Monday and Tuesday had passed uneventfully. No aerial bombs courtesy of my ex had dropped – yet. My blood pressure had finally begun to relax to a somewhat normal pace, minus the occasional pounding in my ears when I took a deep breath. I was getting frustrated with constantly looking over my shoulder and trying to look out for anyone I made contact with. I expected Brad to pop out of the shadows any second and try to strangle me or something else sadistic. It wasn't like it'd be a first for him.

The memories of my horrors in Saint Paul were vividly terrorizing my brain since I found out he knew where I was. I couldn't sleep, knowing I would surely have nightmares. I couldn't go about my normal day for all the anxiety that was plaguing me. I was traumatized and nothing had even happened yet, which made me feel that much worse. I hated waiting for something bad to happen.

A knock at my office door startled the hell out of me and I involuntarily spewed out an unpleasant screech, my heart leaping into my throat as I ducked behind the side of my desk.

The door quickly opened and Jesse rushed to my side, wrapping a protective arm around me and tugging my body against his chest. With my head against his shoulder, I could faintly hear his heartbeat, and listening to the soothing sound for a moment was enough to calm me down. I was beginning to feel like I couldn't get through this without Jesse, and that was terrifying, considering I was debating leaving New York and everyone in it behind if Brad couldn't be dealt with. But who was I kidding? Brad was untouchable, what with his high-priced lawyers and daddy's money and international connections backing him up on every move he made. He'd probably just pay off the judge if I ever saw him in court again. That's why I was convinced I still needed a permanent solution to getting rid of Brad. Otherwise, Minnesota would keep repeating itself every few years and I'd never be safe no matter where I ran to.

"You're safe," Jesse whispered against my hair, rubbing his thumb against my cheek. "I won't let anyone touch you. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

Slowly withdrawing from his embrace, I found my balance again and leaned back against my desk. My hands were shaky, but I was getting used to it by that point.

"You can't promise that," I breathed, staring at the floor. "You can't keep him from destroying my life once again, Jesse. There's nothing you can do."

"I don't believe that," Jesse proclaimed with a raised tone, enough to make my hands shake a little more.

I couldn't be upset about it, though, because it wasn't his fault I was so panicky about every little noise and voice in the hallway. Hell, I'd freaked out the day before because a car behind the cab I was in had made one turn in the same direction. I'd just assumed it was Brad following me. How pathetic had I become?

"Jesse-"

"No." His voice was firm and his eyes blazed with anger, though I knew it wasn't directed towards me. "I refuse to believe there's nothing I can do, Vanessa. I refuse to believe that I can't protect the woman I love. You're mine to take care of. What kind of man would I be if I didn't?"

There was that word again. Love. I hadn't given too much thought to his falling in love comment after the fundraiser. My mind had been too preoccupied with Brad's bullshittery.

"Jesse..." I breathed out a heavy sigh, searching for the right words, but I just knew I wasn't going to say what he hoped to hear. "How can you say you love me? We've only known each other a couple of weeks. How can anyone fall in love in a couple of weeks?"

To my surprise, he wasn't angered or upset by my words. Instead, a look of amusement donned his face, and then that bewitching smile that made my knees weak showed itself, awakening the butterflies that had gone dormant in my stomach.

"I've heard it's been done in a day," Jesse said, sauntering over to the windows and resting his forearm against the glass. "A couple of weeks doesn't sound that farfetched to me."

He looked back at me with a gaze that was both lustful and loving, an expression that made me want to collapse into his embrace and forget the world around us.

"Besides," he continued. "It hasn't only been a couple weeks. It's been over three years, Vanessa."

I shook my head and waved him off with a laugh. "You can't count that! That was one night, years ago!"

His smile widened and he held out his hand for me to hold. Stepping closer, I took his hand and he tugged me against his body, pressing a sweet kiss to my forehead.

"Years ago or not, it left the most vivid impression on me. I haven't been able to forget it. I've spent every day from then on hoping that I'd see you again, wishing I knew where to find you."

"What about Kate? I thought you two had a pretty serious thing going," I asked, wondering how she would've taken it if he told her he'd been crossing his fingers for another woman.

I instantly regretted the question when I saw the guilt in his eyes. He hung his head and sighed.

"I did tell Kate at some point about my history with you, but of course, it seemed impossible to ever run into you again, so neither of us thought anything of it when we discussed our previous relationships and flings," Jesse explained, resting his body against the glass. "It wasn't that I was dating other women while pining away for one, but rather that I was dating other women because I'd moved on – because I was sure there was no chance I'd ever see you again. Yes, that sucked, and yes, I thought of you frequently. I wondered where you were, what you were doing with your life, if you were seeing anyone... But I couldn't dwell on what might've been. So I carried on with my life and filed the memories of us in the back of my mind, but I never stopped thinking and wondering about you, Vanessa. I never stopped hoping I'd see you again someday."

