“You have quite the collection.” He played with the dark red gemstone lying on her chest and traced hearts on her skin with it.

“It’s the gemstone for January.”

“Mmm,” he murmured, watching the gold chain hit the light of the morning sun.

She shifted onto her elbows, and the necklace fell from his fingers and settled back between her cleavage. “I should get up and shower. Edward will be here in thirty minutes.”

“How’s everything at the ranch coming along?”

She stood before him completely nude, and he made no attempt to hide his appreciation of her fine figure.

“Starting on the bedrooms today. Which one was yours?” she asked huskily as her eyes washed over the full-frontal view he was providing.

“The one next to the office that overlooks the barn,” he responded, clasping his hands together behind his head.

“Any trace of your childhood left in there?”

The question was innocent enough and reasonable, but it caught him off guard and made him fight to push down the nostalgia that nearly two decades couldn’t erase. “I don’t know. I haven’t been in that room in over eighteen years.”

“Seriously? You never went back for Christmas or summer vacation?”

“No. My mother visited me when she came to the city. What about you? Is there a pink explosion room in Chicago with dolls and horse figurines scattered about?”

A girlish smile transformed her face. “Close. It’s purple not pink, and no dolls or horse figurines.” She bit her lip, and he knew she was considering telling him more.

“I thought all little girls collected dolls or horse figurines.”

“Dogs.”

“You had dogs? Real dogs?”

She shook her head. “No. I desperately wanted a real dog, but we lived in the city and my father traveled too much for it to be practical.”

He tried to picture her with a dog, a small teacup one in her purse or a well-groomed poodle, but he couldn’t. “What kind?”

“A golden retriever or a lab, maybe—something big and playful.”

“We had labs at the farm. They’re good dogs and very spirited.”

She sighed and turned away from him, pulling clothes from her closet and taking them with her to the bathroom. She left the door open, which was the only invitation he needed.

“Ah.” The water seared his skin as he stepped into the shower. Her hair was piled high on her head as she massaged her scalp, causing the shampoo to suds up into a thick foam.

“Let me.” Moving in behind her, he ran his fingers through the soapy mixture, and she leaned her head back. Little moans escaped her lips, and he had to remind himself—and his dick—that they didn’t have time to get too excited this morning.

“I could get use to this.”

“Me, too. Although, perhaps next time we can stay at my apartment. I’m going to smell like fruit and flowers all day.” His words sounded like a complaint, but in reality, not only did he love the idea of smelling like her throughout the day, but he was certain he’d be rock hard for as long as the smell lingered.

* * *

Poised at the whiteboard, Tina dictated as they brainstormed.

“Who can we get that’s already connected in the farming market?” she asked, holding the dry erase marker below her chin. “Dan is the best there is, but I don’t know how open he’ll be to hearing from you after you told him to go fuck himself on the merger.”

“I didn’t really tell him to go fuck himself,” Brecken chuckled. “But he’s not going to be on board unless we can show that we have all the other pieces. We still need someone with more connections.”

He ran a hand over his chin. His brain had turned to mush. “Let’s break for lunch. I’ll give Martin a call—he knows everyone, maybe he has a lead for us.”

Tina placed the cap on the marker and tossed it on the table. “All right. I’m going to head out to the ranch and check in.”

“No need. I’m heading out there later, so I’ll make sure everything is running smoothly.”

Tina raised her eyebrows and smirked but didn’t say anything as she left the room.

He’d barely had time to let out a deep breath and enjoy the silence of his empty office when Nadia appeared in the doorway. She closed the door behind her and moved toward to his desk with a flirty sway in her hips.

“Nadia,” he said curtly, turning his attention to his computer.

“What time are you picking me up tonight?”

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t tell me you forgot,” she said, sticking her bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout. “It’s the opening for A La Mode.”

In the past, he’d let Nadia dictate their social outings. She shuffled through the many invitations that came in, picked her favorites, and they’d attended together.

“I completely forgot about the gallery opening. I’m afraid I won’t be able to make it.”

“Well, that’s okay,” she said, her tone saying she wasn’t going to be easily deterred. “I can order us dinner in. A quiet night with just the two of us sounds divine.”

Christ. She wasn’t going to make this easy. “I’m sorry, Nadia. I can’t have dinner with you. I have a date.” It was only partly true. He and January hadn’t made plans, but they’d been spending every night together so it was a fair assumption that he’d see her tonight.

“Perhaps a quiet night with the three of us then,” she said, and his stomach jumped to his throat.

“No.” He gave her his full attention now.

Her eyes narrowed for a second before the sultry look returned to her face. “Is this about that frumpy brunette you’ve been seeing?”

“Careful, Nadia,” he warned, wanting nothing more than to remind her that she had agreed to the boundaries of their arrangement and was currently close to crossing them.

He stood and gave her an indifferent glance. “I appreciate that you’ve accompanied me in the past, but I think it’s best if I find my own plus one from now on. I’m going to lunch.”

Grabbing his coat, he left her standing in his office and hoped like hell she didn’t make this harder than it needed to be.