stood next to Ally, and Gunner and Lily stood across from them.

  “You can sit.” She gestured to the floral chairs. They weren’t as comfortable as the couch, but she’d love for those two to relax a little bit. What was going on?

  “I’ll stand,” Lily said.

  Gunner nodded.

  Shar stared at the two of them. Then her gaze swung to Mike. She whispered, “What’s with the: I’m such a superstar, I need two highly-trained operatives to make everyone around me uncomfortable?”

  Mike smiled at her attempt at humor, but then his eyes filled with a longing look. It was almost as if the brief moments they’d shared together were all she was going to get, and whatever was upsetting Ally so much was going to rip them apart.

  “Do you want to start, or should I?” Ally demanded, folding her arms defiantly across her chest and glaring at Gunner.

  Gunner gestured to her. “Be my guest.”

  Ally turned to Shar and clasped her hand. “Colt called me as we were getting settled in the guest room.”

  “Okay.”

  “Preston had found it interesting that Gunner and Lily were here, as they rarely take vacations and prefer to work in South America fighting drug lords and trafficking rings. He mentioned something about it to Colt when they were texting about fantasy football this morning, and Colt looked into it. Preston came across some intel that was apparently supposed to be kept from him.” Her lips thinned, and she glared at Gunner.

  Gunner didn’t even look upset or embarrassed like Ally was obviously trying to make him. He arched an eyebrow and said, “Many cases are secretive to protect the client.”

  “Not when those cases involve my sister!” Ally roared at him.

  Shar jerked back and hit the cushions. “What do you mean involve my sister? Is Kim in trouble?” Colt had saved her from her stalker over a year ago. “Her stalker isn’t out of prison, is he?” Her palms got sweaty at the very thought. Kim had been through so much. She deserved a moment of peace with her husband, pursuing her dreams of acting again.

  “Not Kim,” Shar muttered.

  Mike suddenly grasped her hand, and she focused on him. “This is all about me, Shar. I have a stalker. She’s been after me since college. She threatens any woman I date. The threats have become more sinister and frequent, accidents happening to some of the women. So I hired Gunner and Lily to protect me, and I stopped dating.”

  He took a breath and she realized the problem. They couldn’t date until the stalker was caught. Well, that stunk.

  “Gunner and Lily being my protection has been ideal,” he continued, “because they still have to keep their distance most of the time, but I know and trust them. And it’s not out of line for me to be seen with them since I know them personally through Preston, so no one suspects I’ve got bodyguards.”

  “Oh, Mike.” Shar’s stomach filled with lead. She knew how challenging and terrifying something like that could be, even for someone as confident and tough as Mike. “I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with that.”

  He smiled at her.

  Compassion swelled in her, but the rest of the room was deadly quiet, except for Ally who was pushing out huffy breaths next to her.

  Shar bit at her lip, remembering last night. “That’s why you were uncomfortable with me last night when I was acting so crazy.”

  “You’re okay with them thinking you’re the stalker?” Ally exploded.

  Shar’s head whipped from Ally to Gunner, then back to Mike. “I was … just thinking I made him uncomfortable because he was dealing with a crazy obsessed fan.” It hit her so hard, and she had to pull her hand free of his and face him square on. “You don’t really … think I’m your stalker?”

  Mike looked miserable. “I, well, we …” He lifted both palms up. “You have posters of me on your restaurant walls. You admitted to being an obsessive fan. You acted pretty nuts when I followed you behind your restaurant last night.”

  Everyone seemed to be holding their breath. Shar thought she should be angry or defensive, but she mostly just felt sad. She thought Mike was amazing. She had since college. He thought she was capable of being a stalker, of threatening other women who dated him. That stunk. Any dreams of dating him imploded at that moment. She didn’t care how cool and good-looking he was. She could never be with someone who would suspect her of being deranged. Someone who would suspect her of ruining their life like Kim’s had been for a decade.

  “Aren’t you ticked?” Ally asked.

  Shar swallowed hard, angled her body away from Mike’s, and said quietly, “More humiliated. It hurts that Mike, Gunner, or Lily could think this of me.”

  “Shar.” Mike’s deep voice washed over her, but she was too frustrated to look at him.

  Ally’s dark eyes flared. “Well, I’m ticked enough for the both of us!” She pushed to her feet and strode toward Gunner. “How could you?” she demanded. “How could you ever dare think that of my sister? It is bad enough Mike suspected her, but he doesn’t even know her and barely knows me. You and I are family, you, you,” she sputtered then started rattling off, “pompous, dipwad, piece of hud, supercilious, musclehead loser who thinks he knows it all.”

  Gunner didn’t say anything, simply raised an eyebrow and looked intimidating and tough as ever. Shar knew a Steele
brother would never hurt a lady, but Gunner wasn’t going to back down to Ally either. It was clear he was unrepentant about doing his job and thought she was being silly and dramatic.

  Lily stepped in front of Gunner and glared at Ally. “Don’t you dare call my husband names.”

  “I’ll call the jerk bait anything I want to.”

  “Then you’d better be ready to take me on.” Lily thrust her chin out and clenched her fists. She was a few inches taller than the petite Ally and carved with lean muscle, and Shar had heard how highly trained she was. The woman took down drug lords all on her own. If Ally kept trying to pick a fight, Lily would definitely finish it. Shar loved her sister for trying to defend her, but she needed to calm down.

  Preston rushed over to his wife, plucked her off the ground and carried her back to the couch. He settled onto the cushion next to Shar, with Ally straining to get free. “Let me at her,” Ally yelled. “Nobody claims my twin is a stalker and gets away with it. I’ll take them both down. Sutton Smith’s operatives. Ha!”

  Gunner appeared very amused, and Lily was still standing in front of him, looking like she would take on anybody who put her husband down. It was interesting as Shar had usually seen Lily being a soothing, calming force for her husband. Obviously, when she got riled up, she could kick some rear, and calling her husband names had riled her up. It was also interesting that Preston hadn’t interceded until Lily had threatened Ally. He knew Gunner would never hurt his wife, no matter how she insulted him.

  “Calm down, love,” Preston was saying, “They’re just doing their job. Nobody thinks Shar is a stalker.”

  “That’s not what Colt said,” she growled, straining to get free but not able to even budge from Preston’s muscular embrace.