Chapter 3

My eyebrows knitted together, and my guard went up instantly.

I wasn't an naive kid anymore. Life had kicked me around enough times to make me wary.

When a drop-dead gorgeous woman threw herself into my arms out of nowhere, I couldn't help but keep one eye open.

There was nothing of real value in the bedroom anyway.

What little cash I had left was safely locked away in the bank.

Even if Chloe had shady motives, she wouldn't find a damn thing.

Still, I fixed my eyes on the bedroom doorway, waiting to see what she was up to.

Getting up in the dead of night usually meant using the bathroom.

Yet I waited for several minutes, and nobody came out.

Instead, a faint rustling sound grew louder and louder from inside the room.

The old saying was right: the prettier the woman, the better she was at lying.

Anger flared up inside me. What the hell was this sneaky girl digging for?

I threw off the blanket, walked over, and shoved the bedroom door open.

Just as I suspected, Chloe was standing right beside the nightstand. All three drawers had been yanked open, their contents scattered all over the rug.

I lunged forward, grabbed her by the wrist, and shoved her back onto the bed.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Chloe tumbled onto the mattress without making a sound.

It took her several seconds to blink her eyes wide open, looking completely disoriented.

"Liam? What... what's happening to me?"

Her voice sounded soft and childish, far more innocent than she had seemed during the day.

I clamped my hand around her chin, staring down at her. "You're telling me you don't know what you just did?"

Chloe stared back blankly, her large eyes swimming with sheer confusion.

She lifted a hand to rub her eyes, but I caught her wrist.

"I... I really don't know," she whimpered, her bottom lip trembling.

I hauled her to her feet and pointed down at the mess on the floor.

"Why were you going through my personal things?"

Chloe gasped in horror, dropping to her knees on the spot to gather the papers.

"I didn't! I swear I didn't mean to!"

Seeing her look so terrified and submissive, I began to wonder if I had misjudged her.

There wasn't anything important by the nightstand anyway.

Just a few basic recipe sheets that Robert had handed me when I first started working at the diner.

Those were the starter guides I had used to teach myself the ropes until I became the head cook.

You could find those generic recipes in any bookstore; there was nothing confidential about them.

The real secret sauce was kept nowhere near my apartment.

I helped her up, softening my tone.

"Chloe, honestly, do you have no memory of what just happened?"

She bit her lip and shook her head.

"I was fast asleep. The next thing I knew, you were shouting at me."

A thought struck me. I remembered reading posts online about people who sleepwalked.

Some folks could raid the fridge or tear up a room in their sleep and wake up without a shred of memory.

Maybe sleeping in an unfamiliar place had triggered an episode.

I leaned down, wanting to comfort her.

Chloe yanked her hand away, stepping into her slippers as she stood up.

"I get it, Liam. You don't like me, and you don't trust me. That's fine. At least I got to spend one night with you."

She slowly unbuttoned the new pajamas I had bought her, turned her back to me, and pulled her old oversized T-shirt over her head.

"Once the sun comes up, I'll pack my things and get out of your way."

I paused. "You don't have a place to stay, no money, and no job."

Chloe's voice choked with tears.

"I'll figure it out. I'll find a diner job that offers room and board... I won't burden you anymore, Liam."

How could I let her do that?

A young, gorgeous woman with no one to look out for her on the streets?

People would eat her alive.

Besides, we had already crossed that line...

My eyes traced her bare, fair skin, and I swallowed hard.

I reached out, took her by the shoulders, and turned her around to face me.

"You're not leaving. You're staying right here with me."