Truthfully, now that I didn’t have a job, there was no way I could afford any more nights at the lodge. Plus, I now had the unpleasant task of finding a new source of income. Besides, staying so close to Ryder when I know he doesn’t feel the same way about me would be torture.
No, thank you.
“I wish I could,” I add. “But I really need to get back.”
The fact that I’ve lost my job reminds me of the reason for it.
I hate to tell the guys that there won’t be an article, but there’s no point putting it off, especially when Briggs says, “I hope the snowstorm didn’t sway your opinion too much for the article.”
“About the article…”
“Oh no,” Jaxon says. “I know that look. Is everything okay? It wasn’t the hunting cabin, was it? I mean, I know it’s not the most luxurious of accommodations, but?—”
“No.” I stop him. “The cabin was great.Sogreat.” No doubt my face is pink as I think about just how great my stay at the cabin was.
“And Ryder was?—”
“Oh, he was great, too.” I can feel how hot my face is flushing now. I need to get out of here before I burst into tears. “The article was canceled. I’m really sorry, guys. I missed the deadline and then when I got an extension, I fell asleep last night and…” I know I’m rambling, but it’s all I can do to keep from crying. And I cannot let myself cry here in front of these men.
“I really am so sorry,” I continue. “It was going to be a glowing review because how could it not be?” I wave my arms around. “It’s so gorgeous here. I’ll see what I can do about getting them to run it at a later date, but I can’t promise anything.” I blow out a long breath and shake my head. “I don’t know if my editor will even answer my calls and I guess she’s not really my editor because she fired me and now I need to go home and get a job and figure out what I’m going to?—”
“Don’t go.”
The deep, familiar voice washes over me.
Ryder
“Don’t go,”I say again as I take a step closer to my girl.
It was torture listening to her break down over the article and losing her job, but only because I hate hearing the pain and hurt in her voice. Not because I’m upset she lost her job. They didn’t deserve her anyway.
“Ryder, I?—”
“Wait.” I hold my hand up. “Before you finish that thought, I need to tell you that I’ve been doing some research of my own.”
Her eyes widen as she gets my meaning. “Research, like…”
“Like you’re not the only one who needed to learn a few things.” I shoot a glance at my brothers, who’ve stepped away but are still well within earshot. I wink at her and let my lips curl up into a grin at the memory of all ourresearchsessions before I continue. “I spent my night reading,” I tell her. “I realized last night that besides parts of your story, I’d never read a romance novel before.”
Chloe’s eyes grow wider. She stares at me, a mixture of confusion and disbelief on her face. “But why would that matter?”
I take another step toward her and reach for her hand. “Becauseyoumatter, Chloe.”
“But…that’s crazy.”
“Maybe it is.” No maybe about it. I read so much, my eyes crossed and the words got blurry. And I’d do it again. “But I learned a few things.”
“You did?” It was Briggs who spoke.
I shot him a look over my shoulder and refocused on the only person who mattered. Chloe.
“The first thing I learned was that you’re incredibly talented, Chloe. All those other books I read through…they were good. Entertaining even. But yours…it’s so much better than anything I read last night. And your sex scenes…”
I didn’t need to finish the sentence, because we both knew how erotic those scenes were both in reality and in her book. “You’re talented, Chloe. You shouldn’t be wasting your talent on writing articles for online magazines. You should be sharing it with the world.”
Her smile was tentative, and I hated that she questioned her talent at all.
“I wish I could, Ryder.” She tried to pull away, but I held her tight. “But it’s not that simple for me. I need a place to live and for that, I need a job. I can’t just?—”
