“You were out a lot longer than you thought,” she finally said.

He heard the distance in her tone, the voice she used when she wanted to keep a wall up between them. It was the voice she used during his physical therapy sessions, the voice she used when he was flirting and she was trying to keep it professional―it was the voice he wanted to remove from their “relationship.”

“Yeah, the meeting didn’t go as I expected,” he told her. He kept his tone calm, but he felt her stiffen next to him. He wasn’t normally guarded. He really had no idea what she might be hearing in his tone. At the moment he didn’t care all that much either.

“I don’t want to draw this out . . .” she began.

Fury so hot he could actually see a red haze flash before his eyes ran through Nick. He wasn’t normally easy to rile up, but after what he’d learned today, this woman who had deceived him was going to try to give him another speech about why they shouldn’t be together. Instead of unleashing on her, he held his tongue and waited. She was silent as if she’d expected him to interrupt. He wasn’t going to give her the pleasure of doing that. He waited, not touching her.

Nick felt Chloe’s eyes on him before she looked away, her gaze focused somewhere out at sea. The moment stretched uncomfortably long.

“I’m not going to lie to you and say I haven’t wanted to sleep with you, Nick. What we’ve been doing together is unlike anything I’ve ever done before―unlike anything I even knew was possible.” She again went silent.

Nick absolutely hated how her words quickened his heartbeat. Paul had suggested she was a liar . . . and who knew what else. He shouldn’t be affected by anything she said or did. He shouldn’t even allow this conversation to continue. For some reason he did. He was curious. He’d thought he was getting to know her, at least enough to know she was a good person.

“Spit it out, Chloe.” Again his words were calm, maintained. She didn’t turn to look at him this time. Maybe it was easier for her to face herself if she wasn’t looking at him, maybe looking him in the eyes was too much like glancing in a mirror and not liking the reflection gazing back at her.

“We both know this can’t go anywhere. Of course in the heat of the moment we both lose our heads, we both forget the roles we’ve been assigned in life. But the harsh reality of the morning light tells me this is a mistake. No matter how much I might be enjoying our time together, it has to stop. We’re in opposite places in our lives and there isn’t anything good that will come out of this.”

She took a shuddering breath, and Nick wondered if she truly was that good of an actress or if she had broken the rules by engaging with the enemy. He probably wouldn’t ever know because, even if he asked her, he wouldn’t be sure she’d give him the correct answer―the truth.

“Do you think I’m a snob or that I’m not good enough for you? I’m really confused by your so-called explanation,” he said, this time unable to control the frustration and anger from leaking through. She seemed to shrink the smallest bit as she pulled farther away from him.

Nick tried not to care.

“I don’t think either of those things,” she said with a resigned sigh. “It is what it is. Just because someone might wish for a different outcome, that doesn’t mean it will happen. “I wanted to ride unicorns over a rainbow when I was a toddler, but no matter how many nights I wished upon a star, that dream didn’t come true.” She went silent.

Nick waited for her to continue, confused by her cryptic words. When she didn’t speak further, he felt confused and his anger grew. He turned to her, even more furious when she refused to look at him.

“Did you seriously just compare sleeping with me to riding a damn unicorn over a rainbow?” he finally gasped. “I don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me. Good-bye is easy. You simply say good-bye, but your words are tangled in knots I can’t comprehend.”

Nick wished the lighting was better―wished he could see the light in her eyes, try to figure out what she was thinking, what she was feeling. But even if he were gazing directly at her, he had a feeling he would never get the answers he wanted. He was afraid he just couldn’t trust her.

What Nick didn’t know was what he was going to do with the information he had. He should kick her out of his house right now, go to her father―and the damn judge―and demand retribution. Even knowing this was exactly what he should do, Nick couldn’t find himself saying the words that needed to be said.

For some reason, her ridiculous explanation of why she didn’t plan on sleeping with him again was like a slap to the face. And since he’d already been kicked in the gut earlier that day, he had little tolerance for it.

Though Nick didn’t want to admit it, he’d fallen for this girl. He’d given her a piece of him he’d never before given to anyone. He’d actually started to . . . like her. He wouldn’t say it was love. Nick had never been in love before. He didn’t really understand what it would feel like. He knew his brothers were in love with the women they’d married, but he’d never asked them how they’d known. Now, none of that mattered anyway. How could he give his heart to Chloe?

“It’s getting cold outside. We should get back to the house,” he said.

Nick stood up and waited. He didn’t hold out his hand to assist her, though he had to shove both hands in his pockets to keep from doing so. He’d been raised to help a lady. And no matter how much Paul had implied that Chloe had proven she wasn’t worthy of that title, he still saw her as a woman in need.