Page 45 of The Problem with Playboys

Eleven

Chloe woke to the smell of coffee and some very big news waiting for her on her phone.

She had a text from Forrest.Liam’s wife had her baby. A little girl.

She sat up in bed and smiled.That’s wonderful. Can you send a gift basket?

Already ordered. FYI, car service doesn’t have another driver today. Big conference at Marriott.

It’s okay. Going to breakfast with my mom. I’ll cab it to the office. In before noon.

See you soon.

She pulled back the covers, ducked into Parker’s bathroom to pee, then headed for the kitchen. On her way, she heard Parker’s voice.

“Blue? What did you do?” His tone was near panicked.

Chloe hurried up. “Everything okay?”

Parker was crouched over the dog. On the floor were tiny bits of Tiffany blue. “She ate the bag, the box your necklace came in and the ribbon.”

Blue looked at Parker, then looked at Chloe. She seemed fine. “Do you think she’ll be okay?”

“Maybe? I mean, she’s eaten worse. But the vet is always concerned when she does stuff like this. She’s so tiny. It’s not good for her.”

“You should probably call just to make sure.”

“I will.” Parker pulled out his phone, scooped up Blue, and wandered over into the living room while Chloe poured herself a cup of coffee. He was off his call mere minutes later. “They want to see her right away. They don’t want to take a chance.” He sighed. “And neither do I.”

She couldn’t ignore the concern on his face. Normally carefree Parker was worried. “I’m sure she’ll be fine. But you’re doing the right thing by taking her in.”

He sighed. “I was hoping you and I could have a chat this morning.”

“About what?”

“A bunch of things.”

Chloe wasn’t sure what that meant, and with the threat of seeing her mom that morning hanging over head, she wasn’t sure she could handle more drama. “Chats can wait. You take Blue in and I’ll go have breakfast with my mom. Hopefully we’ll both have good things to report when we talk later.”

“Okay. Thanks.” Parker kissed Chloe’s cheek and hustled to his bedroom with Blue in tow.

Chloe took the chance to sweep up the remnants of Blue’s Tiffany snack, then headed off to get ready. Parker was putting Blue in a carrier. “Text me when you know something,” Chloe said.

“Same to you.” He straightened, holding on to Blue, then gave Chloe a peck on the forehead. “Good luck with your mom.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.” As soon as the elevator door closed, Chloe grabbed a shower, did her hair and makeup and got dressed. Forty minutes later, she was down in the lobby, where the doorman hailed her a cab. Soon after, she arrived at Muffy’s in Tribeca, one of her mom’s favorite breakfast spots, even though it was a serious haul from her apartment on the Upper East Side.

Chloe walked inside, immediately spotting her mom at a booth in the back of the restaurant. Her mother always wanted privacy, and Chloe was thankful for that. If she lost her mind over Parker, hopefully no one would overhear. Her mom rose up out of her seat and hugged Chloe when she reached the table.

Chloe couldn’t help but notice that her mom didn’t look particularly well. “Are you okay?” she took a seat on the bench opposite her mom.

“My stomach is unsettled this morning, but I think I just need something to eat. You know I rarely have pancakes, but I might have to make an exception today. It sounds good to me.”

“I’m sorry to hear you aren’t feeling well.” This did not bode well for what Chloe needed to get off her chest.

The waiter came by to refill her mother’s coffee and offer some to Chloe, to which she eagerly agreed. “We’ll both have a short stack and fruit,” her mom said, taking the liberty of ordering for them both.

“So?” Her mother arched both eyebrows at Chloe once they were alone again. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”