Chapter Four
Alex sank into her chair, fanning her cheeks with her fingers, trying to get the image of Nick wearing sweatpants and a tank top out of her head. Every time he walked out of the change room, she was surprised her tongue didn’t roll right out of her mouth.
He was gorgeous. And even though he’d been sidelined for the last few months, he’d managed to keep the majority of his muscle tone through physiotherapy and working on the muscle groups that hadn’t been directly affected by his injury.
The smattering of freckles across his impossibly wide shoulders almost dared her to play connect the dots—possibly with her tongue. The urge to rub herself against him, to see if he was as hard as he appeared, always freaked her out.
It had been a long time since she’d been so physically attracted to someone, so the feelings he brought out were startling. And completely unwanted.
And then she’d gone ahead and shown him what a doofus she was by reminding him of the night they’d watched the meteor shower in the park.
What had she been thinking? Of course, he didn’t remember that night.
It was so long ago, and had probably meant nothing to him.
He was going to think she’d been a stalker or obsessed or something.
Well, maybe not. It wasn’t like she’d shown up at his house back then wearing nothing under a trench coat, or he’d caught her hiding in his rose bushes or anything. Their… well, it wasn’t really a date, but appointment didn’t quite sound right either. Regardless, it had been planned.
What hadn’t been planned was the trip to the park to watch the stars.
But he’d been so intense and angry, she’d just gone along with it.
And then he’d told her what he’d wanted to do, which was something that’d also fascinated her, and she’d been hooked.
Had sat her butt on the ground and let the moment take her.
A small part of her—the kind that had still bought into the Hollywood lie of the happily ever after—had wanted it to mean something to him. For him to finally see past the nerdy, awkward girl, and maybe kiss her or something. He hadn’t, and she’d been so disappointed. How na?ve.
Not that any of it mattered. It was a lifetime ago, before she knew anything and thought everything was possible. And now, he was a client, which meant he was off-limits.
Okay, so that wasn’t actually true, in any legal sense, but it was in her own code of ethics. Besides, a relationship was not in the cards. She had too much to focus on. Emily and her business and… well, that was it, but those things were important.
Em barreled through the door without knocking.
Alex was so ashamed of the disappointment that slid through her, she snapped at her daughter. “What are you doing here?”
Em scrunched her eyebrows together and frowned. “Half day, remember?”
How could she forget? “Sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to snap.
I just forgot and you surprised me, is all.
” Not that it should be a big surprise. Ever since Nick had become a client, Em had started hanging out at the clinic more.
He was always done and gone by the time school got out, but Em continued to stop by anyway. Just in case.
“Whatever.” Em dropped her backpack at her feet, threw herself in the empty chair, and hauled out her phone.
“Umm, did you forget something?” Alex held out her hand, palm up.
Em sighed, the most exasperated sound ever heard in the history of mankind, and rolled her eyes. But she staggered to her feet and shuffled over to the desk to place her phone in Alex’s hand.
Alex closed her fingers around the smart phone. Emily was grounded from using electronics until the end of the month. The only exception was when she went to school, basically because Alex didn’t want to leave her stranded in case of an emergency.
Of course, she was under no delusion that Em wasn’t using her phone to do whatever she wanted when she was at school and practice, but it was more important that she remain safe, instead of enforcing some arbitrary rule.
Besides, she always made sure Em gave up her phone when they were together.
A rap on the doorframe sent Alex’s head jerking up.
Nick stood in the doorway, freshly showered and looking way too good for her sanity.
He wore a low-slung jeans and a long-sleeved black Henley, that wasn’t quite tight, but not baggy, either.
It fit him just right, highlighting the breadth of his chest and shoulders and the bulge of his biceps and triceps.
“Hey Nick.” Em’s face completely lit up. Gone was the sullen teenager, and in her place was a girl with a huge crush.
Oh, fudge. This could end really badly.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” He looked at Alex. Her traitorous heart gave a couple hundred extra beats.
Keep your cool, Alex. Keep your cool.
“No problem.” She pushed to her feet. Her smile felt a little flimsy. “Let me get you the information for the pool.”
She moved over to the filing cabinet and slid open the top drawer. His gaze on her was hot, practically burrowing underneath her skin. It made her feel unsettled, restless.
