"...Where desire takes root, a flame is fanned. When the flames keep growing they are bound to burn someone..."

"Mom I'm home!" I called out when I entered the quiet house. "Mom?"

It is an old house that mostly served as a vacation home whenever we came from Texas. The floorboards are creaking under my feet. I wish to restore it but my pockets aren't deep enough to fund a renovation. The most I can do is a new coat of paint for a few rooms. I stopped by a wall with markings. Every summer when visited Winchester, mom would mark our heights. Keith and I are almost the same height.

I visit my mom every Sunday afternoon. Usually, she meets me in the foyer but today she hasn't. I followed the sound of laughter and that's when I found her in the living room with a woman. I sighed in relief flattening my palm on my chest. She's okay. My biggest fear is the day I will visit and she will be lying lifeless.

"Keira! Look who visited!" She exclaimed with excitement in her voice.

I do not recognize the woman but her pretty blue eyes are fixed on me. She even stood up looking me over with a lot of interest. "Hello there." I smiled.

"Keira this is Freya Nora Harrington. She chairs the Harrington Foundation."

My mother was heavily involved in charity work back when she was in good health. She was a member of every other foundation. If bankruptcy will hit someone hard, it is her. She has never experienced poverty before. She comes from a wealthy family. We are estranged from her side of the family because they did not approve of her marrying a man in the Navy. She is not taking the financial situation in our family well. To add to that, the cancer has done a number on her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." I shook her hand.

"Oh! You're so beautiful!" She exclaimed looking at me then my mother. "Good work Lili! I didn't know you had such a gem! I could have arranged a courtship with Cole Michael. Actually we can! Right?"

Courtship? Cole Michael? Who is that?

"What do you expect from a drop dead gorgeous woman?" She gestured to herself making an interesting twirl. We do resemble with the exception of my blue eyes which I get from my father. She has dark brown eyes. "She gets it from me."

My mind lingered on three things the woman said: Courtship... Cole Michael... We can...

"Slow down mom." I am worried about how intent my parents are on setting me up with other men. They do not recognize my marriage. Dad is all about Nickolas Bale and now mom has Cole Michael? "No dancing. I don't think you're strong enough."

Unlike me Lilian Ballard likes to be seen. She has a flare for the theatrics. She was a model in her younger years.

"I have someone for you." She informed me. She and Freya shared a naughty look. I immediately realized they are looking past me. I turned my head. There is a tall handsome man standing right behind me. Why can't mom just tell Mrs. Harrington I'm not single? Because she hates my husband.

"Hi." He greeted me.

"Hi." I whispered, almost a squeak.

That damn smile!

Talk about perfection personified.

Why am I suddenly surrounded by hot men? Where were they when I was single?

"I'm Cole." He introduced himself and offered his hand.

"I'm... Kei... Keira." I cannot even hide the blush. I shook his hand eagerly.

"It's lovely to meet you." He kept his other hand on top of mine for a moment. When he let go, it felt like all that warmth left with him. His pretty blue eyes shifted to his mother. "Mom, I'm leaving."

"Cole Michael Harrington! Is that how you greet a lady?" Freya questioned making faces at him. He expressed a measure of confusion looking at me to help him out.

"My apologies." Cole smiled at me taking my hand and kissing the back of it. "I'm in a hurry. Please forgive my rudeness."

Perfect gentlemen still exist!

"Won't you stay for dinner?" I extended an invitation to him.

Wasn't I leaving as well? What the hell?

"Won't you stay forever?" My mom wiggled her eyebrows at him. I felt embarrassed and Cole is equally blushing. "You two will make beautiful blue eyed babies! The guest room is down the hall if you want to get started."

"Mom, that's enough!" I told her dampening the mood. I can tolerate most of her inappropriate remarks but she has hit a raw nerve. She knows very well I am trying to get pregnant and I am struggling. "It was nice meeting both of you."

I excused myself promptly. As I walked I felt tears blinding my eyes at the emptiness of my womb. I sought solitude in the kitchen sitting on the floor with my back against the fridge. I cried quietly. It is enough that Jason calls me useless among other demeaning remarks. I don't need my own mother making baby remarks when she knows I am struggling.

