Was it possible he was growing up? That thought made Nick smile. According to his mother and favorite uncle, Sherman, he sure as hell needed to. Maybe he’d keep these newfound thoughts to himself so he wouldn’t have to deal with their smug looks. Still, he was acknowledging his own faults. A few months ago, he’d had no faults―at least according to himself.

His coat on, he waited for Chloe to enter the room. When she did, she eyed him with suspicion before moving to the coffeepot and pouring herself a cup.

“Are you planning on skipping out on therapy?” she asked.

“Yep,” he told her with a grin.

“My time is valuable, Nick. If you don’t want my help . . .” She trailed off as she shrugged.

“I have to tell you I love it when you get that little scowl on your brow and your lips pucker. It’s adorable,” he said. That made the scowl deepen.

“I’m not trying to be adorable,” she said, the word sounding like a curse. “I’m trying to do a job.”

“Well, we’re taking the day off. I want to go down to the base.”

“Base? What base?” she asked. The scowl disappeared.

“My Coast Guard base,” he said. He reached for his truck keys.

“Why?”

“Because it’s my second home, and I miss it,” he said simply. “Now hurry and finish up with your breakfast so we can go.”

“I didn’t offer to go with you,” she pointed out.

“But you’re my doc, and you have to ensure I get there safely or you’ll be responsible for a delay in my recovery,” he said, not afraid to use emotional blackmail to get her to do what he wanted.

“That’s low, Nick,” she told him with an eye roll. “And a lot of BS.”

He laughed. “Okay, let’s just say I want your company,” he admitted.

“Maybe I don’t want yours,” she told him, not looking him in the eyes.

“Come on,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m a hell of a great guy to be around.”

Her lips tilted up before she covered them with the cup of coffee. He had won this little battle. He could see it.

“Fine. I’ll come with you, but only because I don’t want you behind the wheel of a vehicle right now.”

“Good enough for me,” he told her. He then had to wait impatiently while she slowly ate her bagel and then went to change out of her scrubs. He was almost sad to see them go. The doc looked damn good in them.

He changed his mind when she met him by the front door, wearing a pair of tight jeans and a fitted blouse. She was so naturally beautiful she didn’t even need makeup, though she wore a minimal amount. How had Nick ever thought the window dressing was the most important thing about a woman? Maybe it was because he hadn’t yet met Chloe.

They slowly moved from his house, Nick taking his time to get down the stairs. He wasn’t ruining his outing by slipping and falling. Then he wouldn’t be going anywhere but bed. Of course, if Chloe were in it with him, that would be a much more fun afternoon.

When they made it to his truck, she stopped in her tracks and turned to shoot him a disbelieving glance. He smiled at her before looking at the old Ford truck.

“You don’t actually think I’m driving that thing, do you?” she said.

“Of course I do. She’s a classic,” he defended as he reached out and ran his hand over her flawless hood.

“Yeah, a classic for sure,” she said before she took his arm and began leading him away from his beloved truck to her small car. He was now the one to pause.

“Seriously?” he questioned. “You want me to turn myself into a pretzel trying to get into this thing?”

“This is a perfectly nice Volkswagen Jetta. It saves the environment and doesn’t pollute the air with a loud engine or emissions,” she pointed out.

“And it’s a death trap on wheels. Hell, if a bicyclist hits us in this thing, we’re done for,” he told her.

“I happen to know it’s one of the safest compact cars on the market,” she countered.

“There’s a lot of things I do for women, but this has to take the cake,” he muttered as he moved to the passenger side of the car and opened up the matchbox-size door. It took him two attempts to bend down far enough to get inside, and then he fell into his seat with absolutely no grace.

Getting out of the thing was going to be even more of a problem. He was almost sweating as he adjusted himself and reached for the seat belt. He turned in time to see Chloe trying to hide a chuckle.

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed how much you’re enjoying my misery,” he told her.

She turned his way and gave him a brilliant smile that took his breath away. Damn, if he had known he was going to get that sort of reaction from her, he would have made an even bigger fool of himself. It was well worth it.

“You’re such a baby, Nick,” she said as she chuckled. He grinned back at her, and suddenly the laughter died down.

They were a heck of a lot closer together in her car than they would have been in his truck, which gave him some appreciation for the small vehicle. Nick desperately wanted to lean over and taste her lips. Her breath hitched, and he had a feeling he could get away with it.

But then he had no doubt she would regret it immediately, and their field trip would be over. So with a lot of reluctance, he resisted the urge to pull her across the short space between them. When she licked her lower lip, Nick’s body pulsed, and he cursed the distance she put between them.