CHAPTER TWELVE

W hat the hell was wrong with him?

He had absolutely no self-restraint when it came to Chloe.

Now that he’d had her, he just wanted more. And more. And more.

They were supposed to talk, and clear the air, but instead they fucked each other’s brains out—twice.

This was not good.

Not good at all. He was playing a very dangerous game, and yet, when he re-entered the bar where Logan was slicing lemons, all he could think about was how he desperately wanted to taste Chloe between her legs.

“I thought you were going to get ice,” Logan said. “Where did you go, Antarctica? You were gone for a while.”

“I, uh … I had to have a couple of important phone calls.” He glanced at his watch. “Bar opens in twenty minutes. How are you feeling?”

Logan nodded. “Pretty good, actually.”

“Yeah?”

Logan shrugged. “Yeah, I mean, there are always first day jitters at a new job, but I’m good at bartending. I’m good with people. It’s not like you’re throwing me into the brewery and asking me to …” He scrunched up his face. “I don’t even know what it is Clint does to make beer. Grind the barley?”

Dom snorted. “Clint doesn’t even let me touch his beer. And whenever Jagger says he’s going to help, Clint freaks out and just says he’ll do it himself.”

“Anyway, I appreciate the opportunity to not only prove myself to you guys, but to actually carve out a new life here. I’m done with Boston. Just because my last name is ‘Conroy’ doesn’t mean I have to do what the Conroys tell me to do.”

Dom was about to open his mouth when the kitchen door swung open, and Renée and Jillian stepped into the bar, laughing.

Renée stopped abruptly when she spotted Logan, causing Jillian to crash into her back. “Dude,” Jillian grumbled. “What the hell?”

“Hello,” Logan said with a big smile and a goofy wave.

“Uh … hi,” Renée said, stars in her gray eyes.

“Logan, this is Renée and Jillian. They’ll be the afternoon servers. Ladies, this is Logan, my cousin. He’s coming on as another bartender, since you said you hate bartending so much, Renée.”

Logan stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you both.”

Pink filled Renée’s pale cheeks and for once, it seemed the young woman was speechless.

“Nice to meet you too,” Jillian said, not nearly as twitterpated as Renée. “Where are you from?”

“Boston. I just got here last night.”

“You’re not staying at the hostel, are you?” Jillian asked. Then she focused her attention on Dom. “Did you hear what happened?”

He needed to play this carefully. “I heard something. What did you hear?”

“That the front desk guy, Joey, let some rando into a private room so he could use the shower, and then the person who was renting the private room came back and found the rando in her shower. Like, how creepy is that?”

“I feel bad for the woman who was renting the private room.” Then Renée’s eyes went wide. “Wait a sec. Chloe was staying at the hostel and had a private room. You don’t think?”

Dom was never very good at steeling his emotions so people couldn’t read them on his face. The women caught on.

“Fuck. Poor Chloe,” Jillian murmured. “Where’s she staying now?”

“We’ve got her in Cabin Four,” Dom said.

“Oh, that’s awesome. God, she must feel so violated.” Renée shook her head.

But all Dom could think about was how much Chloe seemed to enjoy it when he violated her earlier. In fact, she’d begged for it.

“Right, Dom?”

“Dom?”

Snap! Snap! “Earth to Dom. You okay?” Renée snapped her fingers in front of his face.

He blinked and shook his head in an attempt to banish those impure thoughts that took over his brain. “Huh?”

“You okay?” Jillian asked. “You spaced out for a sec there.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry. Just tired. What was the question?”

Renée and Jillian exchanged curious looks. “I just asked if you agreed that Chloe must feel really violated having her space invaded like that. It was nice you guys were able to put her up in the cabin.”

He nodded. “Yeah. She was pretty upset about it, I heard.” He cleared his throat. “Okay, everyone, we open in ten. Let’s finish setting up.”

“I’m assuming we’re not opening the patio given the weather?” Jillian asked, stowing her purse under the bar and grabbing an apron to tie around her waist.

Dom shook his head. “Unless it clears up, it’s more of a hassle to wipe everything down. Nobody’s going to want to sit out there.”