I can't scream but I feel like I will explode.

"I'm sorry." Cole found me. I wiped my eyes furiously but the tears won't stop.

"It's not your fault." I answered. He knelt beside me giving me a blue handkerchief.

He sat down on the floor with me. We are across each other. His beautiful light blue eyes are overflowing with tenderness. He has the kindest gaze. A quiet smile lingered in them. "Is it something I said?"

"More like my mom... it's complicated."

My pregnancy drama is just that; mine. I can't tell anyone without feeling embarrassed that I can't bear my husband a child. "Can I do anything to fix it?"

Unless he is willing to try and get me pregnant...

"No. Not you. It's someone else's problem." I laughed lightly.

"I bet you get this a lot but I won't be at peace if I don't say it. You are beautiful." He told me. "So beautiful it hurts to just look and not... touch." He whispered the last part.

"Thank you."

"I don't mean to be forward and it is hardly the appropriate time, but are you seeing someone?"

Why am I meeting these men after marrying Jason? Why?

I want to lie just to see where this goes. Perhaps a little harmless affair with Mr. Bale or Cole. Why not? No one has to know. It could be my little secret. It could be my distraction.

"I'm married." I stuck to honesty without thinking much of it. Cole's eyes widened. He even moved back a little.

"I'm so sorry I overstepped!" He apologized casting his eyes on my finger. Like the times I've met Mr. Bale I am not wearing a wedding ring. I folded my hand. "Where's your wedding ring? I hope you're not lying to turn me away. Don't turn me down."

He took my hand.

"I don't have it anymore." I sighed. I love the feel of my hand in his. I feel safe. "My husband lost it in a gamble."

"He should get you another one so that everyone sees you belong to someone. It's quite unfortunate that you're not single. I would wish to court you. You're pleasant to the eyes and perhaps to the soul."

"You're pleasant too." I blushed.

We both chuckled at the same time.

"What's for dinner? I can help you cook."

"I thought you had to leave."

"Not now when I know this is my only chance to be with you. I won't waste it."

I knew it all along that Nick is interested in me. That is why I was not surprised by how cold he got when I told him I am married. Nick is cold. Cole has an endearing warm nature. Two very different men.. where were they when I was single?

I have a bad habit of having people investigated before I get involved with them. It should have been much earlier with Keira but I was blinded until she told me she is married. After that moment my mind has been making circles around what else I don't know about her. Tony dropped a file on my table. I have been waiting on it since I demanded that Keira comes with me to Miami.

"Is this the dossier?" I asked.

"Yes mate it is. What do you want with a married woman Nick?" My little brother got right to the point. He narrowed his brown eyes at me. So often I have dissuaded him from chasing after married women. Tony knows no bounds where thinking with his dick is involved. They can't seem to resist the fun loving guy he is.

"Why doesn't it surprise me that you looked at this?" Tony's curiosity gets the best of him. He doesn't know or respect boundaries wherever his curiosity is involved. But in the matter of boundaries I am finding out the hard way that I don't respect boundaries either if I am still going after Keira even after she told me she is married.

"Will you answer me or do I need to find out some other way?" He asked. "You know I'll find out, right?"

He can be like a dog with a bone once his mind is set on something. It doesn't help that he is protective of me and that is why I never told him about my marriage to Margaux Deveraux untilit was done.

I ignored him and began to peruse the file. Tony has connections to one of the best private investigators money can buy. I asked for an in depth investigation into Keira in case she made up a 'husband'. How desperate am I? I can't wrap my head around her being Mrs. Burke. It infuriates me.

"Keira Charlotte Ballard... twenty four... graduated from a culinary school two months ago... married..." I scanned through the information and grimaced when I saw her husband's name. "Married to Jason Burke. It's that bully from your class. The one I had to beat up after he broke your arm in a fight? Remember him?"

"Yeah. That's the piece of scum all right."

If Keira is married to that insensitive prick, then no wonder she is so scared about travelling with me.

"It says here he still gambles." I noted.

"He's a compulsive gambler. The man doesn't know when to stop. He's neck deep in debt."

