Tyler had walked the road of shame numerous times in his life, usually a path right to his father’s office door. But he’d never thrown himself on his oldest brother’s mercy for the sake of a woman.

For Kate, he would. Hell, he’d wear a hair shirt and walk around flagellating himself, if that was what it took. He’d do anything for her.

The realization didn’t surprise him. She’d gotten under his skin the minute he’d first locked his arms around her. What did surprise him was that his need to do anything for her—anything—wasn’t based on his inability to say no to a pretty girl. Just the opposite, in fact.

There was no negativity where Kate was concerned, no battles with his conscience or struggles about doing the right thing. He didn’t want to follow her around catering to her every whim—well, okay, sometimes he did—but more than that, he just wanted to be with her.

He wanted to hang out with her all the time—having sex, watching Monty Python, working on the Mustang, eating pizza. He wanted to show her his favorite hiking trails in Big Sur, to take her to clubs in the city, to travel. He wanted to dance all his dances with her.

A few times in the past, he thought he’d been in love. He’d been an idiot. Because love was all the things he’d heard about but never felt until Kate—a crazy, spinning happiness, the knowledge that he was a better person with her than alone, that she’d made him a better person.

It was the desire to be her hero because she deserved nothing less, not because she’d coerced him. She was everything he wasn’t, and at the same time, everything he was.

For the first time in his life, he got it.

He punched the code into the gate control of Josh’s driveway, then drove up to the massive Nordic mansion on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Jupiter’s red hybrid—the only car she’d let Josh buy for her—sat next to his Porsche.

Tyler parked and approached the door. He’d never much liked the custom-made house with all its glass and straight lines, but he could appreciate how hard Josh had worked for it. He’d developed a whole new appreciation for hard work in recent days.

“Hi, Tyler.” Jupiter opened the door and smiled, but worry shadowed her eyes. “Josh’s in the kitchen. I was just heading over to Evan and Isabelle’s.”

Tyler nodded. Jupiter squeezed his arm and slipped past him to walk to the driveway. How much had Josh told her? His stomach knotted as he entered the kitchen. His brother sat at the black granite counter, his head bent over his tablet. The smell of something hot and floral filled the air.

“Hey.” Tyler stopped, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Josh glanced up, his expression grave. For an instant, he looked so much like a younger version of their father that Tyler almost faltered.

Almost.Because he’d never falter when Kate was involved. Ever.

“You want some chamomile tea?” Josh indicated the teapot sitting on the counter beside two mugs. “Jupiter just made it. She says it’s very soothing.”

“Uh, sure.” Tyler hitched himself onto a stool at the counter while his brother poured the tea.

Josj pushed a mug across the counter to him. Tyler sipped the fragrant tea, which tasted like dirt.

“Kate,” Josh said, “is my most valuable employee.”

“I know.”

“I guessed something was going on between you two when you lost it at the bakery,” Josh continued. “I hoped you’d have enough sense to keep it private, but that was obviously hoping for too much. Sex in the workplace is a total violation of Candy King’s code of contact.”

Old shame rose in Tyler’s chest. He hadn’t felt it in such a long time that it was almost a surprise.

“When did you start up with her?” Josh asked.

“Day one.”

His brother’s mouth twisted with derision. Tyler’s shame intensified. He dragged a hand through his hair “She offered to help with the software and stuff, and we…got together.”

Josh’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t you mean you hit on her?”

Irritation prickled Tyler’s spine, even though the answer to that question was yes. At first. Then she’d turned the tables on him, and his entire world went up in flames.

“Kate is an adult,” he said. “She doesn’t need you protecting her from me.”

“I know she’s an adult,” Josh said, anger threading his voice. “She’s also smart, dedicated, and organized. We just asked her to consider a position as Vice President of the CSR division.”

“She told me.”

Josh shoved away from the counter in annoyance. “She told you, and still you messed with her at work? Come on, man. You can’t fuck with her career potential just because you can’t keep it in your pants.”

Goddammit.

Tyler shouldn’t have been surprised by the accusation. His reputation preceded him. It was his own damned fault. But it still hurt that his brother would never think better of him. Never believe he was capable of better.

