he stood tall. The dude was a nerd. He wasn’t anywhere near Sienna’s league. What was she doing

with this guy?

“Sienna’s son is my nephew. Since she met you in the bread aisle of a grocery store, I’d like to

know more about you before you take her out tonight. I’m also going to make sure you understand that

her safety is really fucking important. You hurt her, and you won’t live long enough to regret it.”

The man flinched. At least he believed me. He took in my tattooed arms and the piercing in my lip

before meeting my gaze again. He cleared his throat. “You’re her son’s uncle . . . but you aren’t her

brother? Does that mean you’re the boy’s father’s brother?” he asked.

I nodded.

He studied me a moment. “Is the boy’s father still in her life?”

I shook my head. “You don’t get to ask questions. You asked her out. I’m asking the questions.

Have you been married? I’m assuming you don’t have a record, since you’re a principal. The school

board would have checked that shit. But do you have a girlfriend? Or a drinking problem? Drugs?”

Cam held up his hands and laughed nervously. “Whoa. Okay. Wow. No to all of that. I’m

completely clean and unattached. I was engaged five years ago, but she had cervical cancer, and she

didn’t make it.”

His slight wince when he mentioned his fiancée’s death didn’t go unnoticed. He was a man trying

to move on. He had a good job, and he seemed pretty damn sincere. This was not enough for me, but

I’d ask around and find out more about him. My gut was telling me he was safe.

“Don’t hurt her,” I repeated. “That means touching her in ways she doesn’t want, or touching at all.

Remember, I’ll know and I’ll come after you. I’ve got a fucking record, and I’m not scared of prison.”

I turned and walked out of the small office, and waved good-bye to Mrs. Quinn before leaving.

I had some more poking around to do about the guy, and only eight hours left to do it.

SIENNA

I wasn’t ready to introduce Cam to Micah. I wasn’t sure if I would ever go out with Cam again after

tonight. There was always a chance it wouldn’t go well. I hardly knew this man. No reason to

introduce him to the most important person in my life. That would be for later, if I liked him and

wanted to spend more time with him. Tabby agreed, and she’d had Micah come over an hour before

Cam was supposed to show up.

It also gave me time to change clothes five times and worry with my hair. Micah would have been

right under me, asking me why I was changing clothes so much and messing with my hair. He would

then tell Dewayne, which would be humiliating. I already knew he didn’t think there was much that

could be done with me.

Fortunately, Cam disagreed with him. That eased my mind some, and I put back on the skirt I had

tried on first and slipped on my wraparound blouse. This was casual but nice. It would work for

anywhere. I slipped on a pair of black pumps and fought the urge to go pull my hair back up again.

Letting it hang loose had been my last-minute decision, but now I was questioning it.

The doorbell stopped me from doing anything more. I gave myself a quick pep talk in the mirror

and then headed for the door. It had been a very long time since I’d been on a date. And I’d only dated

one guy. I didn’t know how to do this. Dustin had been my best friend. I‘d known everything about

him. I had never dated someone I didn’t know.

“You can do this,” I said one last time before opening the door.

Cam was dressed in a pair of khaki pants and a light blue polo shirt. I had dressed appropriately.

One worry off my list.

“Hello,” he said with a grin. “You look gorgeous. I feel like I need to go back home and try to make

myself look like it’s actually believable that we’re out together.”

Yes, he was doing wonders for my self-esteem. “Thank you, but you look very handsome yourself.

I don’t think anyone will question that we are together.”

He chuckled, then shrugged. “I’m not sure how you’re that blind, but I’m just counting my lucky

stars.” He held out his arm to me. “Ready?”

I nodded and stepped outside onto the porch, then locked up behind me before sticking my keys in

my purse. I’d had a key made for Tabby this week and given it to her, so if she needed to get inside to

get Micah anything, she’d be able to.

“I made reservations at Le Cellier. I hope you like steak,” he said with a smile. I had heard of Le

Cellier, but I’d never been there. “I love steak,” I told him. And I intended to eat a filet, which felt

nice. I wouldn’t have to pick at my food because I was worrying about what he was thinking. This was

going to be a good night. I could already tell.

* * *

Two hours later I was ready to go back home and put on my pajamas. Cam was really nice, but I was a

little bored with him. He talked about work and asked me about myself. He did everything right, but

there was something missing. I wasn’t sure if I was just being picky because my last relationship had

been with someone I was already so close to.

“You want to stop in Live Bay and listen to Jackdown play? I hear they’re good. I haven’t been to

see Jackdown yet, but Live Bay seems to be the place to go to hear live music and dance.”

For the first time all night, something sounded exciting. I hadn’t been dancing in forever . . . since

the prom, and I wasn’t sure that counted. I danced with Micah all the time around the house, but live

music and actual dancing sounded like fun. Maybe it had been the stuffy fancy restaurant he had taken

me to that had bored me. If he liked to dance, he couldn’t be completely boring.

“Sounds like fun,” I said, trying not to bounce in my seat like a kid.

He pulled his Volvo into the parking lot. The place was packed. I soaked it all in. This was a world

I didn’t know. One I wanted a taste of. Live Bay had been around when I was sixteen, but I hadn’t been

old enough to get inside. Now I was getting to see what the fuss was all about.

“Isn’t that your . . . uh, son’s uncle?” Cam asked.

I swung my gaze over to where he was looking and immediately wished I hadn’t. Seeing Dewayne

pressing some girl up against his truck while attacking her face was not what I wanted to see. I was

sure she was gorgeous. Surprisingly enough, she had red hair. That’s all I could see of her. Maybe my

hair needed to be a lighter red for Dewayne. She also looked tan. I didn’t have time to get tanned. I

should make time. I could play outside with Micah and get a tan.

Wait . . . How did Cam know who Dewayne was?

I tore my gaze off Dewayne and the lucky female to look at Cam. “How do you know Dewayne?” I

asked. Had he researched me? If he had, I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. It seemed creepy.

Cam pressed his lips together as if he was thinking hard about something. Crap. I needed to get

away from this man. He could have stalked me! “Dewayne paid me a visit at work today. He wanted to

check me out before you went out with me.”

I didn’t have any words. None at all. Cam was telling the truth. I didn’t have to ask Dewayne to

know that Cam was telling the truth. It was something Dewayne would do. He didn’t trust me to keep

Micah safe, so he was doing that for me. I understood that to an extent, but he had crossed the line. I

wasn’t going to let him walk into my private life and stick his nose where it didn’t belong. Maybe I

should find out who that woman was who currently had his tongue down her throat. If he was going to

be around Micah, I deserved to know if she was suitable.

“Stop the car,” I ordered, and Cam didn’t argue. He put the car in park, and I jumped out without an