Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 105850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
“You’re unrelentingly honest tonight,” Theo said, closing the door behind him. He reached up and loosened the knot on his tie, then unbuttoned the collar of his shirt. “Take these first.”
I accepted the water and paracetamol. I scarfed down two of the pills and washed them down with a good gulp of the water. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.” He shrugged off his jacket and tossed it over the back of the chair.
“For someone who was just told not to stay for long, you’re getting awfully comfy,” I told him. “Why are you here?”
“In London?”
“Yes, in London. Weren’t you still at the cottage this morning?” I folded my arms across my chest and leant against the windowsill, glaring at him. “Why are you here? How are you here?”
He ran his fingers through his hair, meeting my eyes. “I drove here. To see you.”
“Are you aware that the reason I left early was to get away from you?”
“No. You never said.”
“Because you were avoiding me.”
“I wasn’t avoiding you. I was just following my schedule. I was shocked when I came back last night, and you were packed and ready to go to the airport.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t have a chance to say anything before you left.”
Shit.
He was right.
And worse, I hadn’t given him the chance before I’d hightailed it out of there, had I?
I relaxed my arms until I was hugging my waist and looked at the floor. “That’s true, but there’s still no reason for you to come all the way here.”
“Of course, there is.”
“What is it, then?”
“I told you this morning. I missed you, Chlo.”
CHAPTER THIRTY – CHLOE
Honesty Is The Best Policy
“You drove five hours just because you missed me?” I blinked at him. “It’s not like you’ll never see me again. I’m coming back tomorrow.”
“And it was too long.” Theo crossed the room, closing the distance between us, and gripped the windowsill either side of my hips. He lowered his forehead to my shoulder and drew in a deep breath, slightly tilting his face towards my neck. “I was an idiot, then you avoided me and left before I could talk to you. What else was I supposed to do but chase after you?”
I turned my face downward towards his. “I don’t know. Call me?”
“I can’t touch you if I call you.”
“I didn’t say you could touch me now.”
“You’re hardly pushing me away.”
That was because I was afraid that he’d notice the insane beating of my heart if I tried too hard to do that.
I swallowed and reached up to lay my hand on the back of his neck. “Well, you look tired.”
“I am tired. It was a long drive and there was an idiot who crashed on the motorway, so it took longer than it should have.” He wrapped one of his arms around my waist. “Can we stay like this for a minute?”
Stupid. Idiot. Cinnamon. Roll.
Why the heck was I so weak to this side of him?
And how was it possible that a big fluffy baby of a man like this was such a dirty bastard in bed? It didn’t make sense to my brain.
“I’m mad at you, you know,” I said softly, staring across the room at the door. “You were petty and childish in the office, then instead of talking about it, you pulled some shitty ‘I’m the boss’ stunt and eventually walked out.”
“I’m sorry.” His grip around my waist tightened. “My jealousy got the better of me.”
Well, shit. Heidi was right.
“Jealousy? What reason could you have possibly had to be jealous?”
“Lennon asked you out.”
This man… “And I turned him down,” I reminded him. “There’s every reason not to be jealous.”
“Then what about now? Am I allowed to be jealous now?” He brushed his lips across my collarbone.
“No. You have nothing to be jealous over, for a start.” I slid my hand between his face and my neck, pushing his head away. “Stop it. If you drove all the way here to talk, then talk to me.”
Theo sighed, but he didn’t push it any further. “You said you were seeing someone. To Lennon.”
I blinked at him. “Yes. As a rule, it’s the easiest way to turn someone down. It leaves no room for them to ask for justification for why you’re saying no.”
“Is that the only reason you said it?”
“Well…” I ran my fingers across my chest, looking away. “It’s not like we ever explicitly stated it, but we have a physical relationship. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m not in the habit of sleeping with more than one person at a time.”
His fingers twitched against my side. “So, you were talking about me? About us?”
“Yes. Who else did you think I was talking about? What kind of person do you take me for?”
Theo groaned, dropping his forehead to my shoulder once more. “Fuck. You mean it was all for nothing?”