Page 116 of Playing Mr. Perfect

“I have no idea, but I’ll miss him when he leaves. I miss him when he’s gone for a few hours. We have so much fun when we’re together. Do you know what he got me to do the other morning after watching the sunrise?”

“Knowing you two, you had wild sex.”

“Well, yes, but that was after he convinced me to go running with him. Running, Ravi. I don’t run, and that wasn’t the worst part. We did a polar plunge in the lake.” I whisper, “Naked!”

He barks out a laugh. “Are you kidding? In the park?”

“Yes! Can you believe it? Me. Naked in the park! He makes me so reckless, and I don’t even regret it.”

He laughs. “I knew I liked him for you.”

“It’s crazy. Running? Skinny-dipping? I swear, when we’re together, I don’t recognize myself.” I debate not saying more, but it comes out in a hushed voice. “But I kind of do, you know?”

“Of course you do. It’s the old you. The one you tried to bury after the accident. I told you when you got back from Paris and I saw how you’d changed in a weekend, I knew he was someone who could make a difference in your life. Hell, who could breathe your love of life back into you. I’m so glad you didn’t shut him out when he showed up at the office that first time.”

“Me too. We’re going to Oak Falls for the Valentine’s Day Festival next weekend. I’m a little nervous about it.”

“Why? Everyone knows about you and Clay, and he already knows your family.”

“That’s why. You know how my sisters are. Now that everyone knows, nothing is off-limits. Brindle is going to ask embarrassing questions, and Sable is going to be overprotective. I haven’t been with a guy in front of my family since…you,” I say with surprise.

“Well, don’t expect them to like him as much as they like me. I mean, I’m me.”

“You’ve been hanging around Clay too much,” I tease. “I’m not worried about them liking him. They already like him. What if they go overboard and scare him off?”

He gives me a serious once-over. “I’ll be there if you need backup, but you must really be falling for him to worry about that.”

“Shh,” I say softly. “We’re not talking about that.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s scary,” I whisper.

“You survived being called his flavor of the week very publicly. Nothing is scarier than that.”

That’s what I tell myself, but when I think about not being with Clay, my chest hurts.

We make good time on the way back to Charlottesville, and when we get up to the office, there are two men on ladders hanging up a gorgeous black and gold SynTech sign on the wall behind the reception desk. “Excuse me.”

The men look over their shoulders at me with questions in their eyes.

“Hi. Can you tell me who ordered that sign?”

The older of the two men says, “Um…Dr. Montgomery, I believe.” He looks at the other man, who nods in confirmation and adds, “A guy named Chris signed off on it when we got here.”

“Okay, thank you.” As they go back to hanging the sign, I look at Ravi, and he’s grinning like the cat who ate the canary. “Did you know about this?”

He stifles a grin.

“Oh my God. You did. This was Clay’s doing, wasn’t it?”

He shrugs, splaying his hands.

“Ravi,” I say with amusement. “Now you’re loyal to him before me?”

“When it comes to surprising you, I am.”

I cross my arms, but I can’t hide my smile. “I don’t know if I like you two in cahoots behind my back.”