Page 51 of A Reclusive Heart

When Rick only clenched his jaw tightly, he had his answer.

“Was there something else you wanted to discuss? I need to get back to my office and go over the rest of the dates to make sure there are no last-minute surprises,” Nick said, not bothering to wait for an answer as he stood to leave. He had too much shit to do to sit here twiddling his thumbs.

“Have you slept with her?” Rick asked bluntly, taking him off guard.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Nick demanded as he sat back down.

“Jamie. I need to know if I should have someone else work with her,” Rick said, watching him curiously.

“Do you have a problem with her work?” Nick demanded.

Rick frowned. “No.”

“Do you have a problem with mine?”

“No.”

“Then, I don’t see how it’s any of your business what we do in our spare time,” Nick said, refusing to lie and belittle what he had with Jamie to save his own ass. If they fired him, and he prayed that didn’t happen, then he’d watch over her during the rest of this tour as her boyfriend, and hopefully, when it was finished, he’d have another job. One thing was for certain, he wasn’t ready to lose Jamie.

Not yet.

“It’s not that simple and you know it, Nick. We have that policy for a reason and I’m afraid that I can’t look the other way. You’re going to have to end things with her and I’m afraid that I can’t allow you to continue overseeing this tour,” Rick said grimly.

He would still have the job he busted his ass to get, but he would lose Jamie, Nick realized. They were never going to last past this tour. This had been a fling, a wonderful, earth-shattering fling, but nothing more. They could still be friends and he’d see her whenever she worked in the office and when hewas in town, but that was all. He would no longer be allowed to touch her, kiss her, or hold her again because she would be off-limits to him.

As he stood up, he couldn’t believe how easily the decision came to him. For years, he’d wanted nothing more than to get his name out there, make a better life for himself, and erase every last memory of his childhood. When the best opportunity of his life came, he’d fucked it up by sleeping with his little recluse. He could either keep his job or he could keep the best thing that ever happened to him.

It surprised him that he didn’t have to think twice about it. “Then, I quit,” Nick said, walking towards the door with every intention of grabbing his little recluse and taking her home where he planned on losing himself in her arms for the rest of the day.

“You’re serious?” Rick said, coming to his feet.

“Deadly,” Nick said without any hesitation.

“She really means that much to you?” Rick asked, sounding curious.

“She means everything to me,” Nick said, walking to the door. “I’ll be out within the hour and just so you know, I plan on going with her for the rest of the tour. I’ll stay out of whoever’s way that you send to take over for me, but I’m not leaving her to do this on her own.”

Rick’s chuckle brought him up short.

“What the hell is so funny?” Nick demanded as he turned around to glare at the bastard.

“I can’t believe the day the mighty Nick Quinn got brought to his knees by a woman finally came,” Rick said, shaking his head ruefully and grinning hugely.

“She didn’t bring me to my knees,” Nick ground out. “I care about her and want to keep her safe.”

Rick waved his comments off, which only ended up pissing him off more. “Relax, you’re not fired.”

“I quit,” Nick pointed out.

“I chose to ignore it,” Rick said with a simple shrug. “But you should know that I’ve decided to send someone with you for the rest of the tour.”

“I don’t need a babysitter, Rick,” Nick bit out.

“I know you don’t. Even though I’m not entirely comfortable with this situation, I’m going to trust that you know what you’re doing,” Rick explained, shrugging it off.

Nick had no idea what he was doing. He’d just tried to quit his job for a woman he didn’t plan on seeing past next month. What the hell was wrong with him? This wasn’t like him and he couldn’t help but blame his little recluse for it. If she hadn’t made him fall in-

No, he wasn’t in love with her. He liked her a lot, but it sure as hell wasn’t love. It was great sex and he enjoyed her company, nothing more. Maybe he’d been spending too much time with her. It might be best if he stepped back from her, but then he realized that he really didn’t care for that idea.

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