“Then what is?” Her chin jutted forward.
Part of him wanted to tease her about looking like a kangaroo looking for a fight, but the greater part of him wanted to cross the room and take her in his arms. To stop himself, he rested a hip on the side of the counter. “There’s no denying there’s an attraction between us, and it’s hard for me to hold back.”
“Then don’t.” A spark of hope shot from her eyes.
“That would be cruel—to both of us,” he amended quickly when he saw the hope morph into pain. “I can’t give you more. I can’t give you what you want. You’re looking for a husband, and I’m not him.” It was the closest he could come to telling her about his infertility.
Her head dropped so she looked at her lap for a beat. “I know. You don’t want marriage and kids.”
He nodded. He couldn’t bring himself to speak. If he did, he might tell her the truth, and he couldn’t bear to see the desire and respect in her eyes fade like it had with Layla. As much as he tried to claim otherwise, the divorce had wounded him more than he could express.
Wrapping her arms even tighter around her body, Chloe took a step back. “And your answer is still no?” she clarified.
He nodded again.
“Okay,” she said in a voice that was filled with tears. “Okay.”
She turned, arms still wrapped around her midsection, and headed for the still-open front door of his penthouse. A door he’d left open because he was expecting his brother for a nightcap. A door that was only accessible through a special express elevator. A door only one person knew would be open.
Dammit, Blake!
His brother was meddling—playing matchmaker. The irony wasn’t lost on Theo. Had Blake known what Chloe wanted? What she was going to ask him? Probably not. He suspected if his brother had known that he would have strapped a jetpack to her back and hurled her upward at the speed of sound.
The universe was laughing at him. He could either rage against it, or he could go with the flow and see where it took him.
He made a decision. “Chloe, wait.”
She stopped just outside the threshold of his apartment. “Yes?” Her voice was tiny, muffled, like she was holding back tears.
“Come back here.”
She moved approximately three feet into the room.
He sighed. “Just to confirm. You only want a kiss. That’s it. Nothing else.”
“That’s it,” she echoed. “I expect nothing more from you. Just a kiss.”
“Why are you asking me this?”
Keeping her distance, she met his eyes, hope and pain warring within them. “Our dinner date helped me with Owen. It really did. I didn’t sneeze at all—not even a nose twitch—until he went to kiss me good night.” A slow blush blossomed over her cheeks. “I made a joke to cover it, and I don’t think he was turned off, but do you know how embarrassed I was?”
No, but he knew how each word was a stiletto through his chest. Even though he’d been the one to set Chloe up with Owen, the thought of her actually liking him enough to want to kiss him made Theo want to find something to punch. Repeatedly. He couldn’t bear the thought of her kissing, caring, and loving someone else. But wasn’t that the point of Chloe dating?
How did his life get so complicated?
Clearly unaware of the turmoil her request was causing within him, Chloe continued, “If you kiss me, I’m hoping—like our date—it will help the next time I see Owen. That way when he tries to kiss me, hopefully I won’t sneeze.”
Her request was so innocently oblivious it was both annoying and adorable. “I’ve kissed you before, so we’ve done the practice round already.” And that memory haunted him in his dreams.
“That was before I met Owen. I need to see what we do together so I can do the same with him. I wasn’t taking notes last time.”
Was this a fucking science experiment? Surely, she couldn’t be that innocent—or callous. He called her on it. “Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?”
“I know.” Her shoulders drooped. “I know. But you’re the only person who never gives me the sneezes.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t make you nervous?”
“Not normally. But sometimes. But not really. I can’t explain it. I just know you’re the only one I’ve kissed like it means something. And I also know that I have to try something,” she said in a rush. “I don’t want to be single forever.”
