For the Love of Nick by Jill Shalvis Page A

up the top of the dog’s head, while Sadie glared at him. “But that was before.”
    “Before?”
    Donald looked at Nick, then back to Danielle. “Where’s Ted?”
    “I don’t know,” she answered politely, then gestured to the man at her side. “This is Nick Cooper.” She watched the two shake hands, sizing each other up. “What did you mean before? ”
    “I don’t want to get in the middle.”
    “The middle?”
    “Between you and Ted.”
    “There is no middle,” Danielle said carefully. “This is about Sadie. And me.”
    “Are you sure about that?”
    “Donald, just tell me. Yes or no. Are you interested in working with Sadie?”
    “Let’s talk in here,” he said, and ushered theminto his large, still mostly packed office, holding the door open for them. But as Sadie crossed the threshold, he stopped her. “People only,” he said pleasantly, reaching for her leash, smiling at Danielle. “She’ll be perfectly comfortable out here with Linda, my receptionist.”
    Before either Danielle or Nick could reply, he’d shut the door, leaving them in the office. Alone.
    Danielle bit her lip and looked at the door. “No, that’s not right. Something’s off.”
    “I’ll say,” Nick said, reaching for the handle. “We keep Sadie with us, at all times.”
    But Sadie wasn’t at the reception desk, and neither was Donald.
    They were hurrying down a hallway as he punched numbers on his cell phone.
    Nick whistled sharply, and unbelievably, Sadie halted in her tracks, craning her neck to look at him.
    As her leash tightened, Donald jerked to a stop, the cell phone tumbling from his fingers, bouncing on the tile floor.
    His smile was utterly forced, but before he could say a word, Nick scooped up the cell phone. With a look of thorough disgust, he turned to Danielle. “Take a wild guess.”
    “Same number Emma was calling?”
    “Bingo.” Nick grabbed Sadie’s leash and handed it to Danielle. “Here’s your prize. One dog, free for life. Or until she kills you, whichever comes first.”
     
    T HE PHONE RANG and Ted held it tight, certain it was the call. The one that would bring Danielle back to him.
    “I didn’t want to get in the middle of this,” came Donald’s voice. “How did I get in the damn middle, Ted?”
    “Money. It changed your mind quick enough. Now what’s up?”
    “She’s with a Nick Cooper. I realize you wanted to know, but I feel funny telling you. As if I’m spying on Danielle.”
    Yeah, yeah.
    “They had the dog with them,” Donald continued reluctantly. “Look, Ted, I—”
    “Thank you,” Ted said politely and hung up. Fury blinded him.
    She’d left him, she’d really left him.
    But it would be okay. He knew where Danielle would go next. She’d want the records only Sadie’s breeder could give her. The records that would possibly clear her.
    Still, the cold rage ignited, flamed. She wouldn’t need clearing if she’d only come back. To him. He was tired of losing things. His house. His wealth.
    Respect.
    And with that thought, he pitched the phone across the room.
     
    D ANIELLE AND N ICK DROVE back to the hotel in grim silence. Nick’s hands gripped the wheel with force, his expression edgy and dangerous.
    No doubt, Danielle figured, he felt good and stuck with her.
    What was she going to do? The only thing she knew was dogs, and while she was the best of the best of dog handlers, it didn’t matter. Even if she was somehow cleared of theft, the damage had been done. No one in their right mind would hire her now.
    And how she’d managed to wrap up the most amazing, most gorgeous, most sexy man in the world in this mess with her was beyond her. She’d barged into his life, let him help her, protect her. Take care of her.
    So much for self-sufficiency.
    That was going to change.
    “I’m turning myself in,” she said quietly as he pulled into the hotel and shut off the engine.
    “Over my dead body,” he said, so gently, so kindly, it didn’t sink in at