“Honey, I want your job,” Dakota said before busting up laughing.

“I’m glad you find yourself amusing,” Chloe said.

The girls heard footsteps and turned to see a freshly showered Nick strolling into the room. Chloe was relieved to see him covered up in a T-shirt and long pants. His feet were bare, though, and she had to admit she found even his toes sexy. She had serious problems.

“Chloe hasn’t told me about you, Dakota,” Nick said as he joined them at the breakfast bar and grabbed his own glass of wine.

“That’s because she likes to keep me her dirty little secret,” Dakota said with a wink.

“I can see why,” Nick told her. The two of them smiled at each other, and Chloe felt a rare moment of jealousy.

Dakota was so damn beautiful, and she charmed men without even trying. Chloe assured herself she didn’t want a relationship with Nick, but at the same time, she knew it would absolutely kill her to see Dakota and Nick together.

“Dakota can’t stay long. We have a long day ahead of us,” Chloe suddenly said.

Both of them turned to look at her. Dakota smirked in a knowing way, and Chloe felt like a terrible person. What was she doing?

“I wouldn’t want to stop therapy. It looks like a great time,” Dakota said before she looked back at Nick.

“It isn’t always fun. Chloe likes to push me hard,” he told her. That had Dakota laughing again.

“Don’t be afraid to push her right back,” her traitorous best friend said.

“Yeah, time to go,” Chloe told her.

“I can take a hint,” Dakota said. She left the rest of her wine unfinished as she stood. “I have an appointment anyway.” She turned to Nick. “It was a pleasure to meet you.”

He held out his hand and the two shook. Some sort of message flashed between them, but Chloe had no idea what it was. Nick was grinning like a loon. Chloe walked her best friend to the door, wanting her to go away before things got out of hand and knowing she’d be missing her the minute Dakota left.

“I’m going to take Saturday off. Can we get together then?” Chloe asked.

“For sure. I found a new hike I want to do,” Dakota said. “And then you’re going to fill me in on all things Nick Armstrong,” she finished.

“Of course I will,” Chloe assured her.

The two hugged and Dakota slipped out as quickly as she’d rolled in. When Chloe turned, she found Nick standing there looking at her with an unreadable expression.

“I like your friend,” he said.

That tinge of jealousy sparked again. “Everyone likes Dakota. She’s amazing,” Chloe told him.

“I’m glad to see you have good people around you.”

He seemed so genuine while saying that it took the jealousy away as swiftly as it had come. She had been petty and stupid. For one thing, Nick wasn’t hers, and for another, even if he were interested in Dakota, her friend would never do something like that to her. All the messy feelings were her problem and no one else’s.

“I’ve been glad to have her from the first day we met,” Chloe said.

Silence surrounded them as he looked at her. making her feel like she was being analyzed—and maybe even coming up short. It was a feeling she was used to, but not one that she liked. Messy feelings. She hated messy feelings.

“I will figure you out,” he promised, though it sounded like a threat.

“Good luck with that,” she told him. He smiled, and she decided it was a good time to make her exit. “I’ll see you in three hours.”

Chloe left without another word. She had to have her afternoon breaks from him. It was either that, or she was going to mount the guy. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Chloe stood outside the door to the pool calming her breathing. She knew he was inside . . . half naked . . . completely delicious. She’d told him she didn’t want a relationship. And she didn’t, she assured herself. But he was a great-looking man who made her laugh as much as he made her grind her teeth. He’d also taken her to the heights of pleasure less than a week earlier. It had been rough working with him since then.

She was 90 percent sure he’d done nothing to cause her brother’s death. There was that small inkling of doubt, but it was only because her dad had poisoned her with his toxic words. It had been programed inside her, the seed had been planted, and she was afraid to pull out the roots―afraid of what her life would become knowing that everything in her life was a lie.

But that all led back to how she was feeling about Nick and how much she desired him.

He’d kept his promise, though, about not approaching her again romantically. She told herself this was exactly what she wanted. He’d definitely been hands on during their training sessions, playing on her sympathies for his injury, but he hadn’t attempted to kiss her, hadn’t touched her inappropriately. And every night when she went to bed, she suffered. There was an ache in her body she’d never before experienced, and it was almost suffocating her.

Chloe had no idea what to do to make it stop. She could quit her job, just take the pay she’d earned so far and walk away, but she was over halfway finished. If she could stick it through, then she would get a very nice bonus―one that she needed desperately to reduce the massive debt her school loans had caused her.

It wasn’t as if her mother or father were going to help her. She’d learned a long time ago she was on her own. She’d had her brother, but now she didn’t even have him. Her resolve strengthened, she opened the door to the pool, finding him at one end doing his stretches.