“Roger,” she said.

“Finished with the garnishes,” Logan said, slicing through the fog that still clung around the fringes of Dom’s mind. “What would you like me to do now?”

Dom glanced down at Logan’s workstation which was already all tidied up, and the garnish containers were full and ready. “Uh …”

“You can help me wipe down tables, turn down chairs, and put out condiments,” Renée offered, that sparkle in her eyes like a silver dollar in the sunlight.

Logan shrugged. “Sure.” Then he followed behind her like a shaggy, blond golden retriever as they finished getting the restaurant ready. Dom went to the kitchen to finally get some ice.

With two big buckets of ice in each hand, he dumped them into the stainless-steel tubs at either end of the bar. “Specials?” he asked through the food window, having noticed Wyatt’s head bobbing around on the hot side.

Wyatt appeared, his expression sly. “Pacific Rim Chowder is the soup of the day. Then we’ve got tagliatelle with West Coast mussels and crème fraiche as our pasta special, and a blackened snapper with an Israeli couscous salad and grilled zucchini as our main special. Lunch sandwich is a pesto chicken on sour dough.”

Dom’s belly rumbled. “And the dessert?”

“Summer Berry Crumble with homemade vanilla ice cream.”

“Christ, that sounds good.”

“As good as what you were snacking on in the cash room earlier?” Wyatt asked. Both amusement and wariness flickered in his blue-hazel eyes—the same shade as Dom’s.

Heat instantly filled Dom’s cheeks. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play a player,” Wyatt said. “You weren’t exactly quiet. And I needed to grab something from that room and went to open the door when I heard your grunt and her sigh.”

“First of all, you’re not a player. So don’t even try, and second of all—”

“You’re playing with fucking fire,” Wyatt warned. “So much for talking to her and making sure it wasn’t going to happen again.”

Dom narrowed his gaze at his brother over the ledge of the food window. “I fucking tried.”

“And what? She just ripped off all her clothes, and yours, and blockaded the door? If you guys are becoming something, we need to have a business meeting, and then sit down with Chloe and figure shit out. This could come back and bite all of us in the ass—hard.”

“What could bite you in the ass?” Renée asked, back behind the bar, and within earshot as she showed Logan where they kept the spare rolls of cutlery and napkins. Her gaze bounced between Wyatt and Dom.

Dom grunted, glared at his brother, then shook his head. “Nothing. Are we ready to open?”

Renée nodded. “Sure are. Jill, you want to unlock the door and let in the masses?”

Rolling his eyes, Dom grabbed the special’s board that was tucked into a space between the bar and the wall, and grabbed the package of chalk pens. “Here,” he said to Renée, “we all know your penmanship is better than mine.” Then he rattled off the specials Wyatt had said, while adding the drink specials as well.

“When are we going to add Chloe’s Caesar to the rotation of daily specials?” Renée asked as she picked out a hot-pink chalk pen and began writing the with legible flourish.

Jillian returned from unlocking the door, the ladies of the Sewing Circle in her wake. She rolled her pretty brown eyes. “Five teas and three coffees for the babes in the corner booth.”

“Fine. Remove the gimlet and put down Caesar,” he grumbled as he started to help Jillian with the teas and coffees for the Sewing Circle.

Renée glanced up at him, beaming. He’d never seen her eyes so twinkly as they were today. “Really? It’s that easy?”

“Keep talking and I’ll change my mind again.”

Her eyebrows lifted quickly. “Okay. Mouth closed.” Then she finished the board and took it outside to the covered entrance of the pub.

By twelve thirty the place was buzzing. And Logan fit right in. He was efficient. He was clean. He was personable. So far, no red flags were waving in the wind in front of Dom’s face.

But it’d only been a few hours. So as much as he hoped his cousin was the real deal and a blessing sent from the universe, Dom continued to reserve judgement a little longer.

It helped that Logan was also nice looking. Several young women who came in for lunch ogled and flirted with him. He’d definitely take home some decent tips.

Even though they were busy all day, and Dom really didn’t have time to think about Chloe, he still did. Endlessly.

