“I kind of have my own car,” she told him with a forced laugh.

“I’ll follow you. C’mon.” He checked and double-checked that the restaurant was locked up tight, then walked with her to the parking lot where they’d left both their cars that morning.

“I appreciate what you’re trying to do for me, but really, it’s not necessary.”

“Who says I’m doing this for you? I’ll worry about you the whole rest of the day if I don’t see for myself that you get home safely.”

Harmony fought back the fear that began to settle in her gut. It had been like this with Alan once, too. He’d wanted to be with her all the time, go everywhere she went, and called to check in frequently whenever they were apart. At first she’d thought it was because he loved her so much. Sadly, by the time she realized that it was all about controlling her, she was already too deeply involved.

Nolan had been nothing but kind to her. But still…

Could history repeat itself, turning him into either his mean sister or her crazy ex? She hated that everything set her on edge, that she couldn’t simply trust and enjoy her budding friendship with the nice man, but in the past, everyone had always let her down.

Why would Nolan be any different?

Even people who seemed nice in the start could still disappoint you. In fact, they were often the ones who wound up hurting you worst of anybody. It only made sense to keep the walls up around her heart and her life. If Nolan wanted to see her home, fine…but she wouldn’t let him in. She wouldn’t let him use her potentially dangerous ex as an excuse to get his hooks into her just as deep as Alan’s had once been.

“You can see me home,” she told him, stopping at her car door without getting in. “But you can’t come in. Not today.”

He nodded and broke into a smile as if she were the one doing him a favor in this situation. “That’s perfect. I’ve got my basketball league this afternoon anyway. No extra time for visiting.” Figured he played basketball. He was probably the best player on the team, too. Few men around these parts came within an inch of his great height.

She eyed him suspiciously. Was he merely telling her what he thought she wanted to hear, or did he truly only care about making sure she was safe?

“Look,” he said, tossing his keys up in the air and then catching him in his opposite fist deftly. “I know you’ve been through some awful stuff. I also know enough to know that I don’t know the half of it.”

He laughed at his jumbled turn of phrase. “The point is, I promised to be your friend, and as part of that, I want you to know that you can trust me.”

“I do trust you,” she argued, knowing even as she spoke the words that they weren’t true. It was nothing against Nolan—she simply preferred not to trust anyone. It was the surest way to make sure she didn’t get hurt again.