As long as Chloe stayed here, I could protect her. As long as I held this lie together, once the wedding was done and the alliance secured, I'd have options. This wasn't deception. This was protection.
I had no other choice. Or more accurately, I refused to consider other choices. Abandoning the alliance meant abandoningeverything, and I wasn't the kind of man who threw it all away for a woman.
I cupped her face, pressed my forehead to hers. "I won't lie to you."
Chloe studied me for three seconds. Then she smiled—that full-body relaxation, childlike smile. She nuzzled into me, arms circling my waist.
"I believe you."
I tightened my hold. Chloe tilted her head up playfully, fingers hooking my belt. "Baby, you've been neglecting me too long."
She was right. We hadn't been close in a while. Tonight could be perfect.
"Baby, prepare to surrender." I leaned down. Just as our lips were about to touch, my phone buzzed in my pocket. We both froze. Chloe gestured graciously for me to check it.
Damn it. I closed my eyes, reached into my pocket, and glanced at the screen.
Valentina.
I declined the call.
Immediately, a message popped up. "Problem with the wedding rehearsal. Need you here now."
A second followed. "Now. Not asking."
I stared at those two messages for two seconds, then flipped the phone face-down.
"What's wrong?" Chloe glanced at the phone.
"Something at work. I have to go out."
Her smile vanished instantly. She pulled back from me, sat up straight.
"It's so late," she said.
"I'll be back in an hour." I stood and grabbed my jacket from the armrest. Chloe didn't move, just sat there watching me put it on.
When I reached the door, she rushed over, fingers catching the fabric of my right sleeve, looking up at me.
"Can you stay tonight?"
I met her eyes. The honey-colored irises looked darker in the dimlight, so dark I felt like I'd fall in if I looked too long. Her eyes were red-rimmed. She looked devastated.
I reached out and gently pried her fingers off my sleeve, one by one.
"I have to go. Be good, Chloe."
She looked down. Several seconds passed before she spoke. "Okay."
That was it. She didn't push. Just that one word.
I should've felt relief. But that gnawing dread in my chest didn't fade. It grew worse.
Chapter Seventeen
Chloe&Enzo
Chloe
