“I get back the twenty-seventh,” Chloe says and she sounds remorseful. She wants to spend time with me too, which lessens the disappointment. “I have no plans for New Year’s, if you’re free.”
“It’s a date,” I say, and her smile makes me want to kiss her and a whole lot more.
I dip her claw in butter and feed it to her again. It’s sensual as all hell feeding her and watching her eyes flutter with delight as the buttery meat hits her tongue. I’m beginning to think this woman could recite the alphabet backwards while doing the hokey pokey and I would be turned on.
“I can’t speak for Declan, but the rest of your family sees you like I see you,” she says softly, her eyes shifting downward shyly. “They see you’re a strong, good man with a lot to give.”
I stop moving, one hand wrapped around a lobster tail. Her revelation has knocked me on my emotional ass. I feel so seen by this woman, it’s amazing and fucking terrifying. Because I am hiding something, and she’s so damn intuitive I’m scared I might not be able to for much longer. She picks up her fork and scoops up some of the triple-baked potato, but she moves the fork toward me. Maybe it’s time I do the feeding.”
I open my mouth and she feeds me the savory perfection on her fork. It’s just as much a turn on this way. Plus I get potato. Seriously, for two people who don’t have a lot of experiences with good, old-fashioned, proper dates, I’d say we’re hitting it out of the park.
“I’d love to hear why it’s taken so long for you to let someone in,” she says. “ Were you just still really focusing on your recovery? Were you scared to date in case you relapsed?”
“I…” We’re so close right now. Things are so right and my heart is wide open to this woman….except this little tiny piece. The dark secret with the door closed in the back of my heart, my mind, my soul. “It’s more than that.”
She’s waiting for me to explain. Ishould. I want with every fiber of my being to say more—to confess it all. But I think of how supportive my family is, the sacrifices they made to get me out of that horrible situation and into rehab and…I can’t.
So instead of elaborating, I lean forward with another forkful of lobster meat dripping in butter, and she eats it with a smile on her pretty mouth, and then I change the subject and start talking about the festival again. She tells me how she’ll be going to oversee some photography for the website. “Well then, expect Declan to try and boss you around now that he knows about this. And feel free to tell him to get bent.”
“I’m sure I can handle him. Besides, in the end I work for Terra and no one else,” Chloe says. “I won’t even listen to you if you try and tell me what to do.”
I raise an eyebrow. “I hope that only applies to the restaurant. Because I kind of want to boss you around a bit in other areas.”
“Oh yeah?” Chloe is turning pink, I can see it even in the candlelight, but there’s a delighted smirk on her gorgeous face. “Care to elaborate?”
“I will. Later,” I promise. “Have to give you something to look forward to.”
We finish our meal, and when I carry the empty dishes back to the kitchen, she joins me.
The entire kitchen is stainless steel from the countertops to the sinks to the fridges to the shelves, except one thing: a bright red metal stool. I place it next to the prep island. “Ma still insists on working shifts in the kitchen, but nowadays she needs to sit while prepping the lobster rolls. Have a seat while I get dessert.
Can I get you a coffee or anything? I was thinking maybe ice cream for dessert or…”
My voice fades out as I open the fridge and find Terra’s secret recipe cake. No one in the family knows everything that goes into it—Terra won’t tell anyone—but it’s a rich, fudgy chocolate cake with toffee pieces in it, a gooey marshmallow sauce in between the layers, and a salted caramel ganache on top. She only makes it for special occasions, but she made it for me tonight, and she left a note taped to the plate it’s sitting on.
Logan, you better be serious about her because she’ll fall in love with you after she eats this. xx T.
“Is everything okay?” she asks, and suddenly she’s behind me. I try to close the fridge door but when I turn around, I know she read the note by the smile on her face. It’s fragile but glorious and takes my breath away.
“My sister is a bit of a—”
My sentence never finishes leaving my lips because Chloe’s kissing me. Passionately. There’s an urgency to the move of my tongue and the press of her lips. It’s filled with words we aren’t saying. Feelings we haven’t spoken. Neither one of us needs Terra’s cake, we’re falling in love fast and furiously without it. Oh my God…I’m terrified. But it’s the kind of terror you welcome, like skydiving. I’m freefalling and screaming internally, but the parachute has been pulled and I’ll land softly. Because this isright.
“I don’t need Terra’s cake to feel that way about you, Logan,” she whispers against my cheek, her fingers knotting in my hair.
“Neither do I,” I reply, and suddenly, with every beat of my heart it becomes clearer…I have to tell her my truth. And I’m no longer scared. I’m not worried. This incredible woman is falling in love with me and somehow that makes me feel worthy. Chloe is worthy of the truth, and I’m worthy of forgiveness. “I need to tell you something.”
“Okay.” She doesn’t look even the slightest bit worried. Her skin is glowing. Her eyes bright and filled with love. I gently run a finger over her bottom lip, pink and plump from our kiss, before I caress her cheek.
Then there’s a ringing sound echoing faintly from the other room. It’s not my ringtone. Chloe blinks, and her eyes dart toward the swinging door and back to me. “I should check that. Cassidy Green said she would call with an update on her mom and tell me if they need help cleaning up what’s left of the house. I volunteered.”
Mrs. Green’s inability to keep her lips shut when it comes to neighborhood gossip drives Chloe nuts, so the fact that she is actively seeking to help Mrs. Green in her time of need proves this woman is amazing. Not that I needed any more proof. She steps back from me but hesitates. “I know this is important—whatever you want to say—do you want me to let it go to voicemail?”
I shake my head. “No. Answer it. It’s fine. We can talk after.”
She heads back into the main room, and I take a few deep breaths. Chloe will be the second person in my life I will have told the truth to about that night with Bryan. Jake was the first.
I go through the motions of cutting the cake and putting the pieces on dishes, but I don’t even care if we eat at this point. I just want to get this secret out. I’m waiting for her to return when I hear her voice, and the tone of it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand at attention and every muscle in my body tense.
