Deep down she knew that it didn’t matter. The important thing was that she was ready to share her heart with him again, and tonight at his home, over dinner, she would tell him so. Her parents had been right. Kaegan had been right. Vashti had been right. There would always be a Kaegan and Bryce.

A call came through Bryce’s car’s speaker. “Hello, this is Bryce Witherspoon.”

“Ms. Witherspoon, this is Mrs. Corsuti. I’d like to see that vacant warehouse you told me about.”

The woman had called previously, inquiring about warehouse property in the west end of town. Mary Corsuti planned to start an online fabric shop and needed space to store her materials. The warehouse she was inquiring about was at the far end of town before heading toward the bayou.

“Yes, Mrs. Corsuti. I would be glad to show it to you tomorrow. When would be a—”

“I’m sorry, but tomorrow won’t work for me. I’m only in the cove for today. I’m leaving for a two-week cruise out of New Orleans tomorrow. I am here at the address you gave me, and I would like to see inside the building now.”

Now? Bryce glanced at her watch. It was close to five and it would take her at least twenty minutes to reach the area. Kaegan was expecting her to arrive at his place around seven. She would give the woman a quick tour since there wasn’t much to see in an abandoned warehouse.

“All right, Mrs. Corsuti. I can meet you there in twenty minutes.”

Twenty minutes later Bryce pulled into the empty lot and saw the parked car. It had gotten dark and the area looked deserted. Bryce honestly didn’t like being here at night. The smart thing to have done would have been to tell the woman she could not meet with her tonight, regardless of how eager she was to see the place. But she was here now, so she might as well get it over with so she could go home and get ready for dinner with Kaegan.

She got out of her car and began walking toward the parked car, and when she got within five feet of it, suddenly, the front passenger door flung open and a big hulk of a man jumped out. From the fierce look on his face, she immediately knew something was wrong and quickly turned to run back to her car. She wasn’t fast enough, though, and he caught her from behind.

She fought him and then she felt something prick her skin, but she kept fighting, trying to get away, but began feeling sluggish. The will to fight, to resist, was slowly leaving her and she then lost consciousness.

* * *

KAEGAN SMILED WHEN he heard the sound of his doorbell. Bryce had arrived. He had looked forward to her coming to dinner all day. Had it been just a week ago when he’d taken her to dinner at the Lighthouse? A lot had happened since then, and deep down he believed although it had only been a week, a lot of progress had been made. He enjoyed the time they were spending together and honestly believed she did, too.