The first woman, Cherie, is a friend of Remington’s that has now gone into business with him, heading up a charity in conjunction with Elouise. I don’t know why, but when I met her, I was pulled toward her, but then after a few very heated arguments, I took a step back. I realized finally that the attraction was misguided, and I had a bit of a hero complex with her, though I don’t understand where that came from. Her ferocious fight in life in general turned me on, and I wanted to step into her world and save her all the time, so she had to become forceful in making me understand that she doesn’t need saving. Especially from someone like me, who hardly knows her, and looking back, that was a fair reaction. I thought I was stubborn and kept walls up between the person I am when I’m on my own compared to the Forrest I let the world see. But I quickly learned that she is even tougher than I am, and our personalities would always be at war.

I don’t want a submissive partner, more a woman who is my equal, but I understand now that even though she is certainly my equal, we were mismatched and would have been toxic together. Luckily, she made me see the truth of it. Although at first, she wasn’t entirely ready to be friendly to me, and I probably deserved that after the way I treated her when she offered to help Felisha with the problem of her father.

The stunt she pulled for my brother Flynn and his fiancée Felisha could have gotten her killed, so I still maintain my reaction was justified. I mean, who sends a woman into an illegal poker game, on her own, with the high-powered scum that don’t play by life’s rules? It was too dangerous, and I objected profusely to Flynn, as well as Rem because he’s our head of security. Both of whom told me to back off and not to get involved.

But of course, that just pissed me off more, and even though it all worked out okay and she pulled the ruse off like an expert, it didn’t make me feel any better. All she did was put a target on her back with some very dangerous people who I wouldn’t like to be on the wrong side of. I know she went in disguise, but still, it was a huge risk.

Turning up at her apartment the night before it all went down, to try to talk her out of it, probably wasn’t the smartest move either, but I had to try.

I remember vividly the way she responded when she opened the door to find me standing there looking like thunder.