Her grin widened. “You, Lila Palmer, are f**king Nathan Thorne.”

“Yes, Jesus, how many times do you have to say it?”

“That means the Boob-Squad doesn’t have their hands on him. That means that you gave him all the hickies I’ve seen on him…and he gave you yours.” Her mouth popped open. “That means the reason he hasn’t gone to the bar in the last few months is because he’s been with you.”

“Yes. I couldn’t tell you because…well…what we have is complicated.”

Caroline nodded in understanding. “Yeah, you said ‘Christopher’ was broken. Jesus…Nathan doesn’t seem to be like that. I don’t see it.”

“He has a better act than I do.”

Caroline stood there, her arms folded across her chest, a contemplative look etched on her face. A moment later, she made an abrupt turn and walked back into the kitchen. I followed, wondering what was going on.

Thus far, I found his response more disturbing than Caroline’s. I had no idea what was going on inside his head. As soon as he saw Caroline, he began the mindless task of putting groceries away and prepping for dinner.

I watched on with a wary eye as Caroline approached Nathan’s back. He turned at the sound of her footsteps against the tile. She stopped about a foot in front of him, invading his personal space. His act was perfectly in place, and he seemed as cool as ever.

“You.” She pointed her finger at him, in an accusing way. “Hurt her and I’ll f**k you up. Understood?”

I let out a little giggle from the expression that formed on his face; his eyes were wide in fear of the woman in front of him. She was over half a foot shorter than him, and about half his weight, yet she was standing there intimidating a former federal prosecutor.

“Understood.”

“Are you being safe with my girl? I’ve seen you with some floozies.”

“I’m clean. Promise.”

“Better f**king be, bucko.”

And with that, she was smiling again.

Warmth spread in my heart, the love for my friend growing. This was something new, something I had never experienced but had read about and seen in movies. The best friend warning the guy. Caroline was already friends with both Andrew and I when our relationship began, so I had missed this experience then.

“So, you two…” Caroline began, diving in, now that her brain was working again. “When did all of this start up? Did it happen one day here, or was it an office tryst one night type of thing?” Caroline smiled and waggled her eyebrows.

I could feel the blood flooding to my face, and my eyes widened. Nathan froze mid slice, clearing his throat before continuing.

Her expression returned to the one of shock that had frozen on her face before “Seriously? In the office? In your office?”

I nodded, swallowing hard, too embarrassed to speak.

“Wow, you’re my kinky idol now, Lila.” She leaned back against the counter with a smile.

“What? I…he…” I stammered in protest.

“I bet it was hot.”

“Of course it was hot,” Nathan answered, turning to look at Caroline, and speaking freely for the first time. “Look at her. She is f**king gorgeous and sexy as hell. Sin should be her middle name.”

Caroline stared as he spoke, the grin spreading on her face. “So, have words of love been shared?”

At the mention of love between us, Nathan stopped what he was doing. My eyes were glued to his back, watching the muscles in his shoulders and back tense.

“What did I say?” Caroline asked, her head moving between the two of us, startled by his sudden shift.

I was used to his mood swings, but Caroline was used to the mask. He turned from his spot against the counter and his eyes found mine, holding my stare for a moment before he moved to the sink and washed his hands.

“I think it’s about time you took over. I’m going to go change,” he declared as he dried his hands.

“All right. Thank you.” I hated that his mood had soured.

As he walked past me, he stopped and leaned down, placing a quick kiss to the top of my head, surprising me, before heading up to his condo.

Caroline stared after him. “What the hell was that?”

I let out a sigh as I headed to the sink and washed my hands before moving to finish cutting the chicken Nathan had started. I tried to explain to her as best I could. “Nathan is…complicated…and damaged. What you see on the outside, at the office, is just a façade. Like pretty new siding over an old dilapidated house.”

Caroline considered this for a moment, mulling over everything. “But, you consider yourselves boyfriend and girlfriend, right? Dating?”

I bit my lip, trying to find the best way to describe our status, or lack thereof. “No, our relationship is…undefined. The only word we use is ‘mine.’”

“Well…it may not be a declaration of a relationship, but it is a claim, I suppose. You only see each other?”

“Yes. Every day, actually.”

“Every day? Do you sleep in the same bed?”

“Yes.”

“Every night?”

“Yes.” My hand slowed down as I continued to cut into the food, realizing just how pathetic it all must sound to her.

“Wow…just…I don’t know, Lila. I see now why your insomnia has gone away if you’re sleeping with him every night.” Her brow scrunched in concern. I could see the sadness in her eyes. “This is not what I was expecting you to tell me tonight.”

“I didn’t want to keep it from you, but the way things happened between us was unconventional.”

“So, that night at the bar, that was after the office romp?” she asked, and I nodded. “I wondered why he was acting so weird. He didn’t like Andrew near his girl.”

I rolled my eyes. “He doesn’t like Andrew at all, and the feeling is mutual. I don’t get it.”

“Men. I know you don’t understand them – who does? – but, let’s put it this way…you used to be Andrew’s and now your Nathan’s. I know Andrew still has a thing for you and Nathan clearly does. Neither of them likes the thought of you with the other.”

Her inquisition was hitting so many nerves, I had to concentrate on cutting, otherwise I was going to lose a finger. I squinted, trying to focus on every little movement I made. “But Andrew doesn’t know about us.”