Page 76 of Chasing the Sun

With that, she turned and walked away, leaving him standing alone in the blasted sand.

Chapter 25

For several days following the run-in with Dr. Johnson, Chloe avoided being alone with Bryce. The encounter served to remind her that she was only there for a short time and she was getting too attached. She was also consumed with jealousy, thinking that after she left, he might turn back to his colleague and forget all about her. So instead of making goo-goo eyes and following him around like a puppy dog, she adopted an air of cool politeness. It reminded her of how they used to behave before they’d made love. It was at night, when she went to bed alone, that sadness overtook her.

On a Thursday evening, she’d just gotten out of the bathtub when she heard a faint knock on her bedroom door. She’d tucked Molly in an hour ago, but maybe she was having trouble sleeping.

“Just a minute,” she called. She wrapped the towel tightly around herself and padded to the door, but when she swung it open, it wasn’t Molly standing there.

“What…what are you doing here?”

He placed his index finger over his lips and then whispered, “Can I come in?”

She nodded, realizing it was safer for him to come inside than stand in the hallway talking to her while she was in a towel. If Molly happened to wake up and see them, it would be hard to explain.

He stepped inside and flipped the lock behind him. They gazed at each other for a few beats, and her heart fluttered in her chest. He was wearing a pair of gray sweatpants and a plain white T-shirt, but she always liked his bedroom look. In the meantime, his eyes roamed over her with longing and a hint of sadness like he’d missed her too.

“You haven’t answered my question. What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“It’s late.”

“I know. I wanted to make sure Molly was sleeping first.”

“What if she wakes up and hears us?”

“I peeked in on her. She’s out.”

“Wait here while I get dressed.”

“I’ll only be a few minutes.”

She arched her eyebrow, and he gave her a tentative smile. If he thought she’d let him seduce her while his daughter was right down the hall, he was wrong.

She perched at the end of the bed. “So talk.”

“Can I sit down?”

Since there weren’t any chairs in the room, that left the bed, and she nodded warily.

He sat down, leaving a respectable distance between them, and clasped his hands in his lap.

“I’m not sure where to begin.”

“Maybe I should start, then.” She hadn’t planned on doing this tonight, but since he was there, she might as well get it over with.

“Okay.”

“You were right. What we did…us being together…complicated things. We made a mistake.”

His brow furrowed, and he started to say something, but she cut him off.

“Don’t get me wrong. It was fabulous, the sex, I mean, but we never should have done it.”

His eyebrows practically hit the ceiling, but he let her continue.

“I was hired to do a job, not do you, and I’m sorry for confusing things.”