Because all three of them had been away, they needed to check the perimeter, the building interior, and her apartment before Chloe could even get out of her car. She knew it was for her safety, but it was all so tedious. Her feet hurt, she wanted to take her shoes off, and she just wanted to go inside and cuddle up with Erik alone.
As soon as they walked through the door, Erik excused himself, saying he had a couple of calls to make, and Chloe tried to keep the disappointment off her face. So much for dragging him into her bedroom for that alone time.
Chloe bent over to remove her sandals, and Jayla commented, “Well, I don’t know if Savoy was watching, but if he was, he certainly got an eyeful. I knowIgot an eyeful.”
Letting out a sigh of relief as she kicked off the heels, Chloe examined the red marks on her feet. “It was just a couple of kisses.” It wasn’t like Erik had pushed her against a wall and raised her skirt. Hm. Now there was an idea…
“I bet he’s raging.”
With a confused frown, Chloe looked at Jayla. “Who?”
“Savoy, of course.”
In response, Chloe let out a sound of irritation. She was sick of talking about Jackson, hearing his name, planning everything around him. She was just sick of it all. She wanted to close thatchapter of her life. Permanently. The sooner they drew him out, the sooner she could be done with this. “I need to call Lattie.”
Closing herself in her room, Chloe changed out of her dress and into some comfy sweats and warm socks before she made the call. Lattie’s exuberant greeting immediately brought a smile to her face, and she almost wished she’d done a video chat. The production hadn’t been shut down that long, but she already missed him.
“How are you, Chloe?” His voice turned somber. “That was lovely, what you and John did at the burial. Everyone thought so.”
“Thank you.” A duet hadn’t been planned, but she’d been grateful when John had joined in. Between the grief and the fear of possibly seeing Jackson, she hadn’t been at her best, and John’s strong baritone had helped bolster her.
“How are you holding up?”
“I’m well, thank you, Lattie. Listen, I wanted to pass an idea by you. Get your thoughts.” She told him about the idea for the concert to honor Danny’s memory. “Is that something you think you could pull together on short notice?”
“What a splendid idea, and yes, absolutely. We’ll all have to put our heads together, nail down a date, plan the program, schedule rehearsals and costuming, but it’s certainly doable. Let me reach out to some people, and I’ll get back to you.”
“Thank you.” She was just about to say goodbye when a thought suddenly occurred to her. “Oh, and Lattie? When you talk to the media, you have my permission to include my name.”
Hesitantly, Lattie asked, “Are you sure, Chloe?”
“Yes. I’m sure.”
The call concluded, Chloe opened the door to her bedroom. Erik and Jayla were sitting in the living room, both with laptops in front of them, as they quietly discussed something. She was just about to update them on where they were with the concert for Danny when Erik’s phone rang.
He sprang up from the couch, his phone to his ear. “Doctor Fernandez, thank you for calling me back so quickly.”
Chloe’s heart leaped into her throat. He’d called a doctor? Was he sick?
“Yes, I’d like to get the ball rolling as soon as possible. I understand we need to meet, and you’ll need to take a biopsy.”
What in the world?
“Yes, that’s right, but I’m still in the area. I can take a few hours.”
Chloe wanted to go over and ask Jayla what was going on, but she didn’t want to miss anything Erik might say.
“Really? That would be perfect. What time tomorrow?” He nodded. “Nine a.m. it is. I’ll see you then.”
As soon as he hung up, she lurched forward, her arm extended. “What’s the matter? What’s going on? Did you find a lump?” That was the only thing she could think of that would require a biopsy.
Erik took her hand. “No. There’s a doctor who can fix my face. It’s cloned skin, so he needs a biopsy of healthy tissue to grow the graft.”
She was so relieved her knees nearly buckled. He wasn’t sick, wasn’t dying. “That’s great news.” She searched his face. “I hadn’t realized you were looking into that.” He hadn’t said anything.
He nodded, but instead of elaborating, he turned his attention to Jayla. “He can meet me tomorrow morning at the Children’s Hospital here, so I shouldn’t be gone long.”
Jayla smiled. “We’ll be fine.”
