“So if I wish hard enough, Ian Somerhalder will be on my doorstep with roses?” Chloe said with a dramatic sigh.

“If you wish it, he will come,” Dakota told her with a waggle of her brows.

“Oh, Dakota, my dreams are finally coming true,” Chloe said, her laughter becoming more real by the minute.

“Thatta girl.” Dakota did a little dance around her, and Chloe rolled her eyes.

“I just need to breathe in and breathe out, and it really is going to get better. I told myself I would never be kicked again, and this has felt like I was kicked in the gut. That’s why it’s been so hard. But I truly am feeling better just having you here with me,” Chloe assured her.

“Maybe we should just talk about my lack of a love life, and then we can both feel sorry for me,” Dakota suggested.

“It really is sad for the rest of us normal folk that you haven’t managed to settle down,” Chloe said with a frown. “If a goddess such as yourself can’t manage to find a man, I’m a hopeless case.”

That was something Chloe had never really thought about before. Dakota was beautiful inside and out with her stunning dark hair, bright green eyes, and pixie-like frame. She was a dancer for the Seahawks on top of everything else she did. How in the world was she single?

“I’m alone by choice,” Dakota assured her. “Why would I settle down with a frog when the right toad is out there?”

Chloe laughed. “It’s a prince, you dork. You kiss the frogs to make them a prince.”

“Oh, whatever,” Dakota said with a wave of her hand. “Same thing.”

“I love the fact that you just don’t care. I am vowing from here on out to be just like you,” Chloe said with conviction ringing in her voice.

“Oh, honey, if you want to be like me, you’re setting yourself up for failure. I’m a mess,” Dakota assured her.

“Then you’re the kind of mess I dream of being,” Chloe insisted.

“I’m erratic, and it’s rare when someone holds my attention. I’m in love with football enough to slide into a slinky little outfit and strut myself on television during freezing cold nights, and since I can lift more weights than the average guy, I sort of intimidate them,” she said with a sigh.

“You can lift more than the football players?” Chloe said with a mocking glance.

“Well, those aren’t the average guys,” Dakota said with a laugh. “And according to the press, we cheerleaders warm their beds nightly, so I would know.”

This made Chloe laugh again. She knew her best friend, and she was anything but the kind of woman she was describing herself to be.

“Need me to kick their asses?” Chloe said, repeating Dakota’s earlier offer.

“Maybe. I’ll let ya know.”

“Take me shopping. I think it’s time to get the heck out of this house,” Chloe said, and Dakota’s eyes lit up. Chloe had said the magic words, ensuring her best friend would stop all talk of love.

“You know the way to my heart, woman,” Dakota told her as she rushed to grab her purse.

Chloe could put on a smile and pretend to be happy. She’d done it for years. In time she knew her best friend was right, knew that she would truly believe it. Until then she was going to fake it ’til she made it.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Nick sipped his brandy as he ran a hand through his hair. Sleep had been a thing he’d once actually enjoyed. Sure, being part of the Coast Guard meant he could wake at a moment’s notice, but since he’d walked away from Chloe, he was lucky to get a couple hours at a time.

His dreams were filled with the woman, and each time he’d wake up reaching for her. He’d been hoping he’d forget her, hoping she would become nothing more than a distant memory. So far that wasn’t happening.

His brothers had called him every kind of fool, but he was stubborn, hadn’t budged, not even when his favorite uncle had looked at him with disgust. His hair was too long, and his temper too short. Life pretty much sucked.

His captain was being an utter ass, still not letting him come back to work. He said that Nick’s physical injuries might be healed, but he certainly wasn’t mentally ready to get back in the chopper. Nick didn’t know what the hell he’d meant. He’d yelled at the captain, and that hadn’t helped his case. He’d been asked to leave until he got it together. His life, in other words, was in shambles.

Taking another drink, he leaned back in his chair. Suddenly, his door was pushed open so hard it slammed against the wall. Jumping to his feet, he got ready to do battle when a wisp of a woman stormed into the room, not even remotely afraid of the hulking man in fight mode. When his vision cleared he saw it was Dakota.

“Dakota?” he questioned. Maybe he was seeing things.

“I have a message for you,” she said, rage practically pouring from her veins.

He was so taken aback by her words, he relaxed his stance and simply gazed at her in shock.

“What in the hell are you doing here?” he asked, this time calmer.

The small woman glared at him before she pushed him. She actually used enough force to knock him back a step before he caught his balance. Nick was slightly impressed even in his irritation over Dakota trying to push him around.

“My best friend is in pain, and it’s all because of you, you . . . you . . . miserable pig,” she sputtered, so angry she was having a difficult time speaking.