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“Evan, I’m here. I came.”
I look up and smile. Chloe’s standing next to the table, dressed in jeans and an oversized red sweater. Her coat is draped over her arm. The wide smile on her face tells me she’s glad to see me.
She has no idea how glad I am to see her.
Chapter 18
Chloe
He stands and pulls me into a warm embrace. He looks as handsome as ever. He’s dressed just as casually as I am in jeans and a black sweater.
“Sit, Chloe.” He pulls on the back of a wooden chair that’s next to where he was seated.
As I sit, he takes my coat from my hands and drapes it over his on the back of a third chair.
“Did you have any trouble finding the place?”
I shake my head as I take in the space. It’s not packed, but there are enough diners to keep the servers on the move. “It was easy to find. I’ve never been here before though.”
He doesn’t seem surprised by that. Pizza is plentiful in New York City. You can eat a different slice every day for a month and still have hundreds more places to try.
“It’s one of my favorites.” He pushes the large menu in front of him aside. “I’ve never had the pepperoni with extra cheese so I’m looking forward to that.”
I like that he remembers what my brother said about my favorite pizza. It’s not a big deal, but it speaks to his attention to detail. I value that in my life. I have to pay attention to every small detail at work, but I do the s
ame in my personal life. Details can make all the difference.
“I like your brother,” he goes on. “Are the other two like him?”
I sigh. I had a feeling that he’d bring up Rocco and I was hoping there would be a way to effortlessly change the subject. I don’t see that out now, so I answer truthfully. “They’re all very different.”
“Are you the youngest?”
I nod. “I am.”
“I have an older sister,” he offers to my surprise. “That was it’s own special hell when I was growing up.”
I feel some of the tension in my shoulders release. “Did she bully you?”
“Babied me,” he corrects me with a soft tap on the top of my hand. “Whenever I’d turn around she’d be right there. I love her, but when you’re a twelve-year-old trying to be a bad ass, you don’t want your older sister watching your every move.”
“I know that feeling.” I laugh. “My brothers are overly protective. They’ve always tried their best to shield me from everything.”
“Is that why Rocco was giving me the once-over? He saw me as a threat?”
I shrug as I look down at the table. “He doesn’t want me to get hurt. He has yet to realize that I’m a grown woman who can take care of herself.”
He takes my hand in his and circles my palm with the pad of his thumb. “It’s good to have someone looking out for you. We all need that.”
We do.
I sit back in my chair. “Does your sister still look out for you?”
He releases my hand and drops his in his lap. “Not as much anymore. She’s got her own stuff going on.”
I don’t press. How can I? I’m not willing to share my secrets with him so I can’t expect him to share his with me.
***
