Page 101 of The Challenge

“Okay. Good.”

His tone seemed strange tonight. A long moment of silence that made me a little uneasy ensued. “Is everything okay?” I finally asked, my heart beating faster.

“Effie told me she had a ton of fun designing her room and that you bought her a bunch of stuff.”

“Yeah, uh, I was gonna talk to you about that…”

“I really try not to spoil her, Chloe. You should’ve talked to me first.”

My stomach sank. Did he just scold me? I felt tears in my eyes and fought like hell to hide the sadness in my voice. Maybe my reaction was a bit overboard, but the stress of living here with Mom had taken its toll.

“I just wanted to bring her some joy. I didn’t mean any harm.”

“You don’t need to buy her stuff to do that.”

“I know, but I have the means, and I wanted to. I don’t have nieces or nephews to spoil. Maybe I went a little crazy, but I didn’t think it was a bad thing.”

“It’s not just the money.” He paused. “I think she’s getting a little too attached to you, and tonight didn’t help.”

There it is. The real reason he was bothered by any of this. “This isn’t just about her, is it? It’s about you, too.”

“Probably,” he admitted.

Maybe it was that I’d had a stressful week with my mother, or maybe I’d had enough of the uncertainty surrounding my relationship with Evan, but in that moment, I snapped.

“You know what?” I sniffled, choking back tears. “I’ve spent the week really missing you, wishing I hadn’t moved away from you guys. I did this for Mom, not me. But right now, I’m glad I’m not there with you. Your concerns are valid. I get that you’re afraid I’m gonna leave and Effie will be devastated. But you haven’t once given me a reason to ponder staying, Evan. Have you even considered that an option? You always keep this invisible space between us. How can I think about staying somewhere for someone who’s so closed off?”

“Fuck,” he muttered. “Chloe… I’m sorry. I—”

“Sorry for what exactly? There’s more than one thing. Pretending that my job is the problem? Keeping me at arm’s length like all the other women you’ve dated? Or scolding me for doing something nice for your daughter? Pick one.”

“I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, I’m glad you did. Because you’ve put into words what I’ve been sensing from you lately. I needed to know whether to prepare myself, and now I do.”

“I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s late. I’ve gotta go.” I hung up on him.

After a minute of trying to calm myself down, I started to regret my harsh reaction. Evan had made a valid argument about not spoiling Effie, and I’d used it as an opportunity to vomit out all of the fears I’d been harboring. But maybe this was just the reality check I’d needed.

If he was protecting Effie, I needed to start protecting myself.

Chapter 37

EVAN

Uncle Drew sat across from me at Buck’s, a local bar. I’d asked him to meet me here during my lunch break.

“You don’t normally ask to meet for a drink in the middle of the day,” he noted. “This must be serious.”

I exhaled, rubbing my eyes. I’d barely slept since Chloe hung up on me a few days ago. I’d only spoken to her once since then, and it had been very brief before she told me she had to go. She didn’t answer when I’d tried to ring her yesterday.

“This is about Chloe?” Drew correctly assumed.

I nodded. “I fucked up, Drew.”

“You slept with her?”