“Thanks,” Azelie said, meaning it. “I’m Azelie Vargas.”

“Lana Popov,” the woman introduced herself. “I have seen you around a couple of times, although I don’t think we have any classes together.”

Azelie would have remembered her. The woman was gorgeous. Perfect hair, skin, teeth, figure. Azelie couldn’t find a single flaw in her. Lana made her feel a little mousy. The bus drove up and the door opened. Both women climbed on, Lana following Azelie to one of the middle-row seats.

“Should you have called the police?” Lana asked. “Is he some kind of stalker?”

Azelie considered how best to answer. The woman had been kind to a stranger. She had deliberately pretended they were friends because she thought Azelie was in danger. She didn’t want to lie to Lana, but she didn’t want her probing any deeper. It was never a good thing to get on Alan Billows’ radar.

“No, he’s just the most annoying boss in the world.” Azelie kept her tone light, as if Billows amused her. “He doesn’t understand the concept of days off.”

Lana laughed. “I know a few people like that. Obsessed with work.”

“I keep telling him the days I have school. He agreed to let me have those days off, but now he wants me to come work whenever it suits him.” Azelie heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Really, thanks again for rescuing me. It was quick thinking.”

“I sent up a prayer to the universe that you wouldn’t ask me who the hell I was. You’re quick on the uptake.”

“You threw a lifeline, and I caught it. He would have made me late for my class, and I have an important test first thing. I don’t want to miss taking it. The policy is that if you fail, no makeup unless by prearrangement.”

“Harsh,” Lana said. “I’m glad I’m not in that class.”

Ordinarily, Azelie would have smiled at her and turned away, content to be quiet and turn inward, fearful of having friends in her life. But Lana’s laughter, the cool confidence she exuded as well as what appeared to be genuine friendliness had Azelie wanting to follow the merry widows’ advice. She wanted friends. She wanted to be connected to others. Now was the time; all the signs seemed to point in that direction.

“What are you majoring in?” That seemed a safe enough question. If Lana asked her, she could talk about how her brain was always so conflicted.

“Fashion design. I particularly enjoy designing unique articles of clothing for young teens, ones that are misfits in school and don’t have much. My goal would be to sell high-end to those who can afford it and make clothes to give to teens at a nominal fee or be able to waive the money altogether.”

Azelie was impressed. “That’s amazing. Really amazing. I swear, if you ever get your business off the ground and need backers, I’ll find a way to help you, even if I have to take out a personal loan. That’s a very worthwhile ambition. I’m good with numbers; I could do your books for free or something just to help you out.”

She meant it too. Every single word. She wrote down her name and cell phone number. “Stay in touch with me and hopefully you achieve exactly what you envision.”

Lana accepted the Post-it Note and put it in her backpack. “Thank you. I intend to make my business a success. It’s nice to hear that someone else thinks it’s a good idea.”

“It’s a great idea,” Azelie enthused.

“What are you majoring in?” Lana asked.

“Not something that will help others the way you plan to do—certainly not that concrete of an idea. I love to tell stories. I want to get better at that craft, but I do have a weird brain. I see in patterns, in numbers, so logic is always at war with my creativity.”

“Words can be very powerful. Stories touch people and seem to find the ones who need to hear them. I love to read. It’s one thing I’m passionate about,” Lana said. “I like happy endings, even if the stories involve murder and mayhem. I never want the hero or heroine to cheat, and I have to have a romance in the story. Seriously, the authors I read bring all kinds of real-life issues to their stories. They’ve helped me, and I can’t imagine that they aren’t helping others.”

“I prefer writing romance for those very reasons,” Azelie said. “I detest stories where the man’s wife is a nag and unattractive to him, and his mistress is awesome. I want to show that men and women can live together and love each other while going through years of ups and downs. That a wife can be sexy and loving, and the man can think she’s attractive even when she’s nine months pregnant or just had the baby and is exhausted every minute of the day.”

Lana gave her a high-wattage smile. “See, you do have lofty goals. I’ll be purchasing your books one day.”

The bus lumbered to a stop, the doors opening. Azelie glanced at her watch. “I’ve got to run, but hopefully I’ll see you again soon. Thanks again for your help today.”

Sprinting across the parklike campus, she contemplated what the merry widows had told her about living life. About standing back up after getting knocked down. They certainly had stood back up again and made the most of their lives, even to the point of making tragedy in the form of cheating husbands humorous.

She made a vow to herself she would take more chances. That meant she would give herself into the relationship with Andrii without reservation. She was an all-or-nothing person, and if she committed to him—to them—she would go all in. That meant trusting him. The idea was frightening and yet exhilarating.

