“Because when I knew her, I knew her as Ali. And also because it irritated her.”

He laughed again and sat next to her. “Bet that was fun.”

“It had its moments. So . . . you’re Ali’s boss?”

“Temporarily.”

“Small world. Did she tell you that we were mortal enemies in high school?”

“I didn’t know you two had a past when I suggested you call her,” he said. “But yeah, she told me the story.”

“Okay, that’s good news. Maybe you can fill me in on why she hates me so much.”

This gave him pause. “You don’t know?”

“I know she accused me of putting out to get good grades. I know she scratched ‘bitch’ into the car I drove to school.”

He knew this wasn’t his fight. It was, however, his circus, his monkey. “She has some issues.”

She snorted at the understatement.

“Look, I’ll just say that she had had it rough. Nothing in life has ever come easy for her. Making friends is a challenge, and I imagine it must’ve irked her that the friendliest girl in school, and one of the most popular, didn’t like her.”

Emma was brows up. “She told you all that?”

“I filled in the blanks.”

“It’s not that I didn’t like her. We just didn’t hang out in the same circles. The only reason we knew each other at all was because I replaced her at the internship at the women’s center. We overlapped for maybe a day? She never said a word to me. Then she was gone and suddenly people were gossiping about me. It turned out that she’d spread a bunch of hurtful rumors, which never made any sense.”

Damn, Alison. “I’m not going to even attempt to give excuses for her, but I can tell you that she’s a different person now. She’s still got a pretty tough exterior, but if you’re lucky enough to get to know who she is on the inside, she’s good to have by your side. She’s fiercely loyal and would lay down her life for you.”

Emma shook her head. “I’m going to have to take your word on that.” She drew a deep breath. “Look, I’m willing to leave the past in the past. I’m much more worried about the now. I’ve got an interview at North Bank later. I want to get this one right. I had no idea how hard it would be to get a business loan. Turns out being in a coma isn’t an excuse for not working for an entire year, and I’ve been turned down twice already. I think this might be my last shot.”

He hated that for her. “I’m sorry, Emma.”

“Me too. I was excited. For a minute I actually thought I’d finally found my thing. My new place in the world.”

“Have you tried options other than traditional banking? There are lots of other options.”

“I hope you’re right,” she said.

“Just don’t give up.”

“I won’t.”

“Should I make you pinkie promise?”

Smiling, Emma stuck out her pinkie. When they touched, an electrical current went through them both.

“Still there then,” she murmured.

Yeah. It was still there, big-time. And the other night they’d gotten way too close to the fire. So Simon gestured to the gym. “You ready?”

“Sure. What’s a little more torture in a day anyway.”

AFTER THE PT session was over, Simon watched Emma head to the locker room and then he walked out to the juice bar, where he found Kelly brooding over her books. “Everything good?”

“Better than,” she said. “Business is up.”

“So why don’t you look thrilled?”

She moved over to make room for him. “It’s grown so fast. It’s too much for me to manage on my own.” She paused. “The hospital offered to buy me out.”

He was surprised. “And you’re thinking about it.”

“Yes.”

“I thought you wanted to be your own boss forever.”

“I do,” she said. “But I also want to live my life.”

Simon got that. All too well. He spent most of his waking hours working these days, no real life to speak of.

“Forget about me,” she said. “How’s Emma doing?”

The interest was sincere. She’d been there throughout Emma’s entire treatment, from the time she’d first come from rehab and could barely move, to now when she was close to starting to run again—if she wanted. “If” being only because Simon had his doubts she was actually ready. She was holding back from full recovery, he knew this. What he didn’t know for certain was why—though he had his suspicions.

Survivor’s guilt. He knew she blamed herself for what had happened, which left her struggling with being alive when someone else hadn’t gotten so lucky. Guilt was a bitch, as he knew all too well. “We’re working on legs,” he said. “She’s still cramping sporadically. She’s changing. She’s going to need a juice.”

“Of course,” Kelly said, getting up to go behind the bar. “But . . . very interesting.”

“What?”

She waggled her brows at him. “That you know exactly where she is and what she’s doing.”

Simon pointed to the open double doors into the gym area. “She was right there for all to see as of five minutes ago.”

“Uh-huh. And the way you were sitting together out here before your session?”

“She’s working on some personal stuff.”

“You make her laugh,” Kelly said. “But even more interesting . . . she makes you laugh.”

He shook his head. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” she asked innocently.

“Don’t do your shrink thing on me.”

“Well, I was one for five years before switching lanes. It’s in my blood.” She gave him a knowing look. “There’s something between you two. Always has been.”

Because he didn’t know what to do with the truth of that statement, Simon turned away. The last thing he wanted to talk about was his feelings for Emma, especially when he had no business having any feelings for her at all. Even without the conflict of interest, his life was not his own. “You of all people know I don’t have time for a relationship.”

“Simon,” she said gently. “You didn’t have time for me because I wasn’t in your heart. You love me, but you were never in love with me. You’ve yet to find the woman you care enough about to make a place in your life for.”