Every time someone ordered a Caesar, he was instantly transported back to the cash room. Then his dick would twitch in his jeans, his heart would pound, and his fingers would tingle with the need to touch her.

Four o’clock could not come fast enough. Because then he’d get to see her again.

Would he be able to keep his hands to himself?

They agreed—after their third time—never again. They got it out of their system and needed to just be friends. It was too messy, too complicated, too wrong for them to continue

Only, she wasn’t out of his system at all. If anything, she was deeper under his skin than ever.

It was two thirty and the place had slowed down as it normally did until the dinner rush. Typically, one of the servers went home for a few hours, pulling a split shift, only to return later for the dinner hour. Today was Renée’s turn to disappear for a bit.

“You did well for you first shift,” she said to Logan, stashing her apron and grabbing her purse. “This wasn’t your first rodeo as a bartender, was it?”

Logan smiled big and wide. “No. I used to bartend at a night club back in Boston.”

Her cheeks colored up in a cute way. “Cool. Well … I guess I’ll see you later, Logan from Boston.”

If Logan had a tail, it would have been wagging. “See you later, Renée from …”

“Spokane,” she said, rivaling his big smile with an enormous one of her own as she backed away to the front door, all googly eyed.

“She’s cute,” Logan said, once Renée was gone. “What’s her deal?”

Dom shrugged. “No idea. She had a boyfriend a few weeks ago, but I haven’t heard her mention him in a while.”

“They broke up,” Jillian said, coming to stand in front of the POS machine.

Dom grunted.

“You know who you remind me of?” Jillian asked, addressing Dom. “Besides not having a British accent, you sound—and act—a lot like Roy Kent from Ted Lasso . The growling, the grunting, the husky voice. And the overall grumpy attitude.”

Logan nodded, his smile wide and goofy. “Oh my god. A hundred percent. You are the American version of Roy Kent.”

Dom had watched Ted Lasso and wasn’t inclined to agree. He growled and glared at the two young people, which only made them both chuckle.

He was about to roll his eyes when an idea popped into his head.

He didn’t want to wait until four o’clock to see Chloe. And although he knew they were trying to just be friends, maybe he needed to make a solid effort at being her friend. And friends helped each other, right? They had each other’s backs.

“You two okay here if I duck out for like an hour?” he asked. “I need to run a quick errand.”

Logan shrugged. “I think so. It’s pretty quiet.”

Jillian nodded and took sip of water from her glass with ice and lemon. “Totally. Go do what you need to do.”

Dom thanked them, then was through the swinging door and booking it to the back door of the kitchen, ignoring Wyatt’s probing gaze. The rain had stopped, but a heavy, damp mist hung in the air and the trees dripped as he speed-walked down the grassy path to Chloe’s cabin. Her car was parked in front of Cabin Four. Hopefully, that meant she was home.

He knocked quickly on the door before his nerves and rationale got the better of him.

Shuffling sounds echoed on the other side and a moment later it opened. Her eyes were more green than blue under the gray sky, and she cocked her head to the side. She’s also changed out of her yoga pants into jeans and her dark red hair hung in gentle waves over her shoulders.

“Have you gone to speak with Hawke yet?” he blurted out.

Her eyes widened. “No. Not yet.”

He jerked his head. “Come on. I’ll go with you.”

“You don’t have to do that. I’m completely capable of—”

“Friends help friends. And we’re friends, right?”

Also, he really just wanted to spend more time with her. Be around her.

“You really think we can just be friends?” Her lips twisted playfully, and all he could think about was those lips forming an “O” and wrapping around his cock.

“We have to at least try.” He shrugged, but his cock was already getting thick in his jeans, and if she didn’t close the door, he was going to shove her inside and bury his face between her thighs.

She hummed for a moment, considering it. Finally, she nodded and sighed, reaching for her purse on the couch, then following him off the porch. “I can drive.”

He didn’t care if they flew on the back of a giant seagull, he just wanted to be near her. The pull he had to this woman was driving him insane, and like a fool, he was choosing to feed his addiction, rather than kick it.