A bad idea came to mind. I want Keira to myself and the desire to possess her is escalating at an alarming rate. I am not going to stop until she is mine. Sure, I denied it when she called our relationship an affair but that is exactly what I want for starters; an affair until I wreck her marriage and then I will be the only man left.

My divorce from Margaux is almost final and soon enough I will be a free man to chase her to the ends of the earth if I have to.

"You still gamble as well, don't you?" I asked Tony.

"I don't like where this is going mate."

"I know. I need you to keep him busy for a week."

"Bloody hell no! No way mate! I can't stand that piece of scum!" Tony spoke furiously.

"I know but do it for your older brother. Come on. It's just a week kiddo."

He dropped his head in frustration. "Give me a good reason."

"I need to be alone with his wife."

He gave me an awkward look. He looks exactly like my grandfather when he makes that face. "You need to be alone with his wife? Do you hear yourself Nickolas? Stop for a second and think about what you just said. What the bloody hell? She's married Nickolas! Bloody married! Walk down the aisle- wedding vows- wedding-ring married mate!"

He has a point.

I have never imagined myself pursuing a married woman but I have the strongest urge to chase after her. I want to steal her away from Jason and make her mine.

"I know she's married you don't have to emphasize that." My eyes lingered on the information on the dossier. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about her from the moment I set my eyes on her."

"How long have you known her?"

"Two weeks, give or take."

"And she's got you by your bloody balls already? Damn Nickolas! This isn't like you to fall so hard and so fast. Haven't you learned from Margaux?"

"I don't feel like myself either. All I know is that I badly want her and I won't stop until I have her." I told him. "And she's nothing like Margaux."

Tony seems apprehensive but he nodded in agreement. "What's the plan then?"

"Take him to Monaco and let him gamble his heart out."

"He also has a tendency to lose. I can't waste my money on him."

"Don't worry about that. I'm funding the trip and any bets he'll place. Let him spend my money. It's nothing compared to being alone with Keira. Do this for me Tony and I'll give you anything."

A wry smile covered Tony's face.

"Anything?"

"Anything."

I am risking a lot by giving Tony free bounds to demand for anything. He has the most outrageous demands and they are expensive too.

"You are going to visit Tuscany and you'll spend quality time with mom."

I frowned at him. Why can't he just ask for money? A car? A mansion? Why does he have to bring our mother up?

My mom and I are nothing short of mortal enemies. Dramatic and petty may as well be our respective code names. We don't get along. We argue and we never agree on anything but silent treatment. Among our biggest issues is that she is still upset that I eloped with Margaux and I am still harboring resentment towards her for lying about Tony being my brother for years. It is a mutual agreement between the two of us not to try to get along nor see each other but Tony being the favorite faithful son, has been trying his level best to fix us.

But just to have Keira, I will do anything and everything even if it means being stuck in a room with mother dearest. I am that desperate.

"Deal. Distract Jason for a week so that I can be alone with Keira and I'll spend quality time with mother dearest."

"Thank you. Now was that hard?" He laughed on his way out leaving me in the privacy of my home office.

As a young girl, Keira dabbled in ballet, modelling and figure skating until she broke her ankle while skating. She was also a valedictorian. She has both beauty and brains going for her. She is a wild fire burning inside me but I don't want to put it out. I want her to keep burning brighter and bigger until she consumes me whole.

But as much as I want to allow my desires to reign over me, I have to also know the repercussions of having this affair. Nonno often says that if you play with fire you will eventually get burned. I am not thinking clearly. I know that for sure. I think I will talk to Cole Michael. He is a sensible guy and he can probably set me straight considering my moral compass is officially broken... or I possibly lack one.

*

Cole Michael Harrington and I have been friends since childhood. Our parents are friends. In our small circle, he is the calm one, the reasonable one, the optimist, the one who never takes sides and in my case at this very moment, my moral compass.

When he saw me walking into his office he smiled like the happy pill he is. "I didn't expect to see you today."

"Well I'm here. I heard your family is throwing a ball."

"More of a masquerade. I'll send you and Margaux an invitation."

