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truths. He was falling in love with her. He wanted her to stay. And he was pretty damn sure she was
falling, too. But her fears erected huge barriers against any kind of relationship between them. If he
wanted to breach those barriers, he had to move slowly and strategically. Let his migratory
houseguest think they were just messing around until she d nested so completely she couldn t imagine
flying the coop. Asking commitment-phobic Chloe to meet his parents was neither slow nor strategic.
It would trigger every flight instinct she possessed.
 Mom, I don t think 
 Sorry, sweetie. Can t& hear you. Must be& bad connection.
The dial tone came through loud and clear.
Fuck. He looked around, automatically seeking an escape route from the trap he s walked into when
he d called his mom. The flower shop across the street caught his eye. He jogged over and, in a few
minutes, picked out a bouquet of happy-looking blooms with a pale, honey-orange color that reminded
him of Chloe s hair. Whittling away at her defenses required subtlety, not the head-on attack he d
launched during dinner last night. A congratulations-on-your-first-day-of-work bouquet seemed like a
step in the right direction, followed by a celebratory dinner out somewhere nice, because as much as
she might deny it, Chloe liked wine and candlelight. She liked romance. It was time he gave her some.
Besides, he justified as he started the Jeep, he did hope she d had a great first day at this new job. He
hoped she liked it so much she decided to stay.
Ten minutes later he walked into his apartment.  Chloe?
 In here.
He stepped into the living room and blinked. She sat on the sofa in her little purple robe, with her
hair tied into a bundle at the top of her head, and something that looked like mint-green frosting
slathered over her entire face except for her eyes and mouth. Her feet rested on the coffee table,
amidst a war chest of& products. Tortuous-looking toe spreaders separated her freshly painted
toenails.
 Flower delivery for Chloe Kincaid.
She beamed, which caused her frosting masque to crack, and held out her hands for the bouquet.
He pulled the flowers out of her reach.  Not so fast. I m going to need some proof of your identity.
Her smile turned a little wicked or maybe that was just the green gunk working on his mind then
she stood, turned around, and flipped the back of her robe up to flash him her tattoo. She turned back
around, still grinning.  Does that work?
He handed her the bouquet and discreetly adjusted himself so his dick wasn t straining against the
seam of his pants.  I ll accept that as preliminary ID. Later, I m going to need to see it again and make
a closer inspection.
She cocked an eyebrow.  Is that so?
He shrugged.  It s a dirty job, but someone s got to do it. You don t want to get me in trouble, do
you?
 Heaven forbid. She buried her face in the big blossoms and breathed them in.  These are
beautiful. How did you know peonies were my favorite?
 Lucky guess. They reminded me of you pretty and exuberant.
Her eyes shifted to his face, and lingered. He had a funny feeling she was blushing under the
frosting and gave himself a mental high five.
 What s the occasion?
 I was thinking about you. Hoping your first day at the new job went well.
 Really well. Thanks. Let me put these in water.
 I ll do it. He took the flowers and headed to the kitchen.  Tell me about your day, he said as he
dug in a cabinet for a jar to put the flowers in.
 The staff is awesome. The place is busy I had a steady stream of clients all day and I made
great tips. Veronica and a couple of the other girls took me to lunch at this amazing taco place down
the street.
He wandered back into the living room to discover her removing the green mask with some kind of
clear liquid and a cotton pad. He put the  vase on the coffee table.  Sounds perfect.
 Yeah. The wistful note in her response hung in the air as she finished wiping her face and then
leaned forward and started arranging the flowers, unconsciously giving him a view down the front of
her robe.
Speaking of perfect.
He caught himself drumming a nervous beat on his leg and forced his hand to still.  Want to
celebrate a triumphant first day?
 Sure. Before he could guess her next move, she stood, slipped out of her robe and walked over
until they stood mere inches apart.  Is this what you had in mind?
 I was thinking dinner, he admitted, before he leaned down and kissed her.
 Dinner can wait. I can t.
Chapter Sixteen
 I don t want to freak you out, Chloe, but I have to mention the L-word. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]