They slid into the seats of her little sedan, and she hit the start button.

The ride across the island to the hostel was quiet, but you could have cut the sexual tension with a freaking knife. His cock was also fully hard and ready to fuck by the time they reached the hostel.

They didn’t even have to go inside to find Hawke. The poor guy—who looked properly frazzled—was outside sweeping the pine needles and leaves off the porch with a straw broom.

When he saw that it was Chloe, regret instantly filled his amber eyes.

Dom and Chloe stepped out of the car.

“I was hoping you’d come by,” Hawke said, raking his meaty fingers through his short, brown hair. “I’m so fucking sorry, Chloe.”

Dom and Chloe approached the linebacker-sized firefighter, and Hawke leaned the broom against the black, metal railing up to the front door of the hostel. “So you know then?” Dom asked.

Hawke exhaled and nodded, dropping his gaze to the ground as he took the four steps down from the porch to the gravel driveway. “Whole fucking island is talking about it.” Then he lifted his eyes back to Chloe. “I fired Joey. And I booted that twat out. Escorted him to the ferry myself and told him not to come back to the island.”

Dom’s eyes widened.

“Yeah. Apparently, he’d been harassing some of the female guests anyway. Was not taking no for an answer and joking about taking advantage of them while they slept. Thought he was Casa-fucking-nova, and hilarious.”

Dom clenched his teeth. Thank fuck, that dick cheese hadn’t tried anything with Chloe. Dom would have done more than just escort him to the ferry, that was for sure. “What about Joey?”

Hawke frowned. “Unfortunately, he’s Abe Jefferies’ grandson so I can’t exactly tell him to take a hike off the island when he lives here. He wasn’t happy though. Played the part of apologetic at first, then turned a little nasty. Saying he couldn’t treat an Island Elder like this.” Hawke scoffed. “He’s not a fucking ‘elder.’”

Well, that was a shock and fucking half. “He’s Abe’s grandson?” Dom asked. “Abe must be beside himself with shame.”

Abe Jefferies was one of the Island Elders. He was a kind old man whose moral compass always pointed due north. To know that his grandson had done something so slimy had to be messing with Abe something fierce.

“Yeah, I haven’t heard how Abe’s dealing with things. But Joey showed his true colors when I told him there was no such thing as three strikes when it came to something like this. And the guy that showered in your room—”

“I believe his name was Orrin,” Chloe said with zero inflection to her tone.

Hawke nodded. “Right. Orrin. He still had absolutely no remorse for what he’d done. He argued, and blamed Joey, blamed you. He took zero responsibility. And while, yes, the majority of the blame falls on Joey, Orrin never should have asked. And never should have gone into your room.”

“Was he working on the island or just traveling?” Dom asked. He still didn’t trust his Spidey sense, but something about this Orrin guy and his inability to take accountability said they hadn’t seen the last of him.

“Working,” Hawke replied. “Now that the Reilly boys have gone back to school on the mainland, Willy hired Orrin to help on the crab boat.”

“So, now Willy’s out an employee?” Chloe asked. “How is that going to impact his business?”

“Willy will be fine,” Dom said quickly. As much as he liked Willy Reilly, his main concern was making sure Chloe felt safe and understood.

Dom knew Hawke would do right by Chloe, but he also knew that Chloe needed to come back and get an in-person apology from Hawke. She deserved that.

“I want to refund your stay,” Hawke said to her. “I … I know it won’t make up for what happened, but I honestly just feel terrible.”

Chloe waved her hand in dismissal. “It’s fine. Besides last night, I felt very safe here. Everything was clean and in good condition. I’ve slept in some pretty gnarly hostels and this is by far the nicest. But your offer goes a long way.”

Hawke’s smile was grim. He bore the weight of this chaos, and surely his business was going to suffer because of it. “A lot of people checked out this morning. And the reviews online aren’t great. We’re taking a pretty big hit because of this.” Color infused his cheeks beneath his dark stubble, and he clenched his fists. “I’d love to comp your stay, or invite you back for free though.”

