Page 104 of Liar's Point

“So. I wanted to thank you for the arrangement,” Nicole said. “And I also wanted to tell you I’ve been thinking a lot about how things have been going. And I don’t think this is working out.”

“ ‘This’ meaning us.”

She nodded.

He leaned back in his chair and looked at her for a long moment as she tried to read his expression.

“It’s that detective, right?”

She blinked at him. “What?”

“The one at the hospital last night. Emmet.”

“He’s not the issue.”

“No?”

“No.” Guilt needled her. “Well, maybe he’s part of the issue. But the real problem is us. Remember our first date? You told me all about how your life is dominated by work, and you feel like there’s no room for anything else.”

He nodded. “I really want to change that.”

“See, that’s the thing. I don’t think you do.”

“Nicole.” He sounded irritated. “I can’t help it if I have a demanding job.”

“Look, I get it,” she said. “Believe me, I know how hectic it gets around here.”

“Then why are you piling on with criticism?”

She sighed. “David, let me ask you something. How many miles did you log last week?”

“What, you mean running?”

“Yes.”

He frowned. “I don’t know. Maybe forty.”

“You ran forty miles last week?”

“I’ve got a race next month.”

“Well, okay. Wow. That goes to my point.”

“What? That you don’t want me to train?”

“No! Train,” she said. “Do what makes you happy. My point is that between your job and your training regimen, there’s not much room in your life for a relationship.”

He shook his head. “I disagree. I think I can juggle more than one thing if I put my mind to it.”

His words stung, even though she doubted he meant them to. She didn’t want to be something he had to put his mind to. She didn’t want to be an item on his to-do list.

“David, I don’t think we should keep pretending this is working when it’s not.”

There. She’d said it. She watched his face, but his expression didn’t change.

She bit her lip. “What?”

“So, you think it’s not working,” he stated.

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