Whiskey eyed the one-clawed crab with interest before swatting him out of my hand and taking off after his new prey.
“Good boy,” I whispered with a sigh of relief, dusting off my hands. He was officially distracted from the die.
But just to be safe, I hid the rest of Dr. Lovejoy’s goodie bag in the closet to keep Whiskey from getting any ideas.
Cade wisely didn’t say anything about the red die when I returned to bed, but I froze instead of climbing into my side.
An extra chocolate lay next to mine on my pillow.
I eyed Cade’s side of the bed, where he leaned against the headboard with his pillow propped behind him. There was no sign of a chocolate wrapper anywhere near him.
“You gave me your chocolate?” I asked him, stating the obvious.
His eyes narrowed but didn’t look away from the screen. “Don’t make a big deal out of it.”
A slow smile pulled at my lips, until it grew big enough to make my cheeks hurt. “What do you mean? It’s a very big deal.”
“Just eat it.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. I unwrapped both treats and popped them into my mouth, then skipped off to the closet to change into my pajamas. I chose lightweight purple cotton pants with a matching shirt this time, since my unicorn onesie had already broken the ice.
After brushing my teeth, I settled back in bed and started crocheting a new animal buddy for Sadie’s baby. Nico didn’t have a unicorn yet.
Cade and I worked side by side while Whiskey played with his little crab. The silence was comfortable, but it also meant every little noise jumped out at me.
The soft tapping of Cade’s keyboard.
The waves lapping against the boat.
And the occasional creaking from the hallway—as if someone were slowly creeping by our room.
I had no shame in admitting it made me a little paranoid, so I voiced my suspicions. “Do you think Dr. Lovejoy is patrolling the boat tonight to make sure we’re all following orders?”
“Yacht,” Cade corrected absentmindedly, still working on his laptop. “And no. She’s got better uses for her time.”
That was debatable.
“What if she is, though?” I squinted, looking for shadows through the crack under the door. Dr. Lovejoy seemed to take her job very seriously. “Should we jump on the bed and start moaning and stuff? Simulate a passionate night for her to overhear?”
The typing immediately stopped, and Cade looked away from his screen to stare at me. “I’m not faking sex, Darling.”
I winced. “Okay, but what if?—”
“If you want me to make you moan for real, that’s a different discussion.” When his darkening gaze dragged down to my pajama top, heat crept up my neck, until his eyes flicked back up to mine. “But I won’t fake sleeping with you for some deranged, tree-hugging fraud claiming to be a therapist.”
I gulped, suddenly at a complete loss for what to say or do. “Oh.”
The corner of Cade’s mouth twitched, and he turned back to his screen—as if he hadn’t just combusted my ability to think straight. “Let me know what you decide.”
My eyes bugged out, and it was impossible to focus on crocheting anymore. I missed the loop with my hook four times and had to set my yarn aside on the nightstand.
Was he seriously offering to sleep with me?
Taking a moment to let that sink in, I chose my words carefully. “Listen, Cade. I’m really flattered—truly—but sex with a client is very clearly against clause 3.2 of the Cuddle?—”
“Relax.” A small smirk tugged at Cade’s lips, and he lifted a dark brow. “I remember your damn Cuddle Code, and I can keep my hands to myself.”
A puff of air escaped me.
