Page 54 of Chasing the Sun

She stepped back as he glanced down at the display. “It’s Victoria,” he said and quickly answered.

“Hello. Is something wrong?”

The fog of lust lifted, and Chloe immediately went on alert. She watched his expression morph into concern as he listened to Victoria.

“I’m on my way,” he said and hung up the phone. He didn’t even look at Chloe as he turned and headed for the door.

“Bryce, wait! What’s wrong? Is it Molly?” But she knew it had to be for him to react this way.

“She’s at the emergency clinic. She fell off her bike.”

“Oh no.”

He grabbed his keys from the hook in the kitchen and hurriedly shoved on his shoes. She whipped into action and started to do the same.

“What are you doing?”

“Coming with you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I want to. Now, come on!”

She grabbed her purse off the counter, slipped past him, and went out the door.

Once they were speeding down the road, she said, “I care about her too, you know.”

“I know.”

But his mouth was set in a grim line, and gone was the affection between them. She understood he was worried about Molly, but he barely acknowledged her on the drive to the clinic. She wondered if it had been a mistake to go with him, but she was concerned about Molly too.

Maybe he was afraid that Victoria would think they were together, but she had a boyfriend, so why should it matter? So far, every encounter she’d had with his ex-wife had been a pleasant one. Even if Victoria suspected there was something between them, she doubted it would be a problem. Bryce seemed to be the only one who viewed it that way.

He pulled into the parking lot and jammed the car into park, barely waiting for her to get out before rushing through the doors of the clinic.

Victoria stood up and greeted them right away.

“What happened? Where is she?” Bryce said urgently.

Just then, a man came over and joined them, and Chloe assumed he was the boyfriend.

“She’s okay. They’re getting ready to put stitches in. We were just waiting for you to get here.”

“Well, I’m here. Lead the way.”

Victoria gave Chloe a quick nod, and then she and Bryce went through the door leading to the patient rooms.

After they’d left, the man said, “I’m Trace, by the way. Victoria’s boyfriend.”

“Chloe. Molly’s nanny.”

“I figured. Molly talks about you all the time.”

“She does?”

He nodded. “Want to sit down? We might be here a while.”

“Sure.”