A lance of pain hit her right in the heart, but she shoved it to the side to deal with later. She had bigger problems right now, like how did she explain and get herself out of this mess? She didn’t think that telling him, “Hey, I wanted to live out my childhood fantasies of you but in a more X-rated way. And you not recognizing me was the only way to do it,”would work.
Yeah, that’d go over like a lead balloon.
So she said, “I came over to you to say hi, and then you acted as if you knew me. When you said you wanted to “catch up.” I had no idea you wanted sex.” She cringed inwardly at the pathetic lie, but it was the best she could come up with.
Tipping his head to the side, he pointed a finger at her. “You knew damn well I didn’t recognize you. The last time I saw you, you were going through a peroxide blonde with pink streaks phase with a body a lot scrawnier. If you knew who I was, why did you let me bring you up here?” He dug his thumb and finger into his eye sockets like he wanted to wipe the vision of what they’d been doing from his mind.
The lancet morphed into a dagger.
Blinking back tears, she said, “I wanted to have a little fun, okay? I’m in a new country and don’t know many people. I’m drunk, and it’s my birthday.” She winced internally as soon as the words left her mouth, but she soldiered on, “Can’t a girl celebrate without being interrogated?” She crossed her arms over her chest with a huff. All she wanted was one night with Theo. One damn night! Was it too much to ask? Now he looked at her like he wanted to throw up.Just the reaction every woman wants to see, she thought morosely.
“Chloe, I’m not the man you should celebrate with. I’m your brother’s best friend. Out of all the guys in the club, you could have had anyone; you didn’t need to pick me.”
Maybe she could have gone home with one of the men who’d tried grinding themselves against her like they were dirty dancing on the dance floor. But none of them had interested her. Not a single one.
“I wanted you.” She walked to him and placed a palm on his chest, trailing it south, hoping for a response.
She got one, but not the one she wanted. Theo grasped her wrist in a tight hold. “Don’t.” His jaw clenched, but he didn’t move away.
But the alcohol from earlier overrode her sense of right and wrong. Stepping closer, Chloe’s heaving chest touched his. She slid her free hand between their bodies and repeated the move from earlier. Again, Theo stopped her from reaching her destination. With their bodies still pressed together, she tilted her head to look up into his face, getting caught in his dark, hooded eyes. His gaze flicked to her mouth and stayed there. Was he going to kiss her? She wanted that. She wanted that so very much. Her body was burning up. Willing Theo to forget about obligations to her brother and take what he wanted, she stretched up toward him, trying to close the distance between them.
But all too soon, her hands were free and cold air wafted between them as he shoved her away. “We’re not doing this, Glowy.”
Anger and frustration coursed through her. “Don’t pretend you don’t want me”—she held her chin high—“because what we were doing tells me otherwise.”
Theo scrubbed his hands over his face. “I didn’t recognize you.”
“So? Why should that change anything?”
“It changeseverything.”
“Because of Ethan? Damn it, we’re adults; we can do what the hell we want.”
“Look, Chloe. I’m sorry I brought you here. Go home and sober up. In the morning, you’ll see what a mistake this was.” He turned his back and pulled a phone from his pocket. After a beat, he started instructing someone on the other end to hail a taxi for her downstairs.
She’d been summarily dismissed. The reality of what she’d almost done and how she’d thrown herself at him hit… hard. A flush of heat spread up her neck and bloomed on her face. Oh God, how pathetic! Not wanting to face him, she didn’t wait for him to get off the phone and dashed from the bedroom to the elevator.
Theo didn’t stop her. Why would he? To tell her he’d changed his mind? No, he’d made it clear he wouldn’t have sex with her, that he could only see her as Ethan’s sister. But for a moment, she could have sworn interest sparked from his eyes when he looked at her even after he learned the truth. If she hadn’t been Ethan’s sister, she’d be in his bed right now. Instead, she was going home… alone... still a virgin at thirty years old.
Happy freaking birthday to me.
Chapter Four
Theshrillringofa phone jerked Chloe awake. She pried open her eyes just a crack; light from her bedroom window blinded her. Groaning, she covered her face with her arm. “Why didn’t I put my phone on silent?”
She rolled over onto her stomach, fumbling for the phone on her nightstand. Squinting at the screen, she answered, “Ethan, why are you calling me at the arse crack of dawn?”
Her brother chuckled. “It’s ten thirty. I thought you’d be awake.”
Chloe sat up and swung her legs off the bed. Before her feet hit the floor, her stomach rolled, and she took a deep breath to stop herself from spilling her guts on the carpet. “I had a big night.” And she was paying for it with a splitting headache.
“I’m sorry I missed your birthday. I tried getting away from filming, but I had a scene I had to finish before we move to our next location.” Her brother sounded contrite… and also way too loud.
She rubbed her pounding temples. “That’s okay, we’ll catch up another time. I spoke to Holly yesterday. She said the movie is going well and she’s meeting you when you’re done filming in Boston.”
Chloe’s whole family was in the entertainment industry. Her brother Ethan was an actor, and her sister-in-law Holly was a makeup artist and often did the makeup for her husband’s films. Her other brother, Aiden, was also an actor but now was producing a popular TV series, and her mother, Nancy, was a makeup artist who worked for major productions. Even her newest sister-in-law, Mya, couldn’t escape the entertainment industry bug.
“Holly’ll be here tomorrow. I have a day off before I’m needed on set again, so I decided to take the train in to take my little sister out to lunch to celebrate her birthday like the good big brother I am,” he said pseudo magnanimously.
