“Well,” he says, waving and smiling at fans who have gathered at the chain-link fence.“I’m going to forgive you, Coleman.”
I smile ahead, trying not to make our conversation look too intimate.Trying to keep my cool as I clear my throat.
“I wish we could talk somewhere private,” I mutter.
“We could.But I need to warn you, Jack the snake will probably want to do a follow-up story about some kind of romantic tryst between the two of us.And that, Chloe, is a very bad idea right when you’re riding this high.”
“I see.”Great.
“Besides, there’s nothing in the world I prefer more than walking a track with you, even if it looks like we’re just friends.”He tips his head toward me and looks directly at me now.“Even if I want so much more.”
I feel warmth flow through every cell in my body.“Really?”
“More than you know.But this will do for now, Bug,” he says.
We walk again a little farther, until we hit the first turn and we’re off the main beat.The crowds are a little quieter off the main strip, but we’re still visible.
“Okay, where did you get to with your sorry-ass explanation?”he says teasingly.
I look across at him, and he is trying hard to fight a grin.“It’s not funny,” I say.
“Sorry,” he says, looking left and right, checking all the time for people taking photos, making sure we’re standing far enough apart.
“When we were brought together for Arden, Ididhave a very bad reaction—I didn’t want to work with you.I was angry because I felt you ran out on our friendship.I was hurt.I didn’t want you around, and I let those feelings burst out of me to someone I thought I could trust, and shouldn’t have.But I’d known him so long, and he knew our past, and it felt okay.”
“I know,” he says gently.
“I didn’t provide all those quotes about Stavros, you know that, right?”
“I do.”
“But it doesn’t excuse me talking to him at all.I can’t even remember what I said.He asked me if you’d been in touch and I don’t remember what I said.I was so tired and he was walking me to my room because I couldn’t carry all my things and my dinner...”My voice trails off.
“It’s all true,” Matt says.“I was gutless about Stavros.But I’ve faced that part of myself now.Thanks to you.”
He glances back at me, and he frowns, his eyes dark and serious, suddenly.
I look up, feeling a rush somewhere between pleasure and shame.I feel like I’m bungee jumping into the abyss and Matt is my rope.Unreliable.Untested.Dangerous.And yet, I want to jump.I wish I could jump.
“We need to focus on your career,” he is saying now.“You were right all along.This can’t happen.At least for now.”
The warmth I was feeling cools in an instant, as the truth settles inside me, and the ache returns.
“I know,” I say, forcing the words out.
“For now,” he says again.“While you’re the boss, and you’re building your career.I’m not going to drive forever.”Matt moves to take my hand, but then thinks better of it and drops his hand to his side.
“Chloe, I love you.I think deep down I’ve always been in love with you.You’re the complete package—smart, tough, funny, caring, beautiful, and the only person I’ve ever truly felt myself around.So when I say this can’t happen right now, that doesn’t mean I don’t want it to.I just want you to have your shot—really have it.Because it’s what you deserve.”
I look up into Matt’s face, the sun almost completely set and the Las Vegas lights shining in his eyes now.If I could go back in time to teenage me, she wouldn’t believe this moment.Adult Chloe is barely comprehending how far Matt and I have come—from enemies to friends to lovers and so much more.
“I love you too, Matt.You have no idea how much I appreciate you looking out for me.You did when we were kids, and you’re doing it now.It’s one of the many reasons I fell, and have fallen, for you.”We get as close as we can to each other without looking suspicious, which makes me want him more.The electricity between us is charging.I back off and keep walking so I don’t ruin everything we’re trying to protect.
“We’ll figure this out, Bug.Believe that.”
“I’m not even sure Barry is going to keep me on after what happened, though.In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m gone if we don’t get a result this weekend.”
“Pressure,” Matt says, grinning.