“She hasn’t slacked off on the job, has she?” he asked.

“Of course not,” Josh said. “But she’s been distracted these past few weeks, and now I know why. I can’t have you messing with my employees.”

Tyler’s hands tightened on the mug. “I’m not messing with her, man. I care about her.”

“That doesn’t make it right.”

“So you’re telling me it’s wrong? There’s no law against us being together.”

“Tyler, with all the shit this family has been through, didn’t you stop to think it might be a bad idea to hook up with my assistant?” Josh snapped. “I know your relationships never last long, and that Kate isn’t your usual type of woman. What happens when you end it?”

Tyler’s blood fired with anger. “What makes you think I want to end it?”

Josh regarded him with that implacable calm that made him such a great CEO but not such a great confidante.

“Considering your past string of relationships, I don’t want Kate to either get hurt personally or be caught in a situation that could be detrimental to her career.”

Tyler looked at the mug. He knew exactly what his brother was saying and why he was saying it. Tyler had skirted the line for too long, and the crashed speedboat hadn’t just been the final straw for him—it had been the culmination of years of irresponsible behavior.

Why would Josh believe that two weeks of working at the Candy King library and an affair with Kate could change him? Hell. Tyler hardly believed it himself. Waxing poetic to his older brother about being in love wouldn’t change anything either.

“What business is this of yours anyway?” he muttered.

“It became my business when you and she started screwing around on company time in the company library.” Josh took his mug to the sink, his shoulders tight with anger. “I’ve fired people for infractions a lot less severe than that. So give me one damned good reason why I shouldn’t fire you for putting my assistant in a compromising position during work hours.”

Shit. Shit. Shit.

A panicky feeling spread in Tyler’s blood. What if his brother said the exact same thing to Kate? What if he not only rescinded the VP offer, but flat out fired her for violating the company’s code of conduct?

He swallowed a mouthful of tea to give himself a second to think.

“What’s going to happen to Kate?” he asked.

“You don’t need to concern yourself with Kate right now,” Josh said. “You’re in enough trouble as it is. And I haven’t even talked to Dad yet.”

Oh fuck.

The past twenty-six years crashed over Tyler like a steamroller, flattening him to the ground. Pretty soon everyone in the whole damned family would know that Tyler had “messed with” Joah’s assistant. He could almost see them rolling their eyes and nodding their heads, because of course they’d known all along that he’d somehow manage to fuck up his job at the library.

He pushed his mug aside and got to his feet.

“You don’t have to fire me,” he told Josh “And you don’t need to hash this out with Dad or anyone else. The only thing I’m asking is that you let Kate keep her job. She loves working at Candy King. And you know you won’t find anyone better than her. Just…don’t hurt her, please. It was all my fault. You know me…can’t say no to a pretty girl, right?”

Josh’s expression darkened. “What do you want me to do then, man?”

“Nothing you haven’t done already.” Tyler held up his hands and backed toward the front door. “Let Kate do her job. Hire a new librarian. Because I quit.”

Josh frowned. “What about your payments?”

Tyler shrugged. The deal had been that if he missed his payments to Sam Corrigan, he’d press charges. At first, that had been enough to get Tyler’s ass in gear. Now he didn’t much care.

“Guess I have to face the consequences,” he said. “About time, huh?”

Before his brother could respond, Tyler turned and left the house.

* * *

Kate was pretty sure that in all of history, no one had ever actually died of shame. But after spending the evening curled up in a ball on her sofa, she was getting close.

At least a million times, she reached for the phone to call Josh, but then the thought of talking to him and knowing what he knew had her throwing the phone against the sofa pillows.

Then there were the relentless questions burning through her mind. Should she quit? Would he fire her? Would he fire Tyler? Was her promotion in jeopardy? Would Josh tell Evan and his father what had happened? Would she be reported to HR?

Not to mention—what the hell had she been thinking?

She ignored a dozen calls from Tyler, but close to midnight, knowing the incident hadn’t been his fault, she texted him. I’ll talk to you later. Just need to be alone right now.

