I’m not looking for love, not now… not ever again. 

Been there. Done that. No thanks.

The only thing good that came from it was the little man in my arms. The only man who will ever hold my heart again. 

He’s the one thing I did right, and I’m going to raise him to know what love really is. 

My life is dedicated to giving him the life he deserves  and working at the shelter that once housed us.

I’m here to empower women just like me, whose shoes I’d walked… and ran in, that there is always a way out. They deserved more. 

Then I met Dwayne. And he reminded me that I too deserved more. More than lonely nights and carrying the weight of the world alone. 

Those muscles that made my knees weak and that sexy stubble that covered his dimples made it easy to forget myself for just one night. 

A night I’d never forget, no matter how hard I tried. 

I’m aching to be his, but afraid of the fallout that will inevitably come. 

He proves me wrong and shows me what love really is, and what it’s like to be treasured. 

Mary

For the first time in my life, I was free. The warm air hit my skin as I exited the airport. One night without my son was going to be awesome. I had not had a me night in years, if not my entire life.

Tonight, I represented my family at a charity benefit where people paid five thousand dollars a ticket to have dinner. So I headed outside and followed the driver who was holding a sign with my name on it.

This was a perk. He took my small bag from me and brought me to a hotel that had a huge lobby with white floors. I’d only seen it in pictures of huge monolith-style hotels, until now. I walked to the front desk, and once I showed my ID, the clerk asked, “Mary Steel?”

She typed fast as I said, “Yes.”

She gave me my license back and a plastic room key while she said, “I’ve checked you in. You have massage, hair, and makeup appointments, and your deliveries are already in the room.”

“Thanks,” I said and read the room number. Inside, my soul did a backflip and jumped up and down. Hair, makeup, massage? This was a dream.

My one-year-old was safe staying with my big brother for the night with cousins checking on them. And I was in the lap of luxury.

I put my card in the gold-framed elevator, which then delivered me to the sixteenth floor.

Music played, and I closed my eyes. Once it stopped, I realized I was on the top floor. I followed the number on the paper, and when I reached my room, I opened the door, happy to see my bedroom was in a separate space from the living room.

This was slightly smaller than my two-bedroom but way larger than the room we’d lived in for a month before I checked into my own place with my baby boy. A year ago, we’d shared a house with another family.

Now I was here—free, safe, and holding down my job—and I had a room to myself that had probably hosted the rich and elite. Okay, so my ex-boyfriend’s boss was going to be in attendance at the charity benefit, but I had never met her, and if I saw her last name on a name tag, I would avoid her. The less he would hear about me, the better. But he wasn’t on the guest list, and my family was running this, so he would be arrested if he came near me.

I let out the breath I so often held when I thought of him, and I wandered into the walk-in closet, where I saw a red dress on a hanger with my name on the plastic bag.

I laughed. At twenty-four, I would now experience a little of what the prom I had missed must have been like. I hugged myself. The phone rang. It was my brother, who was supposed to have been my date to this event until his company took over his life. So he made up for it by offering to pick up my son from our cousin’s house and babysit for the evening.

“How is everything?” he asked.

He would have enjoyed this. Neither of us had two nickels to rub together as children, and we had sported matching black eyes on more than one occasion. I would never let what happened to us happen to my Bruce.

My brother felt the same way. He’d been my protector for years. Now he was the president of his company, with a software app launch scheduled for next month. My heart expanded in my chest as I thought of how proud I was of him. “Joseph, hi. I’m good. Thank you for keeping Bruce.”

“He’s fine. He won’t stop laughing. It’s infectious. He loves to bang on the piano.”

I laughed as I remembered that sound. My son loved noise, and he would probably break the grand piano my brother had in his penthouse.

My heart raced, but then I reminded myself that nothing would happen tonight and that tomorrow I would be home. Bruce was safe. I let out a sigh to slow down the adrenaline and said, “Don’t let him break anything, but I’m excited for tonight.”

“If you need me, I can fly out. Olivia said she’d babysit.”

“No.” His promotion was new, and he needed to show everyone he was capable. I shrugged and took the dress off the hanger as I said, “You need to focus on work. You’re the boss, and you took the night to watch my son. It’s enough. You are protecting my heart’s biggest joy.”

