“What’s wrong?” she asked, even as she reached into her bag for his pain medication, noting how pale he’d gone. Sloane followed his gaze and found a beautiful woman with long blond hair staring right back at him, looking like she’d seen a ghost.
“Just take me home.”
Chapter 19
“I don’t think this is going to work,” the small woman with incredible eyes said as Grey glanced up from the volunteer application that she’d filled out with a crayon.
“And why’s that?” Grey asked, leaning back in the incredibly comfortable chair that Kylie helped pick out for him.
With a heavy sigh and a sad shake of her head, she gestured between them, “This thing that’s going on between us.”
Nodding solemnly, Grey said, “I was afraid that was it.”
“You felt that too?” Nikki James, the small woman who’d been ordered to serve community service for walking up to a perp that she’d testified against and kneed him in the balls in front of the judge who’d decided to release him, asked. That had led to the judge throwing her in jail for the night and sentencing her to community service with the promise of taking away her private investigator license if she fucked up.
“I mean, how could I miss it?” Grey said, running his eyes over the beautiful woman with long curly brown hair, the most intense green eyes that he’d ever seen, the tight black T-shirt that hugged the generous curves of her breasts, worn jeans that gave away the fact that she wore an ankle holster, the black hiking boots, and couldn’t help but note that she wasn’t his type.
Not at all.
He liked tall women with blonde hair, pale blue eyes, dainty features, long legs, delicate women that loved to be pampered and this woman…definitely didn’t fit that description. But there was still something about her…
“This attraction is just too overwhelming. I’m not sure how we’re going to be able to ignore it,” Nikki said with a heavy sigh, looking bored as she pulled her phone out of her back pocket.
“I’m not sure either,” Grey said, taking the coin out of his pocket that he never went anywhere without and began flipping it over the back of his fingers as he studied the small woman.
“Then I guess this can’t happen,” Nikki said with a sad shake of her head as she focused on her phone.
“I guess not,” he murmured in agreement, watching as she tapped her fingertips on her phone, noting that they were filed down to an efficient length.
“I’m disappointed. Are you disappointed?” Nikki mumbled absently as he sat there, continuing to flip the coin over the backs of his fingers.
“I’m devastated,” he drawled.
“Me, too,” Nikki said, sighing heavily with a firm nod. “Me, too.”
“I don’t know how I’ll get past this,” Grey murmured.
“It’s going to be one of the most difficult things that I’ll ever have to do,” Nikki said with a sad shake of her head, never taking her eyes off her phone.
“It really is.”
“We’ll get through this,” she said only to add, “Somehow,” making his lips twitch.
“You know what would help me get through this?” he asked.
“What’s that?” Nikki mumbled absently, frowning down at something on her phone.
Grey reached over and plucked the phone out of her hand, absently noting that she was playing an online Scrabble game before he placed it on the coffee table between them.
“Getting through this intake,” Grey said, leaning back in his chair.
“Really? Because I was planning on getting through this with alcohol and poor coping skills,” she said, blinking at him.
“Oh, I plan on doing that too, but this will help ease the pain until then,” Grey said, making those plump lips that he had to admit he liked twitch.
“Are you sure that you want to do this?” Nikki asked, giving him a pitying look.
“I mean, can you ever be sure of something like this?” he asked, continuing to flip that coin as he watched her take note of the move before that gaze that didn’t seem to miss a thing moved around his office quickly before focusing back on him.
“True, but this just seems like something we should avoid,” Nikki said, nodding solemnly.
“And how would you suggest that we do that?” Grey asked, watching as Nikki reached over and picked up her phone.
“Besides alcohol and poor coping skills?” she asked, sliding her phone back in her pocket.
“Yes, besides that,” he said as he watched her pull a folded piece of paper from her pocket.
“You could sign off on my sheet,” Nikki said as she held up the piece of paper the court had given her to keep track of her hours.
“I could…” Grey said, letting his words trail off.
“Look,” Nikki said, pausing only to sigh, “given this overpowering attraction that we’re struggling to ignore, I think it would be for the best if we cut our losses and try to move on.”
“It will be a struggle,” Grey murmured in agreement as he gestured for her to hand him the paper.
“It really will,” Nikki said, handing it over.
“I’m not sure how I’ll get through this,” Grey said with a sad shake of his head as he crossed a few things out, changed a couple of things, and made a few notes before handing it back over.
She took the sheet back with a smile only to sigh with a sad shake of her head and murmured, “After everything we’ve been through?”
“I’m just not ready to let you go yet,” Grey said, flipping the coin into his palm before sliding it back in his pocket so that he could focus on his schedule, looking for a spot to fit the woman that intrigued him in.
“Is that why you doubled my volunteer hours?”
“And why I’ve added therapy to your community service requirements,” he pointed out.
“Can you really do that?”
“Looks like I can,” Grey said absently.
“Then I guess the question is, should you do that considering what happened in Boston?” Nikki said, making everything in him go still as he glanced up at the woman that was full of surprises.