There was something about Andrii besides his blatant sex appeal that called to her. She caught glimpses of a man who had seen too much, been through too much. He knew firsthand what real trauma was. There was wariness in his eyes at times when he looked at her.

She had no doubt that he desired her and he’d made up his mind to have her, but a part of him was worried that she might shatter his heart. He was doing his best to go slow and guard his heart. Although, she found herself a little amused and hugging the knowledge to herself that his going slow was like a bowling ball being hurtled down the alley straight at her. Their ideas of slow were two different things.

Her classes seemed to fly by. Probably because she was testing, and she found the material interesting. At her lunch break, she made her way outside. Even when it was cold or foggy, she preferred to get out of the building and be outside. Today was a glorious day in San Francisco. The weather was perfect. The sun was out and there was a small breeze rather than a roaring wind.

As she approached the small grove of trees she had found that gave her some privacy, she was shocked to see Andrii sitting on the bench surrounded by what appeared to be take-out bags. The wonderful aroma of Thai food made her stomach growl. She halted a few feet from him, but he stood, towering above her, coming straight to her.

“What are you doing here?”

“You said you didn’t have time to get food between classes. If you’re taking tests all day, you need fuel. I brought you fuel.” He flashed a grin that sent her heart into overdrive. “Thai. I think you mentioned you liked Thai on our first date.”

He continued to advance until their bodies were so close his scent surrounded her, drowning out the Thai, the sea, the flowers and trees. All she could do was inhale deeply and take him into her lungs. He was potent. An aphrodisiac. There was no resisting the man, not when everything about him appealed to her. Not when their chemistry was so off the charts, she felt electrical sparks leaping back and forth between them.

Andrii cupped her face between his palms. One thumb slid in a caress over her jaw, tracing her bone. A shiver of awareness slid down her spine. She couldn’t find her voice; she could only stare rather helplessly up at him. Then the pad of his thumb slid over her lower lip and his eyes darkened to that sensual gray that caused a mini-explosion in her sex.

She wasn’t a sexual person. At least she’d never believed she was. She thought about sex, imagined and fantasized, but she didn’t have reactions to men. Standing in front of Andrii with the tips of her breasts pressed into his chest, she had a major reaction, and there was no hiding her arousal from him.

“Babe, you see me, what do you do?” He murmured the question, his tone as mesmerizing as he was.

She blinked rapidly, hoping to activate her brain cells. He induced brain fog, smothering all rational thought so she was reduced to a mass of overactive sexual cells.

“Babe?” he encouraged.

“Melt at your feet.” Her hand came up to cover her mouth. “I said that out loud, didn’t I?” Sadly, she knew she sounded and looked breathless because he robbed her of her ability to breathe.

“It isn’t safe for you to be so fuckin’ adorable, Zelie. Or sexy. Not here where we’re out in the open, and I have to protect you from me.”

“Protect me?” She echoed his declaration like a parrot. She was stuck on adorable and sexy. “I think it’s okay not to protect me from you.” If he meant more kisses, she was all for that.

Andrii shook his head, his expression soft. “I’m going to kiss you because I have to. I spent all night thinking of you. When I finally fell asleep, I dreamt of you.”

Her stomach did a slow roll. He was such a beautiful man. He might think he wasn’t, but she knew he was. She saw inside to the heart of him.

“I dreamt of you too,” she admitted, feeling the color rising under her skin and sweeping up her neck into her face.

His eyes went soft, adding another loop to the roller coaster that was her stomach. He bent his head to hers and took her mouth. She melted into him just as she had when he’d kissed her before. When he kissed her, the entire world changed. Shadows receded. Colors grew more vivid. Lightning and thunder mixed with explosive, colorful fireworks. She came alive, her entire body on fire, melting into his.

“We’re stopping,” he said gruffly. “It’s the only safe thing to do.” He took her hand and led her beneath a tree where he’d set out a blanket to cover the ground. “What kind of dreams did you have about me, baby?”

She was still caught in the foggy brain induced by his kisses and stupidly answered, “Erotic dreams.” The moment the truth slipped out, she clapped her hand over her mouth as if she could take it back. It was mortifying to know she had no control around him.

He flashed a grin at her, one that was truly heart-stopping. He had to stop, or she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on her next test—she’d be too busy daydreaming about him.

“I’m certain your dreams were pretty tame when compared to mine.” He indicated for her to sit on the blanket, then he dropped down beside her and placed the white carrying bags between them. “We aren’t discussing our dreams while you eat your lunch because if we do that neither of us is going to be worth shit the rest of the day.”

That was so true. Azelie nodded her understanding and concentrated her attention on the white boxes he pulled from the bags. The aroma made her stomach growl in anticipation.