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"I’ you"

They stared at each other Tension filled the roo returned and with it, Wyatt’s temper Rather than walk around with a hard-on, or snap at sorab Aet her"

He watched Claire walk out of the rooht, then wanted to hit hioing to have to find a way to get over it and her She ht, but there was no way he was getting involved with her She was a complication he didn’t need, even if she was a woman he desperately wanted

NICOLE SHIFTED in the chair Sitting up was the next step in her healing She hadexcellent progress, although it felt incredibly slow to her The pain was less, she wasn’t as tired and the doctor had pulled out the stitches the day before--a wildly painful moment she didn’t want to have repeated She should be pleased

Yet what she felt was restless She hated that the bakery was doing so ithout her Logically she knew her business could survive without her for a couple of weeks, but e hadn’t fallen apartThe phone rang and she grabbed it "Hello?"

"It’sup

The phone rang again Nicole picked it up "Go to hell," she said, her voice low and angry

"Wait You have to talk to an to cry "I want to kno you’re doing"

Nicole was unmoved by the tears Jesse could turn it on like a faucet when it suited her

"I’ Of course, havingto take longer to fix, so I don’t have an update on that"

Jesse winced "You’re still otten over the fact that after everything I’ve done for you, how I’ve supported you, taken care of you, tried to do everything I could to make your life better, you still wanted to stab ive you credit, you did a hell of a job"

She refused to actually feel any of the e inside her Better to stay in her head, be sarcastic, because anything else would rip her open so far, she would never recover

"You hate " Nicole hung up

Her heart pounded in her chest and she hurt all over

She hated this…all of this Hated what Jesse had done, hated Drew, hated her body for betraying her and hated herself for giving a damn about her baby sister

Nicole turned her attention back to her book She wasn’t actually reading the words, but she illing to pretend It was better than facing the emotional devastation of her life

The house was silent and she was alone Solitude pressed down on her, stealing her breath She closed her eyes against the pain, but that didn’t stop the tears fro down her cheeks

CLAIRE PARKED in front of Wyatt’s house As she took in the two-story building, the big s and wraparound porch, she tried to tell herself she was excited about spending ti in and out of her body didn’t have anything to do with seeing Wyatt

He’d called an hour ago and asked her if she could watch Areed, then had been surprised to find herself looking forward to seeing him"It’s only for a few minutes," she told herself as she locked the car and walked up the path "Then he’ll be gone and I won’t have to think about him"

She wasn’t sure why he was on her h, hter and how he’d gotten over judging her based on all the stuff Nicole had said But it wason his porch, she felt a flutter in her stomach It was almost like the nerves she felt before she performed, but different There was a different level of excite that--

The front door opened and Wyatt motioned for her to enter

"That was fast," he said "Thanks for doing this I would have dropped Amy off, but it’s her bedtime in an hour and I don’t like to ht I have this client who’s driving et it, but I took the job, so I’etsas he spoke There was hu into them, as if she could…What? Get lost there? Hoeird was that?

"She’s fed and she doesn’t getyou have to deal with" He glanced at his watch "Let her watch TV another thirty ed and brush her teeth by herself Maybe you could read a story with her, if that’s not too much trouble"

"I would love to," she said honestly Spending ti around Wyatt’s daughter helped fill that empty part of her

"Great Thanks I really owe you"

He was sain Had he always been so tall? He was much taller than her, and more muscled thanjeans and a plaid shirt rather than a suit or anything designer

"Claire?"

"Hmm?"

"You okay?"

She blinked and looked away "Sorry I was thinking about so I’m fine Go meet with your client I’ll take care of Aht brush of his fingers But she felt the contact all the way down to her toes It one Before she could even figure out what she wanted A kiss? What would a kiss with hiuy who liked to be in charge, which was okay with her It wasn’t as if she had a ton of experience and so Better hi footsteps on the hardwood, turned and saw A toward her

"Hi!" she said, then braced for impact as Amy threw herself into her ar "I’lad"

"Me, too Your dad left instructions"

Ahed "Hey, they’re not bad You can watch TV until you have to get ready for bed Then we’ll read a story together I think that sounds like fun"

Aned, "Okay," then asked, "Do you want to see ht-year-old took her hand and led her through the house

Claire had a first iht Hardwood floors stretched throughout the house She saw a big dining roo at hoe kitchen, a downstairs bath and a media room that had more equip staircase led to the second story Aht, open space with aseat, a bed covered with pillows and stuffed ani bookshelf

The walls were pale lavender, the co dark purple rug covered most of the hardwood floor

Claire turned in a slow circle "Hhed, then took her hand and pulled her onto theseat