Good. “Do you have a fucking point?”
“What I’m trying to say is, I’ve seen a change in you. You’re more relaxed—happy. I’ve seen you smile and laugh. And you’ve finally started going out again.” He stared at Theo pointedly. “Something you haven’t done for over a year. I like it. Chloe’s the reason, and I hope you make it work with her.”
He wished he could make it work too, but he needed to burst Blake’s bubble. “It’s not like that. She knows this isn’t going anywhere.”
“Right, so youarejust fucking her then?” Blake raised an eyebrow.
Theo’s nostrils flared, and he gave his brother a hard stare. Clenching the arms of his chair, he said, “If you say shit like that again, I’m going to put my fist through your face.”
Blake leaned back in his seat and held up his hands. “Jeez, calm down. Stop threatening people, don’t make me sign you up for mandatory anger management training,” he half threatened, half teased. Then he sobered. “But look at yourself—threatening friends and family, skipping work, actually smiling. You must care for her… a lot.”
Theo slammed his lips shut. Yes, he cared for her. His life would be so much easier if he didn’t.
“Do you love her?” Blake pressed.
No way was he going to answer that question. “This is what you dragged me here to talk about? My love life? It’s none of your damn business.”
Ignoring Theo’s demand to stay out of his business, Blake asked, “Have you told her about your problem?”
Theo rubbed the back of his neck. “No, and she doesn’t need to know.”
“Damn, you’re thick. What if it doesn’t matter to her?” That pointed look was back. “If she loves you too, she might want to try treatment or adoption or other options.”
Theo’s shoulders tensed. “I don’t want to put her through that.”
“Shouldn’t she decide what she wants to do? Just because Layla chose differently doesn’t mean Chloe will.” His brother had a point, not that he’d admit it.
Theo cupped the mug in his hands. “She deserves to be happy.”
“And what about you? Don’t you deserve the same?”
There was a time when Layla had made him happy, and he her. They’d been happy right up until the moment the doctor told them their chances of having a baby were extremely low, and it was his fault. He’d failed her, and she hadn’t been able to look at him the same way again. He didn’t want to see the same disappointed look on Chloe’s face. With Chloe, he was happier than he’d ever been, even more so than with Layla. Not being able to give her the one thing she wanted… he couldn’t bear to fail her too.
He placed a few more bricks on the wall he’d built around his heart after Layla left. “It doesn’t matter what I deserve. Chloe wants kids. End of story.”
“Do you love her?” Blake asked again.
God, he’d tried so hard not to, told himself he was only helping her until she could find her life mate. What a load of shit. He stared into his coffee. Yeah, he loved her. He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life.
Blake pointed his stirrer in his direction. “I’m taking your silence as a yes. If she loves you too,reallyloves you, it won’t matter.”
Theo twisted the cup in his hands. Did she love him? The way she looked at him, touched him—something strong pulled them closer. The night beside the pool when they’d made love had been more than just friendship or lust. But was it enough? Would she accept the fact he might never give her a baby? Would she be willing to go through the pain and heartbreak of fertility treatments or adoption?
A knowing expression on his face, his brother said, “Think about it before you let her go.”
Before you let her go. The words stabbed his chest like a blunt knife. If things were different, he’d never let her go.
“I’m falling in love.” Chloe dropped her head on her raised knees as she sat on a bench under the shade of an oak tree along Wien Walk in Central Park. “And I don’t know what to do about it.” Chloe had asked Blair and Hazel to join her for lunch—a.k.a. emergency meeting—on one of her rare days in the office. Thankfully, they were able to clear their schedules for her.
“We both knew this would happen. Especially since I saw you with Theo the day Mitch broke his leg.” Blair patted her on the shoulder. Then said, “Pay up, Hazel, I win.”
Hazel screwed up her face as she dug into her handbag, pulling out a twenty-dollar bill from her purse. “Damn it. Why couldn’t you have waited another week before you announced it?”
Chloe stared with shock at her friends. “Wait… you bet on me?”
Blair gave a sheepish smile. “Just a little one.”
“Pfft. You’re not the one who’s had to hand over twenty bucks,” Hazel grumbled.
