Page 90 of My Temptation

“Okay.” Nick nodded. “Then we need to make a solid plan.”

I glanced at Ethan to see he was watching me. His expression told me everything I needed to know.

He hated this idea.

But he wasn't willing to leave Devil’s Lake without exactly what we came to find.

28

ETHAN

I never doubted Mila’s abilities, but the idea that we’d have Nick outside the door tonight calmed me. I watched them throughout the day while they planned her part in all of this, and they worked effortlessly together. It was obvious they knew each other well and trusted the other’s instincts. Watching them, I once again considered there might be something more between them, but after seeing them together and hearing Nick talk about his fiancée, Maddie, I realized it was all in my mind. They did seem to have a brother-sister relationship, which gave Nick the ability to think rationally about our situation.

I didn’t have that same rationality.

And I was having a really hard time faking it in front of Nick.

He watched us closely while we interacted, and by the time Mila announced she was going to start getting ready, I was convinced he knew something more was going on between us and braced for the conversation I was afraid was coming now that we were alone.

It was after the shower turned on that he finally spoke. “We have a solid plan, one that has potential if all the pieces fall into place exactly where we need them.”

“That’s a big what-if,” I pointed out.

“It is,” he agreed. “She’s trained. She’ll be fine.”

I lifted my head and met his stare. “I know.”

He smiled, almost sympathetically. “Know where your head’s at. I’ve been there. I was in a similar situation with Maddie, and the only thing I could think about was her getting hurt.” When I didn’t answer, he sat in the chair across from me. “When did it happen?”

“When did what happen?” I replied, but I was stalling. I knew exactly what he was talking about.

“When did it stop being about the assignment?” He leaned forward and put his elbows on the small table. “When did you cross the line?”

“Me?” I asked, and he jerked up his chin. “The day she started.”

He snorted out a laugh. “Then why agree to do this job?”

“I guess I wanted to prove I could do it,” I explained. “Brody gave me chances to back out, but I didn’t take them. Maybe I should have.”

“You’re not alone in this,” he replied. “I know Mila pretty well, and I can see that something’s changed for her too. What’s bothering you about it?”

“Our emotions are running high right now,” I replied. “She gets off on the adrenaline. I’m wondering how much of her reaction is because of that.”

“I can understand why you’d think that,” he acknowledged.

“She said nothing ever happened between you two.”

He shook his head. “No, we were never more than coworkers.”

“Why not?”

He shrugged. “We weren’t attracted to each other.” He grinned and ran his hand through his hair. “Plus, I was so fucking hung up on Maddie that I couldn’t see anyone else. Everything I was doing was for the sole purpose of getting back to Maddie. Mila was just a resource to help me get where I needed to go.” He held up his hand. “Don’t get me wrong, I was happy to have her on my side because I trusted her. She’s loyal to a fucking fault, and she covered my ass more times than I could count, but I didn’t see her as more than that. Maddie was it for me. I knew when I met her there would never be anyone else.” He studied me for a minute before asking the question I didn’t want to answer. “Mila that for you?”

“I can’t let her be that for me.” I gave him the most honest answer I could.

“Why not?”

“Our situation isn’t anything like what you had with Maddie,” I explained, not wanting to say too much. Mila didn’t want anyone to know what happened. I was doing my best to respect that, but Nick observed way too much, and I was obviously terrible at faking it.

---