Chapter One

**LUCY'S POV**

Two things were clear to me as I walked away from my mother’s grave that morning.

My mother had been gone for three years.

And I had no idea what to do about the man I had fallen for.

I had come to the cemetery as I did every year on her death anniversary. At eighteen, I was old enough to understand that grief didn't simply disappear just because time passed.

I placed the fresh flowers against the headstone and stared at my mother’s name.

“I don’t know what to do.”

My voice cracked.

I touched the cold stone one last time before turning away. If my mother were still alive, I would have someone to confide in about the obsession eating me up inside.

Brian.

My father’s sales boy.

The thought alone made me uncomfortable.

My father would never accept it. If he discovered that his daughter had feelings for an ordinary employee, he would force me to end it. Worse, he might make Brian pay for something that wasn't his fault.

I hurried toward the waiting car.

Inside, I leaned against the seat and stared through the window as my driver pulled away from the cemetery.

“Miss, where are we heading now?”

I almost answered, “Home.”

Then I remembered my father’s instruction.

“Come straight to the office after you’re done. No delays.”

I sighed.

“Stop here.”

He slowed beside a small roadside snack shop, and then I stepped out. I hadn't eaten since morning, and I needed something before going to my father's office, as he had instructed me. I walked inside and ordered two burgers.

While I waited, my father's words returned to me.

He hadn't said I couldn't stop for food.

At least I was still going to the office.

The vendor handed me the burgers. I paid and walked back to the car.

Before getting inside, I held one out to the driver.

He looked surprised.

“Oh. Thank you, miss.”

“You're welcome.” I gave him a small smile, then settled into the back seat as the car rejoined traffic.

For several minutes, neither of us spoke.

Then the driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

“Miss, I hope you don’t mind me asking something.”

I looked up.

“Go ahead.”

“I noticed you've been quiet for the past few days. You seem different. Is something bothering you?”

I looked down at the burger in my hands. I didn't know how to explain the truth. My mother was part of it, and Brian was the other part.

“I'm alright,” I said.

After a pause, I added, “I'm just missing my mother.”

The driver's expression softened.

“I'm sorry about that, miss. Be strong. Time will heal it.” I nodded.

“Thank you.”

I turned back toward the window.

He didn't know the truth.

My grief wasn't the only thing weighing on me.

I was also trying to forget a man I had no business wanting. I had tried to convince myself that it was nothing.

A passing attraction.A foolish crush.

Something that would disappear if I ignored it long enough, but it hadn't.

The more I tried to push him from my mind, the more I thought about him.

His voice.

His quiet confidence.

The way he never treated me differently because I was the owner's daughter at Davidson Industries.

And that was exactly what frightened me.

The car finally approached Davidson Industries.

The massive glass building rose above the surrounding businesses, polished and imposing.

I straightened.

“Stop here.” He pulled over near the entrance.

“Wait for me.”

“Okay, miss.” I stepped out and adjusted my clothes, then glanced toward the main entrance.

Then something caught my attention.

The loading area. Several workers were unloading boxes from a delivery van. One man carried a carton toward the warehouse while another checked the delivery list.

I was about to walk inside when I saw Brian then I stopped.

He stood beside the van with his sleeves rolled to his elbows, lifting a box from the back. His movements were calm and efficient. He wasn't trying to attract attention.

He didn't need to. My heart began beating faster.

“This is Brian,” I whispered.

I hadn't expected to see him. Not when I had just spent an hour trying to convince myself that I needed to get control of my feelings. Yet there he was.

I took a step toward the loading area.

Then another.

Brian placed the box on the ground and turned.

His eyes landed on me.

He froze.

I froze too.

The noise around us seemed to disappear.

Brian's expression changed when he realized who was standing there.

“Miss Lucy?”

Hearing my name from his lips sent a strange rush through me.

I tightened my grip on the paper bag.

“Brian.” His eyes dropped briefly to the bag in my hand before returning to my face.

“What are you doing here?”

It was an ordinary question.

But I couldn't give him an ordinary answer.

“My father asked me to come to the office.”

Brian nodded.

“Then you should go inside. He'll be waiting.”

I stared at him.

That was it?

After everything I had been thinking about him, he could stand there and speak to me as if I were nothing more than his employer's daughter?

I didn't know whether to be annoyed or relieved.

“Are you busy?” I asked.

Brian glanced at the boxes.

“We're unloading a shipment.”

“I can see that.”

A faint smile touched his lips.

For some reason, that tiny smile made my heart race even harder.

I immediately looked away. I hated how easily he affected me.

He picked up another box.

“You should go inside, Miss.”

“Yeah, sure”

I pretended so he wouldn't notice my obsession.

I took a step backward.

“Right.”

He nodded and returned to work.

I turned toward the building, but after two steps, I stopped and then looked back.

He was already carrying another box.

He didn't look at me. That somehow bothered me more than it should have. I tightened my fingers around the paper bag.

I had come here because my father ordered me to.

I hadn't come looking for Brian.

But now that I had seen him, one thing was painfully clear. I wasn't going to get him out of my memory.

Not today.Not tomorrow. Maybe not ever.

I lowered my gaze and whispered the question I had been trying to answer since the feelings began.

“Why him… of all people?”