er sides like she wanted to hide them. But there was also strength, a quiet kind, the kind that made him wonder how many times she had stood alone and still refused to break. When she reache

meeting started, but Jake and Lily both knew something between them had already changed. The air was different

poken, something pulling at him in ways he couldn't quite define, and it all revolved around her.....Lily Collins. She stood beside him, small compared to the grandeur of his office, yet somehow commanding all of his

than that she wasn't supposed to be standing next to Jake McDernaunt. Yet here she was, and worse? The longer she stood beside him, the harder it became to

eart race in a way that had nothing to do with the scandal which was ridiculous. Because Jake McDernaunt wasn't for someone like her. He belonged here in this world of power and influe

n. That strange, undeniable connection, and

nd was caught in an entirely different battle. The battle of not looking at her too much. Not noticing the way she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, or how her lips pressed together whenever she was nervous. Not catching the fa

had been as calculatin

s moment, and somehow, that made her the most dangerous woman in his world. Because she didn't e

. Something unspoken, yet undeniable, something neither of them were ready to name. Then, a sudden silence pulled them both back into reality. Jake forced himself to turn his focus away from Lily, to listen as one of

er sides. She was holding it together, but barely. She said shakily

ugh to make sure she felt him there, and when she glanced up at him, her eyes full of u

d gently. "But the similarities are striking. Do you

voice trembling. "They'

coincidence." The way he said it, the way he stood beside her, as if daring anyone to question her presence sent a wave of unexpected relie

as the experts exchan

clear evidence, rumors will spread. And i

no longer a small town girl that can be bullied. She was his prio