“I’ve got one of the cabins on Dom’s property now,” she said, regret in her tone. “It’s a stone’s throw from work and they’re charging me the same as my monthly rate here. So … I’m sorry.”

Hawke’s big head bobbed. “I get it. It makes sense.”

“What can I do? To help?” Chloe asked. “I’ll go on and leave a good review to hopefully combat the bad ones. I can even say that it was me and how lovely my stay was. That we can’t punish a business for one awful employee.”

Hawke’s bulky shoulders rounded. “I’d appreciate that. Not sure how much weight it will carry, but I appreciate it.”

“The fall and winter are always slower anyway,” Dom said, hoping to lighten the mood. “We’re feeling it at the pub too. I’m sure things will pick up here again in the spring.”

Hawke didn’t seem so convinced. “I dunno. Even during the off-season, the hostel is usually pretty booked. The campsite, not so much, of course. But cyclists, hikers, backpackers, come year-round. Not to mention, young workers like Orrin. I’m worried how this is going to affect business. We were already struggling after what happened to Ginny.”

“I don’t understand how people think its okay to post reviews about something that didn’t even happen to them.” Chloe growled.

“That’s the beauty and curse of free speech,” Hawke said with a sigh. “And in the meantime, I’m stuck with no front desk employee now. So if there’s an emergency call, I won’t be able to go out with the rest of the island volunteer first responders.”

Dom empathized with Hawke. Not only was he now shorthanded, but his ability to trust his intuition about who to hire was probably incinerated. Chances were good that Hawke was possibly rethinking a lot of his past choices regarding employees and the hostel. Dom certainly did so, and continued to, after what happened with Nadine.

He wanted to offer words of encouragement, but everything that came to mind felt hollow and ingenuine.

Chloe stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the big lug. “I’m really sorry, Hawke. All of this just sucks. I have no words of encouragement either. I just … I hope it gets better and you find a trustworthy new front desk person soon.”

Fuck, she was perfect. She knew exactly what to say that sounded heartfelt without being flowery or fake. Dom would be lying if he said a green zap of jealousy didn’t stab him at the base of his spine as he watched Hawke wrap his guns-for-arms around Chloe for a brief moment.

The two of them broke their embrace and Hawke smiled at her. “I definitely don’t need your apology, Chloe. But I appreciate it.”

“Come by the pub tonight and I’ll make you a Caesar,” she said.

His smile was small and stuck to the bottom half of his face. “Wish I could. But I’m the only man for the desk right now.”

Dom should not have been as relieved as he was.

Damn, he had it bad for Chloe.

This was not good.

“Right.” Chloe frowned. “Maybe I could help out on the front desk until you find somebody else?”

Dom’s head nearly flew off his neck he faced her so fast. “But you work at the pub.”

She lifted one slender shoulder that he wanted to bite again. “Yeah. But I’m the night shift so you can be with Silas. My days are pretty free—and boring.” She focused on Hawke. “It wouldn’t be forever. Just so that you’re not stuck here all the time. I don’t want to give up my eight o’clock yoga class. But I could come after that. Like nine thirty, or ten to three? And then I have two days off so I could work longer, or the night shift then if you needed.”

An angry heat filled Dom’s body. “I don’t like the idea of you being here all alone. What if another guest like that Orrin douche tries something with you?”

The look both Chloe and Hawke gave him had him getting even warmer, this time from embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, Dom, but you’re my friend and my employer. You do not have a say in what I do with my time—particularly the time I spend outside of my work at the pub.” She rose her brows at him, challenging him to double down.

He clenched his molars and wanted to clench his fists, but they’d notice that. So all he could do was a curt nod. “Right. My apologies.” Then he focused on Hawke. “I am her friend . And I’m raising concerns as Chloe’s friend, asking what you plan to do to ensure that she would be safe here alone.”

“You keep saying ‘friend’ weird. Why?” Hawke asked, tilting his head to the side like a curious bear.

