“Sorry, no.”
“Then no.But thanks.I like your hat.”
“Ah, thanks.”He hesitated for a moment, like he was weighing the wisdom of his next words.“Maybe you should come inside.You look pretty cold.”
“Actually, the cold is giving me clarity,” she told him, then shivered when more snow drifted down the neck of the coat.“And possibly hypothermia.”
“Hey.”A woman with a riot of red curls tumbling out of a black knit hat walked up to Sawyer and poked him in the side.“I thought you were getting hot chocolate.”
“I got distracted,” Sawyer explained while Chloe eyed the newcomer with interest.She was short, gorgeous, enormously pregnant, and at Sawyer’s words, turned avid eyes on Chloe.
“So I see.”Full lips curved into a curious smile.“Aren’t you cold?”
“Freezing, thanks for asking,” Chloe said, and tried not to think about how the woman’s dark eyes reminded her of Jesse’s.
“You’re welcome.”The redhead turned back to Sawyer.“She drunk?”
“I didn’t ask,” Sawyer said.
“You drunk?”the redhead asked Chloe.
“No, but I kind of wish I was,” Chloe admitted.“Maybe my life wouldn’t look like such a disaster if I was drunk.”
“This is Chloe,” Sawyer put in.“Chloe, this is my wife Lou.”
“Nice to meet you,” Chloe said politely and held out a hand, only feeling a little awkward about meeting the wife of the man she’d almost hired to fuck her.
Lou took it.“Knox and Jesse’s Chloe?”
Chloe hitched in a breath.“Not anymore.”
“Uh-oh.What’d they do?”
“Nothing.”
Lou snorted.“I doubt that.”
“No, it was me, I did it.I did it all.Wrecked it all.”
Lou looked at Sawyer.“Do you know what she’s talking about?”
“No clue.”
“Uh-huh.Okay, sugar, first things first.You need to get warm.How about some hot chocolate?”
Chloe sighed.“That sounds nice, but I forgot to bring my wallet.”
“Our treat.”Lou tugged on Chloe’s hand.“Give me a hand here, babe.”
Sawyer reached down for Chloe’s other hand.“You want whipped cream or marshmallows on your hot chocolate?”
Chloe allowed herself to be pulled to her feet.“Both.”
“I like her,” Lou decided and in what was somehow a sexy waddle, led the way to the café.“Hurry up, I have to pee.”
“Your wife is nice,” Chloe told Sawyer.
“She is.”Sawyer reached the café door a step behind Lou and reached over her head to pull it open.“She’s also a ball buster.”
