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He glanced at her. “Damn straight.”

“You want to make sure you get your money back.”

Was that a wobble in her voice? Avel kept his gaze averted.

“You were worried I wouldn’t repay you.”

“You have a lousy credit history. You admitted to me that you don’t know how to handle money. Of course, I’m going to look after my investment. I keep an eye on what people are doing with my money and get it back if they’re misusing it.”

A strangled sound came out of Holly’s mouth. She whipped her head around and covered her mouth with a hand.

Avel’s gut clenched, and hot anger skimmed through him. He wasn’t angry at Holly but pissed off with himself. He should never have told her she owed him that money. And he only wanted to keep an eye on her to make sure she succeeded. Now, he’d fucked it all up by making her think he was only interested in his investment.

“You don’t have to worry,” Holly said quietly. “You’ll get your money back. I know the first repayment is due tomorrow. I made plenty today, so I won’t miss the deadline.”

Avel gritted his teeth as he stared ahead. “That’s good to know. I don’t get all that friendly with people who are late repaying.”

“I should have known,” Holly muttered.

“Known what?”

“All of this.” She waved a hand around the cockpit. “Your sudden interest in me. The way you keep appearing and checking in on me, making sure things are going well. Do you do that with all of your clients?”

“I do to the high-risk ones.” He should stop talking. He was only making things worse.

“I’m high risk?”

“You said it.”

“I might be a risk, but I’m not a liar.”

“For star’s sake!” Avel spun back to her, grabbed the arm of her chair and yanked it around. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Holly refused to meet his gaze. “Yes, I do. You kept this from me. I bet you knew who I was the first time we met. Did you engineer that meeting in the Enchanted Captain?”

He grabbed her arms. “Of course not.”

“But you figured out who I was pretty quickly.”

Avel let out a slow sigh. “I did. It’s not every day you get a request from someone to start a chocolate making business.”

“You didn’t tell me who you were. Therefore, you lied.”

“I withheld information. It’s different.”

Holly tried to pull free from his grip. “You stuck around because you knew I couldn’t do this. I’m nothing special.”

Avel sucked in a breath. How could Holly not see how incredible she was? She was the real deal, but she had no clue how hot she made him. Even when she was being pissy and cold, he was still into her.

“I was an idiot for thinking you might like me.” Holly’s chin lowered and the fight flowed out of her. Her frame softened in his grip.

“No, you don’t.” Avel shook her gently. “You keep doing this to yourself. It’s bullshit, Holly.”

She glanced up at him, and he could see tears in her eyes. Shit, he’d really messed this up.

Holly lifted her chin. “You’ll get your money back and the interest. You’ll also get a regular supply of treats from me for six months. After that, all debts will be paid off. We’ll be free of each other.”

His jaw clenched, but he nodded. That was the right thing to do. He’d debated what he wanted with Holly and had come to the same conclusion. Business and pleasure should never be mixed. He’d been stomping all over his professional boundaries all because of a fine set of curves and a cute smile.