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they’d had a rocky start dating back a full decade because Noma preferred Tori to him from the time she was adopted. Somehow, though, when he moved into this new place and the cat’s mistress still was nowhere to be found, she’d finally warmed up to him. That had been nearly a year after the accident, coinciding with Kristoffer beginning to escape from his grief-stricken stupor. Coming to the realization his beloved wife would never be returning to the life they’d once shared had taken a major adjustment to put it mildly. On the first night here, with Kristoffer feeling lost and alone, Noma had rubbed against his leg out of the blue, perhaps to let him know she needed someone to comfort her in her loss, too.
    Apparently, Kristoffer would do.
    Had Tori reached out to lay down the law and insist that her pet bond with him?
    You always took such good care of my needs, Tori.
    Until then and throughout that first difficult year, Kristoffer had only been permitted to meet the tabby’s physical needs—food, water, and litter. Being allowed to stroke her and sit with her like this helped him feel a connection with Tori he hadn’t felt in a long while. Noma held on to her independence most of the time, though.
    “Is that the way of things, Noma? We’re here to hold each other up?”
    The cat purred harder, but didn’t deem the question worthy of a meow. The two of them had reached an understanding. They could communicate silently, each finding comfort in their mutual love for Tori.
    Now, he really needed to get up from this sofa and spend a few hours on that report. Gunnar would expect his preliminary analysis, recommendation, and bidding advice for a competitive offer tomorrow as he aggressively pursued Gunnar’s apparent goal of acquiring The Denver Academy.
    Why hadn’t Kristoffer been able to string two thoughts together since he’d left the school a couple of hours ago? Knowing sleep would elude him anyway, he put the cat on the couch where she curled into a ball. He stood, picked up his empty glass, and placed it on the bar before strolling out of the room toward his office.
    The vision of Pamela’s nude body wouldn’t release him. Wait a minute . Since when had he started referring to her as Pamela? She’d asked everyone at the meeting two weeks ago to call her that, but in light of what he’d seen tonight, using her first name seemed more intimate than he wished to be.
    He couldn’t be attracted to her. No, not at all. No woman had pierced his armor since the day he’d met Tori and none ever would.
    The only reason he was even thinking such thoughts about another woman was that the last few years of lonely exile had finally taken their toll. His body wasn’t dead yet, although the heart and soul he’d pledged to the only woman he’d ever love had become as lifeless as his beloved Tori. Why indulge in thoughts of fleeting, empty sexual pleasure? Nothing could come of any attraction to her, so these thoughts were a colossal—illogical—waste of time. He wouldn’t jeopardize his work or Gunnar’s mission for any brief, meaningless encounter with her or any other woman.
    As if the doctor was even interested. The pleading look in her eyes hadn’t been begging him to make a move, but to pretend he hadn’t seen her.
    Mind over matter won out, and he managed to spend the next ninety minutes outlining the pros and cons of the deal, until his eyelids felt as if they were sliding over sandpaper every time he blinked. He powered down his computer and leaned back as the leather scrunched in his chair. Exhausted, he closed his eyes. He’d have to leave for Breck by seven and ought to stretch out in bed for a few hours, but he didn’t have the energy to leave the office. He’d rest his eyes a moment…
    *     *     *
    “Kris! Watch out!”
    Kristoffer jerked awake as Tori’s scream echoed around the room. A crick in his neck told him he’d been lying in the same position a while. He glanced at