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“What’s a typical day for you?”  
    “Oh, so many things. A little snowboarding, mountain climbing followed by an hour or two of surfing.” He smirked.
    I put my hands on my hips. “Very funny. What would you like to do today? We could, uh, maybe watch a movie, or go for a walk... Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean…” I broke off, and I looked away and down at the floor.  
    How could I have said something so stupid? What was wrong with me?  
    When I dared look back up at Jack, I was relieved to see he didn’t look angry.
    But he was looking at me oddly, like he was trying to study me.  
    “I’m not that sensitive, Kristina. You don’t have to watch what you say around me. Do you understand? I couldn’t stand that. It’s the worst thing about this. Everybody tiptoes around me. You’ve got to promise you won’t do that.”
    His dark eyes burned into me, and I felt like I was melting under his gaze. He was so intense.
    I nodded. “Yeah, I promise.”

7

    The rest of the morning passed agonizingly slowly. I was constantly on edge, trying to anticipate what Jack would like me to do, and I could feel the irritation coming off him in waves.
    I didn’t know what was wrong with me. When he wasn’t looking, my eyes fixed hungrily on his body, and I took the chance to study him. If I carried on like this, it wouldn’t be long before he noticed.
    I needed to snap out of it. Sure, he was devastatingly good-looking, but so were lots of other guys. This was my job, and I was here to help him, not lust after him. But no matter how hard I tried to stop myself, I couldn’t help picturing him how I’d seen him that morning: bare-chested and damn hot.
    After his shower, Jack had changed into jeans and a white t-shirt. The t-shirt fitted him like a second skin. His muscled arms and sculpted shoulders were shown off to their best advantage by the t-shirt, which didn’t exactly help curb my lust. I tried my best to pretend not to notice.
    I got through the rest of the day without any more screw-ups and without annoying Jack too much. We sat outside for a while in the sun. He read a book while I hovered around him, anxious to please.  
    I knew it was irritating him, but I couldn’t seem to stop.  
    At around noon, Maria brought us lunch and we ate together. I was very glad of that. I didn’t fancy preparing another meal with Jack watching my every move.
    Later that afternoon, Jack seemed to relax a little, and I started to think for the first time that this job might not be a complete nightmare after all. But that all changed at four pm.  
    Maria arrived looking sheepish and told Jack he had a visitor.
    Jack’s eyes snapped up from the book he’d been reading and his shoulders tensed. “A visitor? Who?”
    I looked at Maria, thinking it was odd that she looked so nervous. Her hands were clasped in front of her and she stared down at her feet rather than looking at Jack.  
    “It’s Ms. Roberts, Jack.”  
    The transformation in Jack was amazing. He was so calm a moment ago but now he was tenser than I’d ever seen him. He slapped the palms of his hands onto the arms of his wheelchair.  
    “I told her not to come back here.”
    Maria stood there, wringing her hands, obviously not knowing how to handle the situation.
    I sat beside Jack and wondered if I should intervene. I could feel the stress and anger coming off Jack in waves. It couldn’t be good for him. At the same time, I was intrigued. I wanted to know who this Ms. Roberts was and why she had gotten Jack so worked up.  
    “Send her away,” Jack snapped. “And don’t let her in again.”
    “I’m sorry, Jack,” Maria began, but before she had a chance to say anything else, a tall blonde woman, dressed in skin tight jeans and an extremely low cut top, burst into the room.  
    Her baby blonde hair had been styled to within an inch of its life, and her makeup was immaculate, although a little heavy for this time of day.  
    “Don’t be ridiculous,