“Oh.”She cleared her throat, her cheeks heating.“I guess you could say I found some candidates.”
“Ah.”Understanding dawned in his pretty eyes, along with considerable amusement.“Well, then, at the risk of costing myself a job, why aren’t you having this conversation with them?”
“It’s a long story.”Cheeks burning, she fought not to squirm.“Let’s just say they’re not available.”
“Okay.”He watched her for a moment, assessing, then nodded.“I assume, if we move forward, you’d like me to provide the third?”
“I was hoping,” she admitted.“I’m kind of out of my element, here.”
“I have colleagues I’ve collaborated with before,” he assured her.“Do you have any specific preferences regarding body type, hair color, eye color?”
She shook her head, thought wildly—and inappropriately—of flipping through a catalog.“No, not really.”
“Okay.Tell me what you want this to look like.”
Helpless, she just stared at him.“I don’t know what you mean.”
His eyes, which had cooled somewhat, softened and warmed again.“I’m sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself.”
“No, I’m sorry.”Overwhelmed, Chloe dragged a hand though her hair.“I think I’m in over my head, here.”
“Maybe a little,” he conceded, then surprised her by reaching over the table and taking her hand.His eyes were glowing as they stared into hers.“But that’s my fault.Let’s start over.”
Chloe took a slow breath in, and on the exhale, allowed her fingers to curl around his.“Okay.”
Knox pulled to the curb across from Charlie’s Diner and shoved the truck into park, the engine idling.“You want to run in or should I?”
“I’ll do it.”Jesse unbuckled his seatbelt.“You never ask for extra ranch dressing.”
“We have ranch at home,” Knox pointed out, laying his head back on the seat and closing his eyes.It had been a bitch of a day, and all he wanted was his patty melt, onion rings, a hot shower and as much sleep as he could get before the alarm went off in the morning.
“It’s not as good as Charlie’s,” Jesse told him.“You want ketchup?”
“We have that at home, too.”
“Just checking.”Jesse’s door opened, letting in a blast of frigid air, then shut again.“Fuck.”
“You forgot your wallet again, didn’t you?”Without opening his eyes, Knox hitched his hip off the seat to reach for his.
“No, that’s not it.Look.”
“I don’t want to look,” Knox complained, eyes still firmly shut.“I’ve been looking all day.I just want to go home and eat and shower and sleep, all preferably without looking.”
“Goddammit, Knox, open your eyes,” Jesse snapped, and the panic in his husband’s voice got through.
“What’s wrong?”Knox said, his eyes opening.Jesse was staring through the windshield, pointing, and when Knox followed his finger across the street to the front window of the diner, his heart dropped to his knees.
“What the fuck,” Jesse asked, the words bitten off with razor precision, “is Chloe doing with Sawyer?”
Knox stared at the couple in the booth, holding hands and smiling at each other as though they were the only two people in the world.“I don’t know,” he managed, and with fumbling fingers, switched off the engine.“But I’m going to fucking find out.”
He shoved the truck door open, into the wind and snow, and slammed it behind him.With Jesse hot on his heels, he stalked to the front of the diner.
“I don’t need romance,” Chloe was telling Sawyer, her hand still caught in his.She was relaxing, bit by bit, soothed by his calm demeanor and his focused attention.Not even Carol taking their pie order had thrown her off, and considering the waitress had looked as though she’d wanted to stab the back of Chloe’s hand with her stubby little pencil, that was saying something.
“None?”Sawyer asked dubiously.
“I’m not looking for wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am,” Chloe amended and smiled when he chuckled.“But hearts and flowers aren’t necessary.”
