She nodded and smiled. “Yes, determined. A much better word. I like determined.”
He laughed.
Chloe made her way to the door, stopped, and turned to him. “I’ll call you tomorrow. I can’t wait to see who you pick for me.”
As Theo shook his head, she waved goodbye and sailed from the room. For the first time in months, she had hope for her future.
Chapter Fifteen
Sixdayslater,Chloehadn’t heard a word from Theo. She’d been tempted to call and ask how finding her a date was going but had held off. She’d told him she’d give him a day or two, and to be fair, that was asking too much. So, she’d waited a week, but he still hadn’t called with any news. She’d reached out via text, but he hadn’t returned her messages.
In her apartment, she poured coffee into a travel mug and put a contract she was taking to a client in her bag. Locking up, she made her way downstairs and onto the street. The buildings around her were a mix of marble and limestone brick, arches and columns. There was a restaurant on every corner, little stores here and there and skyscrapers touched the skyline. She was tempted to lift her face to the sun, close her eyes, and twirl.
Waving down a taxi, she jumped in and gave the driver the name of the restaurant she was meeting her client at for breakfast. Instead of texting Theo again to find out what the holdup was, she decided to call. Pulling out her phone, she dialed his number. It rang a few times and went to his voice mail.
After the tone, she said, “Hi, Theo, it’s Chloe. I’ve been patient and have given you a week to set me up on a date. If I don’t hear back from you by four this afternoon, I’m picking someone from the dating site I joined last night. I’ve already marked a couple of prospects. Nikolai from New Jersey who owns an auto body shop looks promising. His profile pic is of him shirtless and polishing a muscle car. He has a great body and is kinda cute.” With a devious smile, she hung up. She’d barely put her phone back in her bag when it rang. “Hello, Theo.”
“You are not going on a date with Nikolai from New Jersey,” his deep voice warned.
“Oh, so youaregetting my messages. I had to wonder since you never returned any of my texts.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“Busy setting up dates for me, I hope.”
There was silence for a beat. “I haven’t found anyone for you yet.”
Chloe sagged into the car’s seat. “Have you even tried?”
More silence.
She propped her elbow on the window and rubbed her forehead. “Nikolai from New Jersey is looking better and better,” she said lightly.
“Chloe—”
“You don’t want to help, that’s fine. I get it,” she said, dropping her teasing tone. “I’m sorry I’ve troubled you. Bye, Theo.”
“Wait! I’ll have something set up today and send you the details.”
She sat up straighter. “Really?”
“I can’t let you go out with a guy from Jersey who’s polishing his imaginary muscle car.”
Chloe laughed; she’d been caught fair and square. “Thanks, Theo. You’re the best.”
Before he hung up, he mumbled something like,I’m a fucking idiot. She pretended she didn’t hear it.
After her meeting, Chloe’s phone beeped with a text from Theo.
The message read:You have a date with Darius Perez tonight at Maybell Bar at 7pm.
What, no information about this guy? What did he look like? How would she know who he was? She didn’t want to push her luck calling Theo and asking—he wasn’t happy helping her in the first place. Oh well, she’d work it out for herself. With luck, there wouldn’t be too many men sitting on their own in the bar. Chloe read the message again, waiting for a hit of excitement at the prospect of going on a date. Nothing stirred. Hopefully, when she met Darius Perez, sparks would fly.
That night as Chloe stepped out of the apartment building, a black Mercedes she recognized pulled up beside her. Theo! Her stomach did a little flip as he stepped out of the driver’s side. He looked like a movie star—like James Bond in his navy suit and white shirt—only a thousand times hotter.
“What are you doing here?” she asked when he walked over to her. She was trying to get over her crush, which was impossible with him standing in front of her.
“Taking you to your date,” he said, his eyes raking over her appreciably.
