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“So, you really don't want me gone? Because I know you're in this. I know she loves you.”

I scratched my head. “I do, too. No. It's not like I have a say in Chloe's affairs or business, but I do know she needs all the help she can get. Here's the thing… what people do after a crisis matters so much more than what they do to cause it. I believe in second chances.”

“That's... very mature.”

“I wasn't always this way,” I chuckled. “I'm not a zen cowboy, okay? No. Sometimes I was a real bastard to Brynn just as she was awful to me. Once I let it go and realized that the only goal was to raise Piper and help each other be the best parents we could, I had to let it go. We’re all just here to help raise Piper.”

“And the baby?” Meg asked.

“Yes,” I chuckled, still reeling from reality of this change.

“Thanks,” Meg said. “All I want to do is help. She really is my best friend. I've missed her so much. I promise you I understand this is my only second chance.”

“Well, unless you come onto me or I come onto you, I think we can avoid that headache. And... unlike that idiot boy she dated before, I'm an easy dog to keep on the porch.”

“Cole!” Chloe called.

“Yes, baby?” I replied.

“I just hung up. I want to go to bed.”

“Go," Meg said. “I'll finish this up before I head out."

“Thanks.”

I found Chloe again in the living room. “I just need a real bed, okay? Not the couch where we created this thing that is slowly taking over my body and our lives.”

I did a double take, surprised by her candor and the reality of how we did this.

She giggled. “Oh, this was definitely the place. I guess that second storm gave us even more trouble and left us in a tailspin, but⁠—"

“Nah,” I said. “Chloe, the second storm may have... in a way... made up for a lot of trouble from the first. Because if I didn't have you, we wouldn't have rebuilt.”

“I just know it was your dream,” Chloe said softly, standing with my help.

I cupped her face, unable to resist how sweet and vulnerable she was. “Dreams change. In an instant, in fact. And that's okay. That's life.”

I kissed Chloe slowly. She gripped my shirt and wrapped me up in this long, enduring embrace I missed for so long. Her soft lips lulled me into a sense of security I realized I hadn't felt for far too many days.

“I missed this,” I said. “All of it. All of you and your beautiful chaos.”

“I've missed you. And Piper. Like... you wouldn't know how much,” Chloe said. “And... I don't want you to leave—not tonight, not ever if I can help it. Please just stay with me.”

I kissed her forehead. “Now, there's no way I could resist that request. Of course, I will.”

39. MEET ELISE M

COLE

I was reminded of my past life and millionaire clients while standing in Piper’s parents’ house. In my mind, this place looked different than it did. I had this vision of some sort of gilded palace in a mature neighborhood in Winnetka. Instead, the house was decorated with whites and pinks—chic, but trendy. What startled me, however, was a portrait of Elise M, the business magnate who birthed Chloe, in a ballgown. She looked down upon us like a queen might her subjects, surveying the foyer.

That’s a choice.

A 70-something everyman approached. It really was Elise M’s world, and we just lived in it. His wife followed in some sort of perfectly matched pink suit. The contrast nearly startled me until I considered what people thought about Chloe and I. There was the cowboy and the Northshore princess. We appeared to go together like oil and water. But really, it was horse and carriage.

I hoped that her brother's endorsement and willingness to battle for his little sister if Elise M didn't behave would bolster us. Per Chloe, Cal was the golden child. Everything he did was special and when she told him the news, he was only happy for her. He hadn't even threatened to fight me.

“Chloe, sweetie!” Tom Lews, Chloe’s father, wrapped her in a big hug. “How are you? You’ve been a stranger.”