In Manhattan for a special art course, small-town teacher Lauren Howell meets her roommate's gorgeous brother and sparks fly. Stiffed by an ex-fiancé and wary of another relationship, she establishes a rule—friends and only friends. City-bred and wealthy, entrepreneur Deems Lambert is fascinated by the fiercely independent Lauren and would love to make her New York stay easy. Her insistence on friendship proves puzzling, but he accepts her terms. An assault in Central Park changes everything. Deems discovers two men in hot pursuit of Lauren's backpack. When one man winds up dead, the other man attempts a desperate move, and Deems scrambles to tighten Lauren's security. Throwing the friendship pact out the window, Lauren turns to Deems for comfort, and their relationship grows hot and heavy fast. But Deems overlooked one security flaw. With Lauren's life in grave danger, Deems struggles to reach her before he's too late.