“You deserve a break too. You work too hard.”

My hairdresser would arrive any moment. Tonight, I was living in a world where all my whims would be taken care of. I was special. I laughed. “It’s funny, actually, as Dad said we’d never amount to anything.”

“I haven’t given him much thought these days.”

His issues were probably tied to fighting my battles, too, so his shoulders had taken double duty, even after our father died. But I would not be thriving if I didn’t know I had someone in my corner. And family was family.

I placed the dress on the bed and said, “Letting go of what happened helps you heal.”

“Yes, you and your positive affirmations to forgive the past.”

If I could reach into his heart and rip our past away from him, I would. I kicked off my sneakers, as jeans probably weren’t good for a massage. I needed to change into my sweats. “You should try it once in a while, Joseph.”

“Leave me with my regrets.”

My phone beeped with a message—my appointment was on her way up. I tugged on the cotton bottoms fast while I said, “What regrets? You saved my life more times than I can count.”

“I… the best thing I did for you was chase him off for good.”

“Him” meaning Arthur. My son’s father had been my biggest mistake, but then again, without him, I would not have Bruce. His still name sent ice chips through my spine. When Arthur had tossed our one-day-old son against the wall, I finally left him. Now he was long gone, and I glanced at the door and hoped the staff coming were all women. “You did that twice for me. I won’t need that service ever again.”

“Call me when you get home.”

“I will.” There was a knock at the door. My hands trembled a little. Then I glanced through the peephole and saw three women in a black smocks, carrying rolling luggage that must have been filled with hair products, makeup, and whatever a masseuse carried. I unlocked it as I said to Joseph, “Tonight I’m going to pretend to be a princess.”

“You’ve been playing that game all our lives.”

When I’d been a girl, the game had been to mentally check out so I wouldn’t have to listen to our drunken father. Now, I waved for the three women to come in and said, “This time, it’s fun.”

“Fair enough.”

We said, “See you tomorrow,” and I hung up the phone.

The masseuse set up a table that had been folded, and the hair and makeup ladies found stations in the room—it was like my hotel room was a salon. I lay down on the massage table, and once the woman started, I closed my eyes.

Maybe tonight would be my coming-out ball or like the prom. I never had the chance to just be pretty. Sure, my job tonight was simple. I would pick up the check from the benefit, say a one short sentence thanking the benefit guests, and fly home the next morning. However, I never had any of this pampering stuff, ever, where someone else did my hair and face. My cousin, Indigo, who owned the shelters I ran, had really set me up.

I followed the women’s directions, and soon I was done. My hair was in an upsweep, like I was some noble of old who had lady’s maids to ensure every strand of hair was perfect.

In reality, I would have been the maid in any scenario of my life, except I had no special skills with a brush.

I tipped them, and they left together.

I shoved the rest of my money back in my pocketbook and locked it in the safe. Done. I checked my dress in the mirror to ensure everything was on right and stopped and stared at myself. It was me, but it wasn’t. I glowed. My dark blond hair, which normally reminded me of dry baked dirt, now seemed soft and elegant. The dress was strapless, though my breasts were covered.

This was the princess version of me, and no one was going to stop me.

However, as I turned to the door, I froze. The dress had no pockets, and I never went anywhere without my phone. I sucked on my bottom lip until I realized I had on lipstick and stopped.

If something happened to Bruce, I would need to know. No one would see me anyhow, so I tucked it in my strapless bra and floated out the door to the first floor and headed to the conference rooms.

There was a table with name tags on it. I checked in with the first person and took my name badge, then a woman holding papers gestured for me to follow her. “Ms. Steel, this way.”

The room had a crystal chandelier. Every table had fresh pink and red flowers that were prettier than roses, with a white tablecloth and a sheer gray overlay.

She showed me to my already half-full table and left.

My table was number one—beside the dance floor and near the stage. Perfect.

I could dash when my mission was finished. I sipped my water and glanced across the room.

The room was half-filled already. Groups were visiting like they knew each other, and everyone was dressed elegantly. Black attire, blue attire—even one woman in orange. They all oozed class and money, and the men in the room all wore suits and tuxedos that probably cost a lot.

Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe. Across the room sat a man with dimples and huge muscles who commanded attention in a black tux.

I’d thought men with that huge of a frame couldn’t be real. My brother worked out for hours every day, but he was still thin. This sexy man mesmerized me, and he filled out that tux. His white teeth and that sexy stubble on his face made my girlie parts come alive.

My eyes refused to look away. I stared for a moment, and my mouth watered.

I leaned closer to one of the older couples at my table and pointed toward the confident man with mesmerizing dark eyes and asked, “Do you know who he is?”

A woman with white hair shrugged. “I don’t know exactly. One of the guests.” Then she added, “He’s at the McHale Security Forces table.”

Now I had visions of that sexy stranger as some hero in an action movie. Hell, he could star in my fantasy. I know the nice lady at the table wanted to go back to speaking with her husband, but I had to ask: “Security?”

She blinked and stared at me like I should know already, but she said, “Military-type security. The company does well on the Mattet.”

That dark hair of his was in one of those just-woke-up-from-bed styles that made me wonder who he was with, but I shook my head and picked up the water glass at my seat. “Thank you,” I said.

She smiled at me and said, “I don’t see a ring. If you want us to bring him over to you, we’ll help.”

“It’s okay.” My face heated. I gulped the rest of my water but still ached in a way I hadn’t for any man in years. I kept that to myself. “Thank you anyhow.”

I probably should have asked her name. I forced myself to ignore the man across the room. I took the opportunity before the party began to slip away to the ladies’ room.

The music switched to a happy beat, and couples headed to the dance floor. I zigzagged around and glanced at the walls for restroom signs to point me in the right direction.

However, a couple flew past me, and I swirled to get out of the way.

Warm hands pressed against me and held my waist. It was like I was protected in a wall of muscles, but I turned around and saw the brown-eyed sexy stranger I had sized up earlier.

Confidence oozed off him like an aphrodisiac. I didn’t move when he said, “I got you.”

And he could have me. Fuck. I wasn’t here looking for a man. The last one I’d had in my life had caused enough damage, but maybe one night might be nice. For once, I was free. And he would never be in my world permanently. I was a single mom with loads of responsibilities, but my lips curved up in a smile as I said, “Yes… yes, you do. Now, let me go.”

He winked but did what he was told. “Of course, ma’am.”

A string brushed against me fast, but I had no right to feel upset he’d called me “ma’am.” I put my hand on my hips and said, “I’m not a ma’am.”

He showed off his dimples and asked, “Should I call you Sexy or My Angel?”

A flirt. Nice. I shrugged and said, “I’m neither. Just plain Mary.”

He looked me up and down, and the heat in my body followed his glance. Then he met my gaze and said, “There is nothing plain about you.”

Now that was a line. I pressed my hand to his chest and realized how dense those muscles of his were. “That’s hilarious, but thank you.”

His face grew serious. “Hmm, I’m usually better at this.”

This man would never be mine. I wasn’t in his league, and I came with baggage. It was better to cut my fantasy life in pieces right now, so I said, “I’m not sexy or an angel. I’m just a mom, and I’m not used to smiling much.”

His eyes widened. “That can’t be true. Children can be hysterically funny.”

“He’s not quite old enough yet.” This wasn’t a lie. I took out my phone from my bra, which probably wasn’t the classiest place to have it, but it was all I had. I pulled up my photo reel and showed him. “But I’ll show you my angel.”

He swiped the screen and looked at a few pictures, then I took my phone back and said, “Nice meeting you.”

I pivoted to leave and head to the bathroom, but his hand brushed against my wrist, and he said, “I’m not going anywhere.”

Cute, but no single man like him would want to be saddled. I gave him a shrug and took my hand back as I said, “The good ones always leave. That’s life.”

“Easy to prove you wrong on that one.”

I sashayed toward the door. I knew he was watching. My hair stood on its ends, but he would soon find for himself a woman more his speed, one without my life. But it was nice that for one moment in time, he had noticed me.

To be treasured by that man would be an experience of a lifetime but not mine.