Dom went to open his mouth, unsure what was actually going to come out, but Chloe answered for him. “Because up until recently, he didn’t like me. But we’ve found some common ground and have decided to bury the hatchet. I guess calling me a ‘friend’, and not ‘her’ or ‘my nemesis’ just feels weird on his tongue.” She glanced at Dom, smirking playfully. “Right?”

Dom grunted. “I never called you my nemesis.”

“Yeah, but you were probably thinking it,” she teased. Then returned her attention to Hawke. “What do you say? Am I hired?”

Hawk raked his thick fingers through his brown hair, then over his face to scratch at his stubble. “You’re something else, Chloe Voss. I owe you an apology and a refund, and you’re offering to help me out.” He craned his neck around a little as if attempting to look behind her. “You got angel wings tucked under your coat or something?”

Her chuckle was all kinds of sexy and raspy. Even Hawke had a visceral reaction to the sound and his nostrils flared a little. “I know it wasn’t your fault. We’ve all been duped by people, and it’s not a good feeling. I’ll do my best to ensure the safety and comfort of the guests. I promise. I’ll even do like a social media reel, or video, or whatever telling people that I’m the woman whose bathroom was used, and yet, I’m back at the hostel.”

Even though all of this made unease whip into a nasty, bile-flavored froth inside Dom’s gut, he wasn’t going to say anything. He also did not like the idea of Chloe and Hawke working so closely with each other. No, Dom had no claim to her—but also, he kind of did.

Chloe held out her hand. “Do we have a deal? I’ll help out until you find someone more permanent to take over?”

It was impossible not to feel Hawke’s relief and appreciation as he took Chloe’s hand, but then hauled her into a big bear hug. The man was nearly as big as a fucking grizzly. “Thank you, Chloe. I really, really appreciate it.”

Her giggle was feminine and sweet, and it instantly made Dom jealous that he wasn’t the one to make her make that sound. But he did get slightly lost in the wrinkles of her cheeks, her smile was so big and bright. Not to mention that sexy twinkle in her blue-green eyes, which seemed more blue now.

She made a pretend noise of stress, like he was a boa constrictor squeezing her to death. So he released her quickly. “Sorry. Sometimes I get carried away.”

Another girlie giggle. And this time it made Hawke grin and his amber eyes glimmer.

“I work at four today. So how about I come by tomorrow after yoga?”

He nodded. “That sounds perfect. I’ll have the employment contract all ready for you to sign.”

Dom was screaming on the inside now.

Hawke liked Chloe.

How did he know? Because Dom liked Chloe, and he could tell when another man was interested. The way his gaze slid down her body. The half-a-second longer linger on her chest before smiling wider when he reached her face. The flare of his nostrils, his pupils dilating, the puffing up of his chest, and the free and easy smile he gave her. Not to mention that extra-long hug.

Who hugged that long?

Not platonic friends, that was for sure.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Chloe said, all smiles as she and Dom turned to go.

Hawke tossed a wink her way. “You sure will.”

They climbed back into Chloe’s car and waved at Hawke as she drove away. “Well, that went well,” she said, pulling back onto the main road. “I wasn’t expecting to get a job when I went there. But I could see how terrible he felt about everything.”

Dom grunted.

She turned to face him for a moment, before focusing back on the road. “What was that for?”

“What was what?”

“That grunt. It was dismissive. And if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were disgruntled about something.”

“I’m not disgruntled.”

“Well, you’re sure as hell not gruntled. What’s up your ass?”

He focused on the road. “Nothing. And gruntled’s not even a word.”

“Oh, it sure is. And you’re not it. Are you pissed off I offered to work at the hostel to help out Hawke?”

“Not allowed to be pissed off. We’re friends, and I’m your employer. I don’t get to have an opinion.”

She shook her head swiftly. “No, you sure as hell don’t. But you do anyway. So, besides my safety, what’s got a beetle up your butt?”

“There are no insects in my ass, thank you. And never mind.”

Abruptly pulling over to the barely-there shoulder, she put the car in park and spun to face him. “We’re not going back until you tell me.”

Gnashing his molars together, he stared straight ahead out the window, creating a tune in his head to the beat of the windshield wipers. It was something he’d done since he was a kid. Often, he’d put words to the song too. “He likes you.”