“And what do you know about Boston?” Grey asked, considering her.
“Everything. I’m very good at my job,” Nikki said, pushing the paper back to him.
Without taking his gaze off her, he scratched out part of his notes and doubled his previous suggestion before handing it back with a murmured, “So am I.”
Chapter 20
Maybe she should get the hell out of here and spend the next ten months drinking on a beach, Sloane thought, biting back a sigh when Chase slammed the front door shut.
She should go inside and tell Chase that she quit, wish him luck, and go work on her tan, but…
God, she really was a fucking pushover, Sloane realized, shaking her head in disgust and wondering what was wrong with her when she found herself heading inside to find out what was going on with the stubborn bastard that she owed for what he did for her yesterday. He’d held her as she’d lost it and once she did…
She hadn’t been able to stop. She’d cried for Joshua and for every patient that she’d lost over the years, hating herself for not being able to do more for them. Through it all, Chase held her, telling her that everything would be okay.
For that alone, she couldn’t turn her back on him.
“Chase?” Sloane said as she walked in the house, glancing at his bedroom and the living room as she made her way to the kitchen.
It had been a long time since someone held her and…
God, she couldn’t believe that she’d lost it like that, Sloane thought as she walked into the kitchen and felt her heart break when she saw Chase sitting at the table with his head in his hands, looking absolutely lost.
For a moment, she wondered if his first therapy session had been too much for him, but then she remembered the way that he’d looked at that woman staring at him and
“Fuck!” Chase shouted as he grabbed hold of
the table and tossed it on its side.
Before he could grab the chair next to him and send it flying across the room, Sloane was there, straddling his lap and cupping his face, forcing him to look at her. “What’s going on?” she asked, gently caressing his face as he grabbed her hips to shove her off his lap, but she wasn’t going anywhere.
“Get off!” Chase snapped, moving to shove her off his lap, but she simply moved closer, making it harder for him to pull her off.
“Not happening,” she said, shaking her head as she wedged her legs onto the chair next to his. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
He closed his eyes and bit out, “Get off, Sloane.”
“No,” she simply said, because she wasn’t going anywhere, not with him like this.
“Goddamn it, Sloane! Get off!” Chase snapped as he moved his hands to her waist to pull her off only to fist his hands in her shirt and pull her closer so that he could rest his forehead against hers. “Why won’t you leave me alone?”
“Apparently, I have a soft spot for assholes,” she said, making him chuckle weakly as he released his hold on her shirt so that he could wrap his arms around her.
For several minutes, he didn’t say anything. He simply held her as he slowly calmed down. When she felt his muscles relax and his breathing slowed down, she felt herself relax as well.
“God, I hate this fucking house,” Chase said, sighing heavily as he pulled back so that he could press a kiss against her forehead.
“It’s not really you, is it?” Sloane said, telling herself that she should get off him now that he didn’t look like he was going to tear the house apart only to find herself moving closer so that she could lay her head against his shoulder.
“No, it’s not,” he murmured in agreement because nothing about this house really screamed Chase. It was a nice house in a very nice gated community, but it didn’t come across as something that he would pick out. “Why did you buy it?”
“Because that’s what she wanted,” Chase said as he turned his head so that he could kiss her forehead.
“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked, curious about the woman in the parking lot.
“Not even one fucking bit,” he said, sighing heavily.
“Okay, then tell me what we could do to make this house more yours,” Sloane said, more than willing to grab some paint and a paintbrush if that would help make this right for him.
“There’s nothing that we could do to make me like this house. I wanted a house big enough for a family with a large living room, a family room, a basketball hoop out front, and a pool in the back, but Amy had fallen in love with the neighborhood,” Chase explained.
“And you loved her,” Sloane guessed, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she wondered why Amy wasn’t here with Chase now.
“Yes, I did,” he said with another kiss against her forehead.
“So, you bought her the house.”
“So, I bought her the house,” he murmured in agreement. “There was a long waiting list for houses in this neighborhood, but she managed to sweet-talk the association into letting her have the first house that came on the market. I would have done anything to make her happy, but she couldn’t do the same for me. I wanted children, but she didn’t. I thought after we were married that she would change her mind, but I think that was just wishful thinking on my part. I’d hoped to turn the spare bedroom into a nursery, but she’d decided that it was going to be her office. Before she got the chance to move in, everything went to hell and while I was in a coma fighting for my life, she decided that it was time to move on and fuck my best friend.”
“That bitch,” Sloane muttered, making him chuckle.
“Are you going to get that?” Chase asked a moment later when her phone started ringing.
“Too comfy to move,” Sloane said because she honestly wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone right now. “You know what you should do?”
“What’s that, Pookie?”
“You should sell this house and buy one that you actually like,” she said, only to sigh when the doorbell rang.
“I wouldn’t even know where to start,” Chase said as he reluctantly released her so that he could go see who was at the front door.
