Page 3 of Chasing the Sun

“I already told Miss Chloe about the pool.” Then, as if he’d reminded himself to get back to business, he said, “The position starts on June first. Will you have any trouble being here by then?”

Chloe shook her head. “I’ll book the flight today.”

“Send me the receipt, and I’ll reimburse you.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Oh. You don’t have to.”

“It’s no problem. You wouldn’t be traveling here if it weren’t for this job, and I’m grateful for the help.”

Elle had said that he was well off, but she was starting to get a feel for how wealthy he was. He’d already told her she’d have unlimited use of his second car (a Mercedes) while she was there. Plus, he’d pay for gas and groceries. She was basically getting a free ride for the summer. How could she possibly turn this down?

“Thank you,” she said. She got the impression Bryce wouldn’t want her to gush.

“Once you book your flight, I’ll arrange for you to be picked up from the airport. If I can’t be there myself, I’ll hire someone.”

“That won’t be necessary. Elle can pick me up.”

So far, he hadn’t mentioned Elle or Jamie, and she figured that had been on purpose. If this didn’t work out, it could be awkward for all of them. She had every intention of making it work, though, and so far, she didn’t see why it wouldn’t. The house was great, the pay was phenomenal, and Molly seemed like a little doll.

“I like to play Barbies,” Molly said (speaking of dolls).

Chloe smiled, and Bryce chuckled. “You can tell her all about that when she gets here.”

“What else do you like to do?” Chloe asked. It might have been a bad move overriding him, but it was Molly she needed to know better, not Bryce.

“I like to swim, and ride my bike, and eat ice cream.”

“We’re going to get along great, then, because I like those things too.” She was dying to ask Molly if she liked to dance but decided to pace herself.

Then Chloe saw a flash of movement, and the next thing she knew, a fluffy white cat showed on her laptop screen.

“Did I mention we have a cat?” Bryce said.

He didn’t sound thrilled about it, and Chloe chuckled. “You must have forgotten.”

“I hope you’re not allergic.”

“Not that I know of.”

“Her name’s Lucy,” Molly said and gave the cat a squeeze.

Chloe had grown up having dogs, but she wasn’t averse to any pet if it wasn’t slimy or had eight legs.

“Any other pets that I should know about?”

“Just Lucy,” Bryce said. Then, turning to Molly, he said, “Why don’t you take Lucy into the kitchen and get her some food?”

“Okay,” Molly said, hopping down with Lucy clutched to her chest.

They made quite a picture—the pretty little girl with her long blonde hair and blue eyes and the white-haired cat that also had blue eyes.

“Bye, Molly. It was nice to meet you,” Chloe called as the girl disappeared from view.

Bryce sighed. “So, now you’ve met everyone.”

“Except Molly’s mom,” she said without thinking. Elle had told her that Bryce was divorced, but she didn’t know many details, only that Molly went back and forth between her parents’ houses like children of divorce do. Chloe figured that she’d end up meeting his ex at some point, but Bryce hadn’t brought her up.

“Right. Well, you’ll meet her when she comes to pick up Molly.”