Page 82 of Faith

Serenity chuckled. “Sure. Pretend like you aren’t dumping me for a guy.”

“It’s daytime.”

“Does that mean you have no feelings during daytime?” Nicola said nothing, so Serenity plowed ahead. “Yesterday you spent all day with him, so don’t tell me that wasn’t during business hours.”

“Stop,” she said, trying to put enough humor in her voice to deflect Serenity. Her friend was in full-blown ranting mode though, and when Serenity got on a tear, there was no way of stopping her. Nicola didn’t have the emotional stability to fight against Serenity’s hopeful comments. Nicola knew that if she bought into the possibility of having more than just an affair, she would end up hurt in the end.

“You know, normally I would be okay with your little arrangement if you didn’t feel anything for him. But you do. You love him, Nic.”

“Serenity—”

“No. Stop it. You act like that’s all beneath you.”

“It’s not that.” It wasn’t. It was that she thought she wasn’t good enough for happily ever after.

“What is it then?”

She sighed. “I don’t know if I’m made for long-term relationships. I had one and it was fucked up beyond all recognition by the time it ended.”

Nicola expected sympathy, what she got was a verbal kick to the head. “Oh, get over yourself, woman. Good God, most of us have regrettable relationships from our teens. What you have with Jensen is special.”

She shook her head. “No, well, maybe for me.”

“For Jensen too. Remember, he was here the other day and I talked to him. He planned all of your birthday before he had arrived. He only asked me about the music and arranged when you would arrive here.”

“Come on.”

“No. He had the whole thing planned. That is not something you do for a friend you’ve had an arrangement with for only a few weeks. That’s a man who is thoroughly smitten.”

Serenity took off her sunglasses and looked at Nicola.

“Don’t you dare act like it’s just another relationship. It isn’t. This isn’t one of the Dom toys you keep around the world. This is Jensen. This is a man you will have to see every day after you leave this island. You went into this knowing that it would be difficult once it was done. But you did it anyway.”

“It is only for our time here. After that, it would be too difficult.”

“For you…or him?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean you keep men at arm’s length. Seriously, I understand. Oliver was a bastard. But this is a chance for something more, and you are going to toss it away like an idiot. You deserve to be happy, Nic. Take a chance on him.”

“And do what? Tell him I want to make this permanent, and I want to have his babies?” she shouted the question, surprising both her and Serenity. “What happens if he says no? How do we go on from there? I will be out of a job because it would be too awkward to continue.”

Serenity’s eyes softened. “I have a feeling he wouldn’t say no.”

Nicola shook her head. “I can’t take that chance. I might love him, but I also love my job.”

“So, you’re ready to go back to just being his personal assistant? And before you answer me, think about what that means. You’ll make sure he has rides to his favorite BDSM clubs, where he will go play with other women. You can do that now?”

Damn. She hadn’t even thought about that.

“I can tell you don’t want to do that. Take a chance on him and you. Youareworth it.”

She sighed. “When did you get so smart?”

“I have this friend who told me the same thing not that long ago. It all ended well for me.”

Nicola smiled. “Okay. I’ll think about it, but right now, I need to get back because I still have a job to do.”