“Who? Hawke?”

“Who else?”

“So?”

“So?” He faced her. “You’re going to be working awfully close with him.”

“Again, so?”

“So …?”

She took a slow, deep breath through her nose and put her fingers to her temples. “I don’t speak grumpy ogre. Just fucking tell me, Dom.”

“So, what if something happens between you two?”

Her eyes flew open wide. “Oh!”

“Yeah. Oh!”

“Don’t get all snippy with me. I just asked a question. And furthermore, Hawke will be my boss. And you know how I feel about getting involved with my boss.”

The snort that erupted out of Dom’s nose was impolite and immediately made Chloe’s face get red with rage.

“What the hell was that supposed to mean? You don’t believe me? Look, just because we’ve slipped … two … three times, doesn’t mean I’ll slip with everyone. We’ve already agreed that it will never happen again. And this time I intend to uphold that agreement. We’ve gotten it out of our systems for good. Now we’re friends .”

God, he really hated the way they said that word.

“And just for a bit of reassurance, that I absolutely do not fucking owe you, I’m not interested in Hawke that way. He’s not my type. He’s nice. He’s cute. But he’s not … he’s just not my type.”

What was her type?

Was Dom her type? Or was she going outside of her norm with him too?

Her expression softened and she rested her hand on his arm for a moment. “I simply want to help Hawke. That’s it. Nothing will happen between us. And I will be safe there. I’ll even get some bear spray or something if it will make you feel better.” Then she smiled and it literally made the interior of the car brighter. “I appreciate you concern for my safety.” That smile turned a little cheeky. “And if I’m being honest, the jealousy was cute too.” Her hand left his arm, leaving a cool void where her warmth once resided. “Are we good?”

No, they weren’t fucking good.

All he wanted to do right then and there was grab her by the hair and take her mouth. Tell her that they weren’t “just friends” and if she called him her “friend” one more time, he’d haul her over his knee and teach her a lesson she wouldn’t soon forget.

But she’d made it very clear—despite their slipups—that they were just friends.

That he was her boss and nothing with them was possible—or a good idea.

And his brothers said the same thing.

And deep down, he knew they were all right.

He needed to honor that. Even though his heart, and dick, argued with him until he was damn near deaf.

So all he did was nod. “Sure. We’re good.” A big, spikey ball hung at the back of his throat, making it difficult to swallow. “Sorry for—”

“It’s all good.” She faced the road again and put the car back into drive. “No need to rehash. Let’s get you back before the dinner rush, hmm?”

With a nod and a grunt, he shifted in his seat to face the road again and the silence that followed bothered him.

He sat there with his chest caving in, the ache growing more intense. He couldn’t just be friends with Chloe. Because eventually, she’d find somebody else, and seeing them together would destroy him. But he also knew why she refused to be anything more. He was her boss and that made the power dynamic really blurry.

Maybe he could ask Hawke to hire her full-time. Then he could fire Chloe and they could be together?

A thousand ideas, and every one of them bad, zipped through his brain until they reached the property again and she pulled up in front of her cabin. “Thanks for coming with me to see Hawke. I appreciate it.”

He nodded. “No problem.”

They sat there in the car, neither of them speaking.

Then he did something stupid and he reached for her hand, sliding his fingers in between hers.

Their gazes locked and her smile was sad. Then she gave his fingers a squeeze and let go. “Better get back to work. Otherwise, the boss will yell at you.” She opened up her door and stepped out. And she didn’t wait around for him to get out either. She practically ran to the front door of the cabin and let herself in.

Like a fool, he sat there in her car for several long, agonizing heartbeats.

He wanted Chloe Voss more than anything, and yet, the only solution he could see to getting her, was to fire her. Which could ultimately cause him to lose her anyway.

There was no good answer here. So rather than stay in her passenger seat like a weirdo, he got out and headed up to the house. Silas would be home from school now. And seeing his kid always cheered up Dom. At least the smile he wore on his face would be real for a little while today—that is, until he saw Chloe again when she started her shift.