“I’d say so.” The image of Harper and Nick sitting side by side in front of the fireplace on Christmas morning filled Allie’s mind.

“Nothing happened. I swear all we did was talk.”

“I believe you. Although it was pretty funny the way Nick jumped up so quickly when Hudson and I came into the room.”

“Like a busted teen.” Harper laughed. “Gotta admit, even I was a bit scared when Hudson walked in the room. That man intimidates the hell out of me.”

“So is that why all the secrecy?”

Harper shrugged. “Nick’s not supposed to be dating so soon into his recovery,” she said, answering Allie’s unspoken question. Obviously Harper knew about Nick’s recent stint in rehab.

“And what, he’s worried Hudson will be disappointed?”

“Yeah. I know they have that tough brother act down pat, but Nick is really grateful to Hudson for everything he’s done. Feels like he saved his life, ya know?”

Allie gave a somber nod. She knew all too well the lengths to which Hudson had gone to protect his brother.

“The last thing Nick wants to do is let him down.”

Allie wasn’t nearly done questioning Harper, but when she spotted Nick making his way toward their table, she knew the rest of her interrogation would have to wait.

Nick picked up a chair and spun it around. He straddled it, then crossed his arms over the wooden back and leaned forward. “How did I get so lucky as to have two of the prettiest girls in Chicago stop by my Starbucks?”

Allie met his gaze with wide, innocent eyes. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe because one of them is your girlfriend?”

Nick’s eyes darted to Harper, who sat gaping at Allie. “Guess we weren’t too subtle.” He chuckled. “I take it she knows everything, then?”

“Well, yeah, sort of—I mean no,” Harper stammered. “I never said I was your girlfriend.”

A lopsided grin spread across Nick’s face as he watched Harper struggle. It was a grin Allie had seen before, when he was a young, carefree boy. Her heart swelled at the sight of that smile on his face again.

“It’s all good,” Nick finally said, putting Harper out of her misery. He reached for her hand, bringing their entwined fingers to his mouth and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “That’s what you are, right, babe?”

There was no mistaking Harper’s reaction for windblown cheeks this time. Her face blushed as red as her hair. Allie smiled. Seemed the Chase brothers had more in common than just their looks. Her gaze shifted back and forth between the two lovebirds until she feared someone at another table might actually catcall “Get a room.” She cleared her throat with an exaggerated cough.

“Sorry,” Nick said a bit sheepishly. “It’s not that we didn’t want you to know.”

“It’s okay. Harper explained.”

Nick grew serious. “It’s just . . . Hudson’s been really good to me. I don’t want him to think I’m not taking the program seriously.”

“I get it.”

He grinned. “I knew you would. So you won’t say anything to my bro about . . .” His gaze shifted to Harper.

“I’m trying to keep my conversations with your brother strictly business.” It wasn’t the assurance Nick was looking for, but it was the best she could provide without outright lying to him. In reality she never again wanted to have secrets of any kind between her and Hudson. Not after everything they’d been through, and especially not in light of everything else they were dealing with.

“Yeah, about that,” Nick began.

Allie shook her head. “Oh no, not you too?”

“It’s my fault,” Harper said. “I asked him to gang up on you.”

“I’ll remember this, Nick,” she teased. “Don’t even think about asking me for help when her birthday rolls around.”

Harper frowned. “Can we talk about this seriously for a second?”

No, they couldn’t. Allie couldn’t seriously discuss a life without Hudson in it. She’d barely faked her way through the conversation they’d already had. Harper would surely see through her lies if she had to go into more detail about why she no longer wanted to be with the man she loved. “Harper, I—”

She was saved by the ping of an incoming text. It wouldn’t be Hudson, since they had agreed on radio silence, and since Harper was sitting in front of her that meant it could only be the office. For once, whatever emergency awaited her was a welcome interruption.

But when she pulled her smartphone out of her pocket it wasn’t Colin or Ben whose name appeared on the screen. Instead the sender was listed as private.

Tic Toc, Alessandra.

Allie felt the blood drain from her face as she read Julian’s less than subtle reminder.

“Everything okay?” Harper asked.

Allie looked up to see both Harper and Nick staring at her, concern written all over their faces. “Oh yeah, just a last-minute glitch on a contract I thought we’d already put to bed.” She gathered her coat and coffee. “I need to head up to the office.”

Nick stood when she did. “Want me to grab you a cab?”

“No, sit, enjoy the rest of your break. I’ll call you later, Harper,” she said as she dashed out the door. It took every ounce of strength to fight the impulse to run straight to the Palmolive building and into Hudson’s arms. It had barely been twenty-four hours since they’d been together and already the separation felt like torture. She longed to see him, to feel his touch or just hear his voice. She stared down at the phone still clutched in her hand and sighed. Even a call was too risky. They still had no idea who was acting as Julian’s eyes and ears, or to what lengths he’d gone to keep her under surveillance.

A taxi pulled alongside the curb and she ducked inside, stuffing her phone back into her pocket as she gave the driver the address of Ingram’s headquarters. There might not have been any fires to put out, but losing herself in work sounded like a much better option than pacing the floor of her brownstone. She and Hudson had plans to rendezvous the next day, but for now at least, there wasn’t anything she could do but wait.

Chapter Ten

Hudson’s shoes slammed against the pavement. His feet kicked up water from the slush, which splattered onto his sweatpants. His arms pumped, his fists clenched tight, and his breath shot out of his mouth in clouds of condensation.

Allie had to have been goddamn nuts to suggest this “random” run-in. For once the sun was shining and the sky was clear, but like hell if it was running weather. It was balls-freezing cold. And while there were enough obstacles to obscure the line of sight of someone spying on them from the street, Lincoln Park didn’t render them invisible. God, he wished they were. Then they wouldn’t have to keep creating these orchestrated accidents.

A gust of wind smacked into his face. The cold was rough and raw and would have penetrated his bones if he wasn’t beating the shit out of his running shoes. As he pushed himself harder toward their designated meeting place, his irritation over the situation made every protective instinct roar. He wanted to tell, hell dare, that French fuck to untuck his nut sac and recite his demands directly to him, leaving Allie out of it.

When he reached the Lincoln Monument, Hudson paused. He closed his eyes and stretched his arms above his head, lengthening his spine, and felt the pain in his chest that had been a near constant. It wasn’t work stress—business was thriving, not to mention Forbes had started making inquiries—or Nick, who was owning the twelve step thing. No, the ache that tightened his chest had been there since the day he thought Allie had left him. Again. And now they’d embarked on a game of playing Julian for a fool, not to mention the society pages and their friends, family, and colleagues. The ruse felt too real at times, and it hurt, but not enough to make him regret doing it. If their charade was what it took to keep her safe and have her as his again, then so be it. He just had to keep reminding himself that when it was over, they would move on with their fucking lives. She was his future.