His words were music to my ears. I'd never stopped thinking about him either. After our New Year's Eve kiss, I'd found myself comparing every other man I met to Jesse, and none of them ever came close. Of course, I hadn't thrown myself into the dating pool the way he had since we'd parted ways at O'Hare, but from then on, I'd held any potential boyfriend to the "Jesse Standard," as Haley had aptly named it. He was the man I'd hoped every other guy could live up to. It was naïve, but it was all I could hope for, considering I was positive I'd never run into him again.

"I never stopped thinking about you either," I confessed, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "I always hoped I'd see you again."

Jesse reached his free hand up to run his fingers through my hair, twirling my loose curls around his thumb and then brushing my cheek with the pad. It was a simple, sweet caress, but the gesture ignited a fire in my stomach that burned throughout every vein in my body, and the air in the room suddenly felt thick and hot – the type of tension you could cut with a knife.

I placed my palm against his chest and I could feel his heart beating, the rhythm increasing with each second that passed. I knew he felt the same way I did.

"Then can't we technically say we've known each other for over three years?" Jesse grinned. "Can't we technically say we've had feelings for each other equally as long?"

"I suppose so."

"Then does it really seem that silly to think of love between us?"

Maybe he had a valid point, but I had absolutely no idea how to answer that. Now wasn't the time to discuss my still-there commitment issues after Brad, but I was well aware of their continued existence. In the back of my mind, I was scared that if I did let things get really serious with Jesse, something would happen that would cause him to leave me. Apparently, I'd developed abandonment issues without realizing it. It made sense, though. I'd been through so much shit in such a short time in my life, I desperately wanted someone to keep me safe and love me, but I also was afraid of losing anyone who gave me that. Not to mention, I didn't want my past rearing its ugly head and ruining anything good that I or someone I loved had.

"Maybe I'm being too forward," Jesse muttered, regret laced in his words, which just made me feel worse. "I'm sorry, Vanessa. I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that."

I shook my head. "No. You didn't do anything wrong. I should be the one apologizing. I just can't seem to think straight right now with all that's going on."

Jesse nodded, his gaze briefly wandering to the box sitting in my office chair. I'd begun packing up my belongings, figuring it was best I get it over with now than wait until the last minute when everyone in the office would be rushing to move out. It was only a matter of time until Jesse and Erica would have to make the difficult decision to shut down Advantage Republic and we'd all lose our jobs.

I hadn't discussed it with either of my bosses, but I had yet to hear from Eliza Morgan after our recent phone call. She'd said she would get back to me by Monday, but it was Wednesday and that hadn't happened. I'd called earlier in the morning to follow up, but Eliza's assistant said she was out of the office and didn't know when she'd be back. I was sure she'd completely forgotten about me and Advantage Republic. She probably had much more important things to do with her executive time. How stupid could I be? I'd really thought an old business relationship could save Jesse's company. I'd really thought I could prevent a corporate shutdown, people losing their jobs, the Advantage name being permanently tarnished... I had enough problems of my own that I couldn't fix. It was naïve to think I could fix anyone else's.

"Are you trying to leave already?" Jesse gestured to the box in my chair.

I shrugged, guilt flooding my emotions and making me want to cry. "I guess I figured it'd be easier to get it over with."

His brows furrowed together in that adorable confused look that I loved so much. I was going to miss that, too. Hell, I would miss every single thing about him.

"What makes you so sure we can't pull through?"

I knew he meant the company, but it felt like he was also referring to our relationship.

"I don't know, Jesse."

How was I supposed to answer that? I couldn't tell him about the call with Eliza now. It would just get his hopes up and then crush them again when I told him she'd blown me off.

"You know what? Let's just not worry about any of that right now," he said, rolling his shoulders like he was shaking off the depressing thoughts. "Why don't we take the rest of the day off and go to my place? We can order a pizza or Chinese – whatever sounds good to you, and watch Netflix all afternoon or something. Your choice."

It sounded wonderful, and just as I was about to talk myself out of it by way of thinking about all the negative shit I had to deal with, the little voice in the back of my mind asked what do I have to lose? I'd rather spend my day having fun with Jesse than boxing up my office. And it wasn't like I had a stack of files to work through. There weren't any pressing matters keeping me in the office.

"That would be wonderful," I smiled, wrapping my arms around his waist and breathing in the intoxicating scent of his cologne. "Whisk me away, Mr. Reese. I'm all yours."