“I’ll go get the car and pull it up to the exit.”

She visibly relaxed. “Thank you, Ethan.” From the intense look in her eyes, he knew she appreciated more than just the ride.

The fact that he’d opened up to her was as shocking to him as it was to her. Something he needed to think about, process, and understand.

* * *

Ethan stood in the Miami apartment that Ian Dare had set him up in, a company place much like where he’d put Sienna when she’d been in New York. Glass of scotch in hand, he glanced at the lights twinkling down on the busy street below, where clubs played loud music and people who were much younger than him in truth and in their souls waited in lines to get inside.

He’d been in Miami twenty-four hours, and he already felt like he was changing. Opening up. Lightening up. All because of one woman.

He took a needed sip of his drink, his mind still on Sienna and what he was learning about her. She was sweeter than his wife had been, cared more for other people and even less about her own needs than her family’s needs. Unlike Mandy, who’d wanted Ethan’s attention and sole focus, and when she’d lost that, she’d gone looking elsewhere.

Thinking back, they’d been a solid couple in the beginning. A smart match as far as her working at KTT was concerned. But she put her own needs first, worrying more about herself than she did about him or their marriage. And sadly, he hadn’t even been aware that things had gone south. He’d loved her, but had he been head over heels? Was she all he could think about? Had he been unable to keep his hands off her?

No.

Which was where his feelings for Sienna already differed.

But Sienna had made her choices clear, and she wasn’t interested in what he could or was willing to give. A clandestine affair. It sounded ugly now, even to his jaded ears. Because even he wanted more than that from her.

Yet he wanted to take care of Sienna, to know she was healthy and feeling good. When she’d fainted in his arms, his brain had spun into the past and fear had consumed him. Discovering she had had leukemia had definitely upset his equilibrium. The idea of losing her was not acceptable to him. She’d already gotten under his skin in ways not even Mandy ever had. He couldn’t just ignore her, nor did he want to.

But he needed to be careful. He didn’t want to insult her, didn’t want her hurt, but he couldn’t offer her more than what he’d proposed the other night. Despite wanting her desperately, he could not risk the business relationship with Ian Dare, and worse, he didn’t want to give her the wrong impression.

That he was available. Which meant he had no alternative but to respect her wishes and keep his distance. No more seduction. No more sex. No more getting-to-know-her time.