“Daniel Tiger! Don’t you know Daniel Tiger?” She seemed aghast at his lack of Daniel Tiger knowledge. “He’s a cat like I’m a cat! Meow!” She jumped on the couch, getting on all fours.
“You’re a cat? I thought you were a little girl.”
“No, I’m a cat!”
He knew he wasn’t going to win this argument. “Okay. What kind of cat are you?”
“A tiger! Me-rarrrr!” she half meowed, half roared.
He was fairly certain that wasn’t how tigers sounded. But considering that the tiger on the screen was now looking for a special pear and could talk, what did he know?
“You can be a cat too.” She pointed to herself. “I’m Sybil Cat.” She indicated the bedroom. “That’s Aunt Chloe Cat and Carter Cat.” She moved her finger to point at him. “You can be Mister Theo Cat.” Then she meowed again. “That’s how kitties say hello.”
He might as well just go with the flow. “Well, hello, Sybil-cat. Or should I say meow?” He hoped that was good enough.
It seemed to be, because her little face broke out in a wide grin. “Come on, sit down! Do you wanna watch with me?”
He wasn’t terribly interested in children’s programming, but not seeing a graceful way out, he nodded. The little girl snuggled up to him, and they watched the show with Sybil providing not-very-relevant commentary about what was going on on the screen. He did his best to try to keep up, and despite himself, he discovered he was enjoying the experience.
He heard a sigh come from behind him, and he turned his head to find Chloe standing there with a freshly diapered and clothed Carter in her arms. “Is everything all right?” he asked.
“Yep,” she said in a somewhat-sad voice. “It’s just… you’d make a good father.”
Theo struggled to control his expression and his emotions. No. He wouldn’t. He’d never be a father.
As much as he’d like to be.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Overthenextfewweeks, Chloe and Theo covered every position and place she could think of to have sex. They did it in her living room, on top of the kitchen counter, in the shower, and on the desk in her office. Multiple times. When they covered every surface of her apartment, they moved to the back of his Mercedes, in the club’s bathroom, and every room in Theo’s penthouse. And yet they didn't stop. Nor had she been on another date with another man since they started sleeping together.
If she were being honest, she wasn’t dating because she hated the thought of going out with anyone else. She wanted Theo. She’d done what she’d promised she wouldn’t do…she’d gotten attached. When he looked at her with his piercing blue eyes, the way he touched her, made love to her… how could she not? Sometimes she wondered if he had feelings for her too. Yes, she knew he liked her; they were friends. Kinda. Friends with benefits might be better. But lately, it seemed like more than that. Or maybe it was wishful thinking.
Her phone rang, and her heart did a little jig. Was Theo calling to meet up? She picked up her phone and saw her mother’s name on the caller ID. She was just as excited by this call. With the different time zones, it wasn’t easy trying to connect.
“Hi, Mum.”
“Hi, sweetie. Happy Easter! How are you? I hope I haven’t caught you at a bad time.”
“No, I’m taking a break.” God, she loved hearing her mother’s voice. She missed her.
“How are things going? It’s been a few months now, have you settled in?”
“Things are great. I’m loving the city. I think I’ve finally found my go-to Chinese takeout,” she said, sliding onto a stool at the counter.
Her mother laughed. “That’s wonderful, although I miss you so much. I can’t pretend I don’t wish you were back home.”
“I miss you too.” Hearing her mother’s voice and thinking about Sydney made her chest ache with homesickness.
“So, tell me, apart from working, what have you been doing? Are you meeting new friends?”
“I’ve been hanging out with friends from work most of the time.” That and banging Theo like a bass drum.
Naturally, her mother followed up with, “How were the dates you’ve been on?”
Could she call what she was doing with Theo “dating”? No. Not once after they’d started having sex had they gone to dinner, a movie, or a picnic in the park.
Deciding to go with a half-truth, she said, “They didn’t work out.”
