Without hesitation Chloe answered, “Yes, Theo is the love of my life.” Chloe covered her face, trying to stop the tears of shame prickling the backs of her eyes. Oh, God, she’d really screwed things up. She’d watched Theo walk out the door letting him believe he wasn’t enough. She should have told him she loved him no matter what.
Chloe lifted her tearstained face, and her insides shook with dread. “What if it’s true that he onlycaresabout me?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Blair said.
Chloe shot from the sofa. “I have to see him—now. He needs to know how I feel about everything.” Her heart hammered. She raced to the door.
“Wait,” Daniela called and waved a hand up and down Chloe’s body. “You can’t go like that. You look like you’ve rolled out of a dumpster.”
Chloe glanced down at her body and laughed. “Gee, thanks.”
“Get in the shower. We’ll finish cleaning up this pigsty,” Daniela said, pulling out her phone—probably to call her housekeeper.
“That’s right. We got this! Now, go get your man,” Hazel said.
Herman. She loved the sound of that.
Chapter Thirty-Three
TheintercomonTheo’sdesk buzzed. “Excuse me, Mr. Campbell, I have a Chloe Doyle here to see you,” Annabelle announced.
Theo’s pen paused over the document he was about to sign. “Send her in.”
What was Chloe doing here? The last time he’d seen her she’d looked so wounded; he thought she’d never want to see him again. His heart filled with happiness at seeing her. Just as quickly, disappointment deflated him because nothing had changed.
After a moment, the door to his office swung open, and she stepped inside. God, the sight of her slammed into his chest. He hadn’t seen her in four days, and each day that passed made it harder and harder to stay away. So many times he’d picked up the phone to call just so he could hear her voice only to stop himself. Rising from the chair, he walked around the front of his desk and slid his hands into his pockets, stopping himself from touching her. “Chloe?”
She took two steps closer. “I hope I’m not disturbing you.” She gave a nervous glance around the room. “Do you have time to talk?”
He should tell her he was on his way out to an important meeting. Staying in the same room without pulling her into his arms was torture. “Sure,” he answered and gestured for her to take a seat.
She stayed standing. “I want to talk to you about the other night.”
Of course, she did. That night was the worst night of his life. Walking away from her was the hardest thing he’d ever had to do. And now, he was about to relive it all over again.
“I feel like I left some things unsaid. You opened up about your infertility and how it affected your marriage. Thank you for that.” She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I didn’t respond then. I should have. When you told me, I was shocked. Confused. I didn’t know what to say, and I let you leave.” She crossed her arms in front of her, cupping her elbows. “What I should have said was: whether or not we have children, I’m willing to try even if it takes months or years. We can try IVF or even ask Blake for a sample, if you both are okay with it. We can try adoption. Or fostering. We’ve got options.” She met his eyes. “And if it doesn’t happen, that’s okay. You’re all I need. But maybe if our paths don’t lead to parenthood, we could get a dog.” She smiled warily. “I like dogs. I’m allergic to cats, but I like dogs.”
Hope for their future shimmered in her eyes, and seeing it killed him. “Chloe, don’t—”
“Let me finish. What matters more to me is you. With or without kids. I want you in my life because I love you, and I always will. Love shouldn’t have conditions, and I placed them on you.” She reached out for him, but when he didn’t take her hand, she dropped it. “I’m sorry.”
Theo dropped his head and stared at his feet. “You’ll change your mind about the way you feel when you’ve done a dozen rounds of IVF treatments, and you’re not holding a baby in your arms.”
She shook her head. “No, I won’t.”
“You don’t know that.” He couldn’t continue a relationship with Chloe with the threat of her leaving him when it all got too much. This time, he wouldn’t recover.
Her eyes shimmered. “Yes, I do. Because I’ll have you.”
He couldn’t believe that. “For months it’s all you’ve talked about.”
“I know. I got a little too single goal focused. I tend to do that,” she said with a self-deprecating laugh. “Now I know how I truly feel, and I know what’s important in my life. It’s you.” She stepped closer. “With or without children.”
Theo moved away, putting his desk between them. It took all his control to stop himself from touching her. Even though he wanted to believe her, he couldn’t take that chance. “I’m not prepared to put you through treatments. You’ll hate me in the end.”
She threw her hands in the air. “You’re notlistening. I’m happy to live the rest of my life with only the two of us. Wait… unless…” She covered her cheeks with her hands. “I’ve been going on and on about how much I love you, and you still haven’t said it back. While we were hanging out and sleeping together, I was falling in love. You were just helping me out. Having a fling.”
“It was more than that.” Emotion clogged his throat.
