Grant leaves Nora holding his coat. Callan Mercer takes her hand and walks her out in front of everyone.

For one astonishing moment, Nora Calloway knows what it feels like to be chosen without hesitation. Then she learns who the stranger is-and how easily his money can rearrange her life.

Callan can recover a lost deposit, open a door, or make an enemy regret crossing him. He wants to make Nora's life easier. She wants to keep her job, her own keys, and the right to say no without somebody else paying for it.

Over ordinary dinners and nights that feel anything but ordinary, his certainty becomes something she longs to lean on. For a man accustomed to getting answers, being wanted is a far more dangerous discovery.

But Callan's war with a business rival has already reached people Nora cares about. And the help he offers can become another decision made behind her back.

She will not be somebody's project again. If Callan wants her hand, he must learn to leave it open.