The next morning she hauled herself up and started to dress in one of her boxy old suits. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror—ratty hair, bags under her eyes, pale as a sheet—and frowned.

Was this what Tyler had done after he’d crashed the speedboat? No. He’d felt like an ass and he’d stumbled around before finding his footing, but in the end he’d buckled down to work. To fix his mistake.

“Grow the fuck up, Kate,” she snapped at her reflection. “You made a mistake. Own up to it. Don’t hide. You wanted to be noticed, right? Well, there you go. People will notice your successes as well as your failures, and you need to deal with it.”

After that little come-to-Jesus, she put on her tweed, wool Chanel suit and leather pumps. She pulled her hair into a smooth chignon, carefully applied makeup, and headed to the Sugar King campus with her head high and her heart beating like a drum.

She approached the reception desk. The receptionist looked up with her usual smile. For an instant, Kate was startled before remembering that no one else knew what had happened. Yet.

“Hi, Kate. Josh’s in his office.”

“Thanks.” Kate tightened her hand on her briefcase. “Nancy, is Tyler King in yet? I need a few resources from the library.”

“Tyler?” Nancy lifted her eyebrows. “He left about half an hour ago.”

Kate’s heart stuttered. “What do you mean, he left? It’s not even nine o’clock yet.”

“He said he was done with the work he had to do, so he’s gone.”

Gone?

“Pity, huh?” Nancy gave her a conspiratorial smile. “He was a hottie. I loved watching him walk in here every day.”

Kate didn’t respond. She took the stairs to the basement level and hurried down the corridor to the library. The door was locked. A strange panic spread through her chest. She took out her phone and texted Tyler.

K. DARLING: Where are you?

No response. She went to the twelfth floor, noting that Josh’s office door was half open. She set her briefcase on her desk, ran trembling hands over her skirt, and knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

She stepped inside. “Good morning, sir. May I have a moment of your time?”

He looked up from his computer and nodded, gesturing for her to sit on a chair in front of his desk. Kate closed the door, hoping her skirt concealed the fact that her knees were shaking.

She sat and folded her hands, taking the opportunity to speak before he did.

“I’d like to apologize for my conduct yesterday,” she said, glad that her voice was steady. “Obviously it was completely unprofessional and immoral, and I want to assure you that I’ve done nothing like that before, and I’ve no intention of doing so again. I disrespected my position with this company, and I utterly violated the code of conduct—”

“Kate.” Josh held up a hand to stop her tirade. “Yes, that’s all true. And if this were a situation in which your conduct affected the company negatively, we’d have to look at disciplinary proceedings.”

“I’m sorry.” She twisted her fingers together. “Is that what happened to Tyler? Nancy in reception told me that he was gone.”

A frown creased his forehead. “Yes, he’s gone. Because he quit.”

Shock flooded her. “He quit?”

Josh nodded. “He took the blame for what happened, said it was his fault, and asked me not to fire you.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Because he was afraid I would.” Josh’s mouth twisted. “Look, I know he talked you into what happened at the library. It’s just the kind of thing he would do. God knows he—”

“Sir.”Outrage speared through her. She rose to her feet, unable to remain sitting any longer.

Surprise flashed over Josh’s face.

“Excuse me for speaking out of turn, but that is so…so wrong,” Kate snapped. “He did not talk me into what happened. For your information, I seduced him. He was the one who said we shouldn’t do that at work, and of course he was right.

“And more, for a man who started working without an ounce of library experience, he’s done an incredible job. He’s made an effort to learn the collections management system and how to organize resources, he’s learned about proper handling of archival materials, and he’s even started researching how to better store the more fragile items.

“Even more, he’s increasingly dedicated to preserving and protecting Sugar King history, which quite frankly, no one else in your family has done before now. So don’t you dare start thinking ‘Well, that’s just Tyler being Tyler, screwing my mousy little assistant at work,’ because that’s not true.”

She strode forward and put her hands flat on the surface of his desk, leaning forward to look him in the eye. Her heart jackhammered, her breath burning her chest.