“We could look at a few houses and if you don’t find something you like, we can always hit the paint store,” Sloane said as he rolled them through the house.
“Are you planning on getting up?” he asked, sounding amused.
“Too comfy,” Sloane grumbled even though she knew that she didn’t have a choice. She allowed herself to enjoy this for another thirty seconds before she reluctantly climbed off his lap with a heartfelt sigh and
“Oh, god no…” she found herself saying when she saw who was at the door.
That was quickly followed by trying to turn around and making a run for it only to find herself on the ground with the large jerk that her parents swore they hadn’t dropped on his head when he was a baby, straddling her legs.
“So, I’ve been trying to get ahold of you,” Danny said conversationally as though he hadn’t grabbed her hands so that he could make her slap herself.
“Danny, quit it!” Sloane snapped, trying to pull her hands away, but the large bastard had forty pounds of muscle on her and a determination that terrified her sometimes.
“Why was I trying to call you, you wonder?” Danny asked only to pause when he spotted Chase watching them, looking amused. Clearing his throat, Danny released one of her hands so that he could reach over and introduce himself. “Sorry, man, I’m Danny. The ungrateful brat’s brother.”
Chuckling, Chase reached over and shook his hand. “I’m Chase. The little brat’s tormentor.”
“I hate you both,” Sloane said only to sigh when Danny grabbed her hand and picked up where he left off.
“You’re going to kick yourself for not answering your phone and putting a stop to this before it got out of hand,” Danny said with a heartfelt sigh as he used her hand to condescendingly pat her face.
“Put a stop to what? And would you stop doing that?” Sloane snapped, struggling to get free, but the jerk wouldn’t give her an inch.
“Your birthday party,” Danny announced with glee, making everything in her go still.
“Oh, god,” she mumbled weakly because she’d actually forgotten about her birthday.
Nodding, Danny said, “I tried to warn you, but you wouldn’t answer your phone, so now, I’m here to let you know that you’re expected for dinner at six tomorrow night. Act surprised.”
With that, he let her go with a satisfied sigh, leaving her laying there, knowing that it was useless trying to get out of this now because it was already too late.
When she heard the traitor chuckle, she turned her glare on him. “I don’t know what you’re laughing about, Chuckles. If I have to go, then so do you.”
Chapter 21
“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Sloane said with a hopeful smile only, to begin worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she mumbled, “Yeah, this was definitely a bad idea.”
And although he wholeheartedly agreed that bringing him here was a mistake, Chase couldn’t help but notice just how adorable Sloane was as he transitioned himself to his wheelchair since she was busy throwing the large house decked out with balloons and streamers another nervous glance.
“Definitely a mistake,” she mumbled absently as he adjusted his legs only to look up when she added, “Oh, god…”
That was followed by, “Wait! We can talk about this!” when five large men, all of them had dark hair like their sister, headed in their direction. Before they reached her, Sloane was crawling onto Chase’s lap and wrapping her arms around him as she squeezed her eyes shut and yelled, “No, wait! He needs me!” making them pause.
Eyes narrowing on the woman clinging to him, Chase asked, “Did you bring me here just to use me?”
“Yes!”
Nodding slowly, Chase shifted his attention
to her brothers, who were watching her every move, looking for a way to extract her. “She’s all yours.”
“What? No! Don’t listen to him! He’s mute!” Sloane rushed to explain only to gasp when Danny, who couldn’t stop smiling, grabbed hold of his sister and pulled her off Chase’s lap. “Damn it, Chase! Use your fireman skills and save me!”
“I would,” Chase assured her with a sympathetic wince, “I really would, but I want to see how this is going to play out.”
“You bastard!” Sloane gasped in outrage as her brother carried her toward the house.
“I’m Tristan,” one of her brothers said, offering his hand.
“Chase,” Chase said, returning the handshake.
“You hungry?” Tristan asked, gesturing to the house.
“I could eat,” Chase said, chuckling as they followed the rest of her brothers as they carried Sloane inside the house, down a long hallway and into a large kitchen and onto the pool patio where an insane amount of people were waiting, making him realize that this was the first time that he’d been to something like this since the accident.
When he felt the familiar panic crawl up his spine, Chase stopped, not sure that he could do this. He slowly exhaled as he took in the large party as he moved to push his wheelchair back only to feel something inside of him relax when he heard Sloane laugh.
“Are you okay?” Tristan asked, shooting him a questioning look.
“Fine,” Chase said, nodding as he forced his hands to roll him forward.
When they reached the pool, Danny shifted Sloane over his shoulder only to groan when an older man grabbed her before he could throw her in.
“Thank you, Daddy!” Sloane said, smiling hugely as she stuck her tongue out at her brothers.
“You’re welcome, sweetheart,” her father said, making his daughter look really fucking relieved.
That is, until her father tightened his hold around her, shot her a wink, and said, “Happy birthday,” as he jumped in the pool, taking a laughing Sloane with him.
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