Page 52 of The Problem with Playboys

“Fetch my cosmetic bag from my purse. And open the blinds. I need some natural light.”

Parker was awake, but he didn’t want to open his eyes. Yesterday had been absolute hell, and he feared whatever today held for him. He could finally see Chloe’s point about how much it sucked when everything fell apart. He’d always tried to come off as a guy who could roll with the punches, the person who didn’t take everything so damn seriously. And for the most part, he was. But the man who’d made countless arguments that there was always good in every bad situation failed to see the bright side right now. Chloe told him to leave. She said that they wouldn’t work. And there was no more crushing thought than that.

He rolled from his side to his back, eyes still shut, more physically uncomfortable than any time he could remember. Losing Chloe wasn’t an option for him. It simply wasn’t. He simply needed to figure out a way back to her. And it wouldn’t be jewelry this time, or a trip on a private plane, or an expensive bottle of wine. This project was going to require lots and lots of brutally honest words. He was going to have to spill the complete contents of his head and his heart to her. He was prepared to make a complete fool of himself if necessary. Whatever it took. As soon as he could summon the strength.

From somewhere nearby, Parker swore he heard his name, in a whisper. It was so quiet that it was barely perceptible. And if his brain wasn’t operating on essentially zero sleep, he would have said that it was Chloe’s voice. That was how far gone he was—he was hallucinating.

But then he heard it again.

“Parker?”

The voice was so quiet. So faint. His mind playing tricks on him. It definitely sounded like Chloe, only he was too afraid to open his eyes and discover that she was nothing more than a figment of his hopeful imagination.

“Parker. I can see your face twitching. Either you’re in a deep sleep or you’re awake.”

His eyes popped open, and there hovering above him was what he’d most hoped for.Chloe.His heart broke into a sprint. “Hey. Good morning.” He bolted upright. But he’d been lying on a bench in the hospital waiting room, and his back sought its revenge for the agony it had endured all night by spasming. “Ugggggghhhhh!” The next thing he knew he was on the floor on his knees.

“Oh, my God. Are you okay?” Chloe asked, reaching for him.

Several nurses rushed over. “Sir? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m fine. I just need a minute.” His ego was bruised more than anything as he kneeled before these three women, one of whom would determine the fate of his heart. He clutched his flank with one hand and stretched from side to side until the muscles released. He reached for Chloe with his arm. “Can you help me up?”

“Yes. Of course,” she said.

Slowly he lifted himself to his feet and straightened, pressing both hands to his back and arching so everything could go back into place. “Thanks, ladies,” he said to the nurses. “I think I’m okay.” They wandered back to their station, leaving him alone with Chloe. “How’s your mom doing?”

“Pretty well. They didn’t have to do the bypass. Just the angioplasty. If everything goes well, she can go home later today.”

“That’s good news. I’m really glad to hear that.” It killed him to stand next to her and feel as though he couldn’t take her in his arms. He hated feeling so unsure of himself, and like he didn’t know where he stood. “I doubt your mom wants to hear this, but my dad does send his best. He was concerned when he heard what happened.”

“Thank you. I’ll let her know.” She sighed and it felt as though his heart was breaking a little more with every passing second. He couldn’t endure this much longer. “I need to tell you something, Parker. Something important.”

“Yes. Please.” Whatever it was, he didn’t think things could get much worse between them. Or more strained. Still, the waiting made his chest squeeze tight. It made his throat dry and his hands clammy. He felt a bit like he was waiting to hear his fate, and in many ways, that was exactly the situation he found himself in.

And then Chloe took a step closer and clasped his hand. And his heart spoke to him.Hold on, buddy. There might be a chance.

“Parker, this is going to sound completely nuts, but I love you. And I have acted like a complete idiot through most of our short relationship, so if you feel like there is any chance that we can work this out, I want to. Because I think about tomorrow and the next day and the day after that and I don’t want to be anywhere but with you. It’s the only thing that makes sense to me.”

He knew she was talking, but he honestly hadn’t heard most of it. He was so happy and relieved that his brain was no longer translating language and was instead thinking about things like sleeping in a real bed with Chloe and sharing meals and maybe going on a vacation and definitely introducing her to his dad. “Hold on a second. Can you go back to the part about how you love me?”

She grinned and tugged hard on his hand. “Hey. Cut it out. I’m trying to spill my guts right now. I’m trying to tell you that I messed up and I hope you’ll forgive me. I want to be with you, Parker. For real.”

He smiled and pulled her into his arms. “There’s nothing to forgive, Chloe. We both made mistakes. Do you honestly think I would have slept on that bench all night if I didn’t love you, too?”

She glanced over at the horrible spot where he’d spent his night worried that Chloe would never speak to him again. “It does look pretty miserable.”

“You have no idea. My next hospital fundraiser is going to be for better benches in the waiting rooms.”

“Don’t feel like you have to say I love you just because I did. I didn’t say it to put any pressure on you. I want you to take your time. However much time you need.”

“Shh,” he said. “You’re getting way ahead of yourself. The reality is that I’ve been swallowing back ‘I love you’ for more than a week. Maybe longer.”

“You didn’t feel like you could just come out with it?”

“I didn’t want to freak you out.” It was the truth. “For as much as I was feeling hesitant about us, I knew it was a much bigger deal for you. And I wanted to be respectful of that. But the morning you called and told me about the opportunity for Marcus, that was when I really had to work hard to not say it. I was literally choking on the words.”

“So you went to Tiffany.”