I was only joking when I told Jayden I was a screamer. But it turns out, it was true. I just needed the right man to tip me over the edge.
ChapterTwenty-Two
JAYDEN
‘You’re looking at offices in Los Angeles?’ It’s an effort to keep the panic from my voice.
It’s one thing enjoying incredible sex, intimacy and laughter with a woman who lives on the other side of the world, and another to allow myself to get so comfortable with her working in the same city as me.
I’m playing with fire and the flames are fanning higher with each passing day.
‘Of course. I told you I wanted to bring my company global.’ Chloe slides towards the edge of my bed and I instinctively catch her by the wrist, my thumb rubbing over her ever-present elastic band.
Somehow, over five weekends and approximately five hundred calls and texts, Chloe Sexton has done what no other woman has come close to. Bar one. And that was a long time ago and in very different circumstances.
She’s gotten under my skin, as thick as it may be.
I think about her every waking second of the day and actually mark the days off my calendar until we’re together again.
This is bad. Really bad.
Apart from the fact she doesn’t do relationships, I am in no position to start one.
Chloe pensively stares at me. ‘What’s up? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.’
With images of Sofia bombarding my brain lately, I feel like I’ve seen one too. She was the only other woman I had romantic feelings for. Feelings I never got to explore. Perhaps in different circumstances, I wouldn’t have even wanted to. But back then, she was my safe place. She lit my soul on the darkest of nights. Those huge brown eyes will haunt me forever.If you ever escape this life, please drag my sister with you.
I won’t let her down.
‘When you said you wanted to take your company global, I didn’t realise you meant you’d be basing yourself in LA,’ I say.
Chloe swallows thickly. ‘I never planned to stay in Dubai long term. LA’s the perfect place to base my new headquarters, given the ratio of celebrities to square footage.’ She yanks her wrist from my hand. ‘It has nothing to do with you, or us. In fact, there is no us. It’s just a fling, Jayden, don’t panic.’
A stabbing pain pierces my chest as she struts naked and glorious towards my en-suite. The sound of running water does nothing to soothe the jittery feeling inside my ribs.
I don’t follow her in.
My phone vibrates with a text. It’s Lula.
I’ve got all the paperwork. The interview’s been scheduled for next month. The home visit should be 3-4 weeks after that. See you soon
And that’s precisely why I can’t afford to entertain romantic notions about Chloe. Even if I could coax myself over my own fear of commitment, this thing between me and Chloe can only ever be a fling.
The following week, a frustrating niggle is still eating my stomach. Having Chloe back on the other side of the world should theoretically ease my worries, but it only seems to amplify them.
The Vegas concert was amazing. It dominated every news station in the country, every paper and every social media site for days. After the drama with my other artists, I should be ecstatic it’s going well, but an odd sense of restlessness creeps into my bones that I can’t shake. Work doesn’t take my mind off it, and exercise doesn’t distract me.
So when my old friend, Gareth, arrives at my downtown office out of the blue, I’m grateful for the excuse to knock back a few strong ones.
We head out to one of Hollywood’s most exclusive cocktail bars where blonde, waif-like models and actresses flood the place looking to make connections anyway and everyway. I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. It used to be one of my favourite pick up joints.
I glance at my watch, calculating the time in Dubai, imagining where Chloe might be. The woman possesses witch-like qualities. I’m sickeningly obsessed with her, counting down the days until I see her again.
It’s another eight days. Another eight long Chloe-less days.
She’ll be at her desk now, overlooking those skyscrapers, while I’m on the other side of the world, mooning around like a lovesick puppy. It’s so bad I’m even starting to relate to my brother’s soppy song lyrics. How did this happen to me? It wasn’t part of the plan.
Unless I can come up with another one.