"I would prefer if you didn't invite her." In every friendship there comes a time when friends have to take sides and ditch the soon to be ex.

Cole grew slightly serious. "Trouble in paradise buddy?"

"It was paradise the first few hours after we met. Everything went to hell after I got her pregnant."

"So what's going on now?"

"Margaux and I haven't lived together in over six months. We can't even stay in the same room without arguing. I have tried to salvage this doomed marriage but my tolerance has run out. I'm tired Cole. What do you recommend I do?"

I took a seat crossing my leg over my knee.

"Emotional pain is the heaviest burden to carry Nickolas. I'm not married so I can't say I know what you're going through but you're my friend and the saddest you've been is since you married Margaux." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. He leveled his gaze with me. "Is a divorce within the foreseeable future?"

"A month is all I'm giving this marriage."

"Okay, that escalated quickly. What happens to Maddie once you two split?"

"That's the hardest part." I have explored every ending. Nothing is good. I cannot spare my little girl from the pain of the divorce. If I stay married to Margaux, someone will die and it is not me.

"She's innocent in all this."

"I'll file for full custody."

"Do you intend to be a single dad? You know it won't be easy."

This is probably the part I tell him about Keira. I am uncertain about how he will react but it was worth a try. Keira will help me raise my daughter. Of course I'll do most of the work but at least Maddie will have someone close to a mom; assuming they will get along.

"Cole, don't judge me but I met a woman."

"Why would I judge you for that? Who is she?" He is enthusiastic about it. "Hold on, I met someone too!"

"Good for you!" I laughed. "I met her a few weeks ago. I can't stop thinking about her. I want a relationship with her."

"You do know you're still married, right?"

"I know but I'm falling fast for her."

"Is this other woman why you are divorcing Margaux?"

"Not primarily." I paused. "I'm divorcing her because I don't want my daughter to keep seeing us fighting. We can't resolve our indifferences. I don't love her. I want it to end."

"So, if you succeed in divorcing your wife, you intend to marry her?"

"Yes."

"You are jumping from one marriage to the next. Don't you want to give it time?"

"No." I answered stubbornly.

"Who is she?"

"I'd rather not say at this moment but there's one problem. She's married as well."

Cole's reaction expressed his dismay. He leaned back into his seat and made no further movement. My moral compass is about to play the role of my conscience and judge me. I want to hear the verdict.

"Let me get something straight. You are falling for a married woman." I nodded. "And you're still married." I nodded. "And what's her take on your plan?"

"I have not told her my intentions."

"Nickolas, if she agrees to what you want not only will you both be cheating on your marriage partners but you will be lying to each other that it will work and it's not fair to both of you and your spouses."

Now that my conscience has spoken, I am supposed to feel guilty, right?

I don't.

If anything I am more determined.

"I just don't see it that way."

"I would advise both of you to first get divorced before engaging in a relationship of any sort." He stated seriously. "Trust me it will be messy if you do it your way."

I ran my hands over my hair. The frustration of not being with Keira is slowly taking over.

"I badly want her Cole. I'm not waiting to get divorced. I'm going after her."

"Why ask for advice when you'll hurl it out the window?"

"Hence the use of the word recommendation."

"She belongs to another man."

"She could be mine." I argued.

"How about you come to your senses and think this through carefully. You're not the only one who will get hurt. Have you thought about what she wants?"

"I want her."

That is enough to get the ball rolling.

"I know how persistent you can get. Unless she wants this, don't wreck her marriage. But remember this buddy, where desire takes root, a flame is fanned. When the flames keep growing they are bound to burn someone."

"It's worth it."

This is why my mother and I don't get along. We are both head strong and she thinks stubbornness is my superpower. I challenge her and she does not like it.

"A few days ago I met this gorgeous girl. I thought that I can finally date after Naila. I asked her if she is single. She told me she is married. I instantly backed off. Maybe I shouldn't have backed away that fast but it is the right thing to do."

Is he trying to convince himself or me? It is futility if he is targeting me.

"Why?" I asked. "Why give up an opportunity like that?"

"Boundaries exist for a reason."