Anyone But Nick (Anyone But... #3) - Penelope Bloom Page 0,63

running from it, and it would swallow me up. There was a mysterious allure in the idea of getting absorbed into that wave, but it wasn’t something to take lightly. I needed to be sure. Absolutely sure.

I remembered the texts when I glanced over at my purse. I picked my phone out and checked Iris’s and Kira’s texts first.

Iris: Cade told me everything. OMG!!! I need details. Measurements. The play by play. Gimme Gimme!

I grinned. She was such an idiot sometimes. Most times, actually. I guessed that was what made her and Cade so perfect for each other.

Kira: Iris told me you and Nick “porked”? Does that mean what I think it means? Why am I having to hear about this from Iris and not from you? Call me soon! I don’t care what time it is!!!

I squinted at the phone. I had no idea what porking was, either, but based on Iris’s text, she was assuming I had already slept with Nick.

My finger hovered over the texts from Robbie. Part of me wanted to just hit “Delete Conversation.” Curiosity got the better of me, though, so I opened the text.

Robbie: I’m texting you from my corner office in LA. I got that promotion we were always hoping I’d land. Now the West Coast branch of Lockhart and Taylor is completely in the hands of yours truly. I’ve got a vice president position open and waiting for you. This is way more your speed than whatever you’re doing with that silly dog company. Come to LA. There are other branches. You do a good job and one can be yours, next.

I sighed. I felt a sense of overwhelming relief after reading the first text. If I were still the same person I’d been just a couple of weeks ago, I don’t think I would’ve cared that accepting his offer would mean working under my ex. I would’ve jumped at the chance for a vice president position with opportunities to work toward owning my own branch. That sounded as close to my dream as anything I would’ve imagined. But I felt nothing. No temptation. No draw.

I was happy where I was. I scrolled down to read the second text, which had come about four hours after the first.

Robbie: Ignoring me? That’s cute. I forgot to ask what you thought of Max? Did you wonder why he chose to talk to you, of all people? Or how he knew which flight you’d be getting off of? Just some food for thought as you consider my offer.

What the hell was that supposed to mean? I tossed my phone onto the bed with an annoyed groan.

Then the door to the bathroom opened. I almost expected Nick to come out shirtless and clad only in a towel, but I was relieved to see he was already wearing black pajama bottoms and a tight-fitting gray shirt. Admittedly, it wasn’t a whole lot less sexy than if he’d just come out topless.

“All yours,” he said.

“Thanks,” I stood up and did a goofy side-stepping walk to circle wide around him. I knew I probably smelled horrible after our trek through the woods, and I didn’t want him to notice.

I walked into the bathroom and then popped my head back out of the door. “Uh, hey. I kind of forgot I need a change of clothes.”

“I’ll get them for you. Where’s your key?”

I thought about declining, but the idea of him picking an outfit for me—and picking my underwear—sent a dirty tingle of heat through me. “In my purse. The small inside pocket.”

Nick picked it up and headed out toward my room.

I closed the door and took a look at myself in the mirror. I was a mess. My hair was wild, my makeup had almost all been sweated away, and I had several ugly, irritated spots on my skin from where plants had scratched me. Despite my looking like I’d been given a makeover by a team of half-blind senile squirrels, Nick had still been looking at me like he could barely keep his hands to himself. Then again, after everything he’d seen me go through, from my candy binges to getting sloppy drunk, I was starting to see the truth about Nick.

He didn’t care about my reputation or any of the show I put on for everyone else. Nick cared about me. The real me. Little by little, Nick was helping me see how good it felt to let go of the pressure to be perfect all