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said over his shoulder as he headed for the door.
    Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She watched him leave, staring at the closed door and wondering just how many of her thoughts he had read.
    Seconds later she jumped at his sharp knock. “Lock it,” Rocky called from the other side. “I’m waiting.”
    With new resolve, she marched over and gave the deadbolt a sharp twist. She’d work with him tonight because she’d promised Ellie, but that was it. Life was easier when she avoided Rocky.
    Rocky sat in his car, studying Janet’s condo, thinking of all the ways he could break in.
    It was too easy. If he could think of them, so could a pro, and that’s who would be coming. Someone who wouldn’t be stopped by the best security systems because they would know, as Rocky did, that the easiest way around them was through the front door. If she was too cautious to let someone in, they only had to wait for her to go out. It would be easy enough to overpower her. No alarm, no forced entry. And no one else in the house to contend with.
    He couldn’t watch her all the time. He had work to do, even more than usual with Ellie gone for two weeks. He shouldn’t even be sitting here now; he had afternoon appointments waiting.
    He started the car and pulled out, reassuring himself that she probably had a few days grace before anyone would track her down. But they would. He’d hinted only that it was possible, because he hadn’t wanted to scare her. In truth, it was a
certainty
. If he had to, he’d insist she leave or he’d park in her driveway day and night. She was probably stubborn enough to make him do it, too.
    He knew she needed to learn to trust herself again. But damn, he hoped they got past this stage soon. It was driving him crazy.
    He’d felt the spark between them the day they’d met. He could tell she had, too, but she was confused and tried to deny it. He couldn’t blame her. Her son of a bitch husband was still out to get her back then, and death threats could be a bit distracting. Even after Banner was in jail, Rocky had respected her need to let the emotional wounds heal. Something that happened sooner than he’d expected. By New Year’s Eve, when he’d seen her efficiently handle several guys hitting on her at Jack and Ellie’s party, he’d thought she was still hiding behind that wall she’d erected. But then she’d given him that look.
    He smiled at the memory. She’d just deflected some poor guy’s advances, then bent to get a can of pop out of the refrigerator. When she’d straightened to find him watching her from the kitchen doorway and realized he’d witnessed the blunt rejection, her cheeks turned pink. He hadn’t determined yet if she just blushed easily, or if it was only when he was around.
    The party noise was subdued in the kitchen, and he spoke without closing the distance between them, afraid to spook her. “Not ready to jump into the dating pool yet?”
    She shrugged.
    “What was wrong with him?” he asked, nodding toward the dining room where the guy had disappeared.
    She popped the lid on her drink and took a sip. “He’s not the right guy.”
    “Is there a right guy?” Hope made him ask.
    That was when she’d lifted her gaze, letting it travel over him before settling with veiled intent on his face. “I’m not sure yet.”
    His heart jumped in his chest. He hadn’t expected the opening, but he wasn’t about to let it go by. The trick was to take it slowly.
    She watched his approach as she took another sip, acting more nonchalant than he knew she felt, judging by the pulsing vein in her neck. He wondered if shooting down a few advances in one night had given her an unexpected spurt of confidence. He wished he felt it, too, because the last thing he wanted to do was come on too strong.
    Sudden laughter rolled through the crowd in the living room, but it faded into background noise as he stood in front of her. The fizz from her can sounded unnaturally loud as he