“About us?” She gave him an impish grin and wiggled her eyebrows. “That we’re beingintimate? Enjoying each other’s company?” She lowered her voice. “Doing the deed?”
“Stop it.”
She laughed. “Sorry. You had me worried for a second.” She didn’t elaborate, but given what she’d told him about her fears of rejection, he had an idea of what had concerned her. “Why would we?”
“Because Roger’s our boss?”
“So?”
“Shouldn’t he know?”
“That we’re having sex?” She made a face. “Ew, no.”
His heart plummeted. Was this all it was to her? Having sex? No wonder she didn’t want to say anything.
Valerie picked up on his change of mood. “What is it?”
Ah, fuck it.As the classic tattoo said, “No regrets.” Roger was living with enough for all of them. “What if it’s more than sex?”
Her eyes became wide, but then she smiled. “Whatever it turns into, it’s none of Roger’s business. He’s your boss but that doesn’t give him an all-access pass to our lives.”
Whatever it turns into. That wasn’t as positive as he’d hoped, but if he had to flowchart the steps of a relationship, it was better than following an arrow pointing to no. He’d take it.
Valerie’s forehead wrinkled. “A good rule is for us to act the same way we would if this was a job. Badger Las Vegas is our office. The Badgertons are our coworkers. We wouldn’t be physical in front of people if we were working at a bank.”
He felt an intense relief to have her describe it so simply. “That makes sense.”
“Thank you.” She gave him an exaggerated up-and-down look. “After hours, though, all bets are off. Oh, hi, Roger!”
Roger was coming down the dock, looking at his phone. “Hey,” he called. “What a magnificent day! It really cleared up. Valerie, want to go kayaking?”
As Valerie and Roger talked about the finer details of paddle crafts, Nico slipped away. He had some special plans to check on for tomorrow.
Twenty-Six
Valerie was sleeping when Nico slipped out of bed to confirm Mother Nature had done her job with the weather. She had, and it was going to be a perfect day for Valerie’s thirtieth birthday.
He left a note for Valerie to meet him at the dock when she was ready and went to triple-check his schedule. He paused, looking at what he had planned to cap off the day. Was it a good idea? Roger thought so. He’d been thrilled to help, but Nico knew Penny might not be pleased.
Whatever. Let them all know how he felt about Valerie. He was probably doing a poor job of hiding it anyway. As Valerie said, it was hard to disguise when feelings were involved. He’d found himself trying to shoehorn her name into conversations more than once.
Ever since Valerie had mentioned her birthday, Nico had made it his mission to plan the best day possible for her. He fidgeted with the flowers and the thermos of coffee. Would she like it? What if he judged it all wrong and she, like him, preferred to spend her birthday alone? Caught in a sudden agony of indecision, he called Kimmy.
“Do you like it when people make a fuss over your birthday?” he demanded.
She yawned. “Did you wake me up for this? I had the day off.”
“Do you?”
“You’ve known me for over thirty years. Shouldn’t you know?”
“Kimmy.”
“Oh.” She sounded more alert. “Hold on. You’re asking for a reason.”
Shit, he was caught. “Let me rephrase. If someone planned a nice surprise for your birthday, would you like it?”
“Nico, women aren’t a monolith. I might. She might not.” She paused. “Who’s the new girlfriend?”