“Do you want to know what Tyler being Tyler really is?” she asked. “Tyler is dedicated, loyal, passionate, intelligent, creative. He’s an amazing dancer. He would do anything for his friends, sometimes to a fault. He’s always wanted to be valued in your family, but he hasn’t known how because he’s always been overshadowed by his older brothers.

“He knows he’s screwed up a lot, but for once he was trying to fix things. To make them right. If you could see that instead of blaming him when things go wrong, then maybe you’ll discover what an incredible part of this company he could be.”

Not until she stopped did Kate realize she was shaking. Josh stared at her as if he’d never seen her before. She stepped back, drawing in a breath.

Josh was silent for so long that the moments seemed to stretch into eternity.

“First,” he said, “I appreciate your defense of Tyler, though I’ve known him a lot longer than you have.”

“You’ve known him longer, but I don’t think you know him better.” Kate no longer cared that she was overstepping her boundaries. “Maybe you just need to realize that his value is different from what you and your father expected. God knows he needs to realize that for himself.”

She held up her hands to stop him from speaking. “I’m sorry. I know it’s none of my business, and that I’m totally out of line. Given everything that’s happened, I’d like to tender my resignation.”

Josh’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t look surprised. He must have known there could be no other recourse for her.

“Do you want to leave Sugar King?” he asked.

“No.”

“Then why resign?”

“Because I don’t believe this situation is at all fair. And I’ve never seen you treat anyone at this company unfairly. And…” She swallowed past the tightness in her throat. “I behaved unconscionably.”

He fell silent again, as if he were thinking very hard.

“If you don’t want to leave, then I won’t accept a letter of resignation from you,” he said. “Only three of us know what happened. Considering your track record at Sugar King, I’m willing to forget the incident ever happened. I know it won’t again.”

Kate couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing. She didn’t deserve such altruism. “You mean I can keep my job?”

“I would like you to, yes. And the promotion offer still stands.”

Her heart raced. “I…I can’t accept that, sir. A proper VP doesn’t make bad decisions, like I obviously do.”

Josh sat back in his chair and studied her gravely. “I’ve got news for you, Kate. Proper VPs do make bad decisions. And when they do, they come clean and try to fix the problem. But more often than not, their job performance and successes far outweigh their mistakes. I believe that will be the case in your situation as well.”

But she would have to prove it. Josh didn’t need to tell her that. Trust was a tricky thing—easily broken and painfully difficult to regain. She’d broken not only her boss’s trust, but his high regard of her and probably his respect too. She had a great deal to earn back.

“I…I don’t know what to say.” Tears stung the backs of her eyes. She didn’t know what to do. If her father ever found out about this…he would be so ashamed.

“Your mistake was significant,” Josh said. “But I do appreciate your honesty and your apology. I’d expect no less from a potential VP. I’m also a believer in second chances, and I’m willing to give you one. It’s up to you whether or not you want to take it.”

Kate pulled a hard breath into her lungs. If she took what he was offering, she’d spend the rest of her career working to prove that she really was the model employee he’d always believed her to be.

And she’d prove to herself that a great career and a tidy life with a professional businessman had been the right path for her all along.

Tyler had just been a wild, exciting, unexpected detour. One she now had to leave behind.

“Thank you, sir.” She took a step back, anxious to leave the office before her tears spilled over. “I accept and appreciate the second chance more than I can tell you.”

She hurried to the door.

“Kate.”

She turned.

“Don’t make me regret this.”

“Never, sir.”

“And for God’s sake.” Amusement threaded his voice. “Please stop calling me sir.”

“Yes, si…Josh.”

She slipped out of the office and returned to her desk, burying the waves of emotion beneath a mask of efficiency. She took calls, organized the schedule, reviewed board meeting minutes, and ordered Josh a protein drink. On her lunch hour, she read over all the paperwork for the VP position.

Her phone buzzed with a text. Her heart stuttered with hope before disappointment took its place.

M. NORWOOD: Hello, Kate. Would you like to have coffee tomorrow morning? I can meet you at the Chocolate Café at ten.

She hesitated, her new resolve warring with emotions too deep, too powerful, to be easily shoved aside. And yet, she would have to do exactly that. She forced herself to respond.

K. DARLING: That would