“How’s the training going?” She could tell Em was trying to keep her cool, the conversation nonchalant, but was failing miserably. There was a squeaky, nervous undertone to her voice.
Alex bit back a smile, glad she had her back to her daughter. If Em saw her smile, she’d be so embarrassed and upset.
“Good.” His deep voice still slid across Alex’s skin like fingertips.
She glanced at Nick. He was giving Em the smallest smile, his attention completely on her.
How sweet. Too often, adults dismissed young people, humoring them, or worse, ignoring them, until they gave up trying to make a connection.
“Your mom’s a great coach, even if she’s a bit of a task master. She’s sort of kicking my a… butt.”
His compliment was unexpected. A strange warmth spread through her. She glanced over at him again, at the same time he looked at her. Their gazes crashed together. For the briefest moment, the rest of the world fell away.
The air between them heated, crackling with tension. The kind she hadn’t felt in a really long time. It made her skin tingle, tighten. Her heart did a pirouette and then threw itself against her ribcage.
She licked her suddenly dry lips. His gaze caught on the movement of her tongue. He swallowed hard. His Adam’s apple bobbed. She had the urge to press her lips against it, taste the skin of his throat.
“Hey, do you know what would be cool?” Em’s voice shattered the moment like a slap shot through glass.
Alex blinked a couple of times, tore her gaze away from his. She pulled the flyer with the pool info out of the cabinet, slid the drawer closed, and turned to her daughter. “What?”
“If Nick came to lunch with us.” Em’s face lit up like it was the best idea that had ever been hatched. She glanced from Alex to him and then back again.
“I’m sure Nick has better things to do then go to lunch with us.
” She glanced over at him. His expression was neutral, but there was something in his eyes she couldn’t quite decipher.
Was that a bit of challenge? Why would he feel the need to challenge her?
Just because her answer had been quick and a little vehement.
She looked back at her daughter. Em’s face fell, making Alex’s heart wrench a little to the left.
Meeting him was the most exciting thing that had happened to her daughter in a long time.
The idea of spending time with him obviously made her happy.
Just because Alex had inappropriate thoughts about him wasn’t Em’s fault.
She shouldn’t be punished for Alex’s inability to be professional.
“Right.” Em said, and dropped her gaze to the ground. Alex’s chest gave a squeeze.
“Actually,” Nick said, pushing away from the doorframe. “I don’t have any plans this afternoon.”
The hope that lit Em’s face was so heartbreakingly beautiful it made Alex’s chest ache even more. “Really?”
“Yeah.” He gave her that lopsided smile, the one that always made Alex’s heart skip a couple dozen beats.
“Cool.” Em grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. She bounced on the balls of her feet, as if she couldn’t help but move, she was so excited. It was the sweetest thing Alex had seen in a long time.
Okay, they were doing this.
It was only one lunch. She could absolutely survive a single meal with Nick Sadler. Even if she had to wrestle her hormones under control a single cell at a time.
Nick pulled open the door to the restaurant and held it for his lunch companions. Emily smiled at him and slipped past. “Thank you.”
Alex kept her head down, her thank you more of the mumbled variety. It amused the hell out of him. He had absolutely no idea why.
Or why he’d gotten so defensive when she’d tried to blow him off for lunch. It was stupid, really. But then, what was the harm in having a meal with them? It wasn’t like he had anything else to do. He hadn’t been lying about that.
Besides, he really liked Em. And Alex. A lot.
Getting to know them a little better wouldn’t be a hardship. It actually might make everything easier. Especially acclimating to a new city, even though his stay was only for a little while. He just had to remember his training was the most important thing, and everything would be good.
The diner they’d picked—apparently, it was their go to place—had a homey, greasy spoon feel. Which was great, except there was probably nothing on the menu his nutritionist would approve of. It was okay, he could adapt.
Em hurried over to a booth in the far corner and slid onto the bench seat. Alex walked a little slower, kept her gaze locked straight ahead. She was such an intriguing puzzle. One he really wanted to unravel. What was with that?
She squeezed into the booth next to Em, leaving the opposite bench open for him. He sat down and scooted over so he was pressed into the corner. He stretched his arm along the top of the seat.