Page 13 of Forever with the CEO

“Not at all. This is a good thing.”

“Then why are you talking as if you’re trying to convince yourself?” He gunned the engine, and we started down the road.

“I wasn’t always like this. I was more social. I went out with friends, especially on the weekends. But ever since the twins came to live with me, I’ve had this urge to spend every free moment with them. I feel guilty if I don’t.”

“Tonight, you’re not allowed to feel guilty.” Stopping at the traffic light, he took my hand and looked me straight in the eyes.

That simmer intensified, and I had no idea how to stop it.

“You think I need your permission for that?”

“Hell yes. I’ll make you a deal.”

“Huh?”

“Every time I see you drift off, I’ll assume it’s because you’re feeling guilty. So then I’ll do something outrageous to take your mind off it.”

I cleared my throat. “You wouldn’t.”

He grinned. “I would. You don’t know me too well, Allison. Jim never told you some of our stories?”

My smile fell.

He shook his head. “Sorry. We won’t speak about Jim and Nora.”

“It feels wrong to say that,” I whispered. They’d passed away three months ago, and all I wanted was to talk about them—even though it saddened me.

Nick hesitated. “It’s not, though. We both cared about them a lot. Avoiding a topic that brings up difficult feelings isn’t wrong. Let’s just try, okay?”

I was wondering if he was doing this for his benefit as much as mine, but he did have a point. Besides, we were going out to have fun.

I nodded. “All right. Let’s jump back to what you said before. Can you define outrageous?”

“You’ll know it when you see it,” he assured me, and then he concentrated on the road again. “We’re having a barbecue along the waterfront.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea. The weather is so nice. I didn’t want to be cooped up inside.”

“I figured you wouldn’t.”

“How?” I asked.

“Because when I drop by on weekends, you’re always soaking up every bit of sun you can.”

“I’m an outdoorsy person. I like to bike. I used to do that as my workout every morning.”

“You go to the gym?”

“Why? Are you trying to sell me a membership at one of yours?”

He gave me a cheeky smile. “They are the best in the country.”

“So I’ve heard. Shame I’ve never been inside one of them.”

“It’s never too late. Let me know when you’d like to go.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, but I immediately realized it wouldn’t be doable. There was no way I could add a trip to the gym to my schedule, no matter how close to my office or house it was. I decided to share this with him so he didn’t think I was rude when I didn’t follow up. “I don’t think I’ll have time, though. Right now I’m doing a workout three times a week at home. It’s very efficient.”

“I get it,” Nick said. “No worries.”

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