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“I think you and her need to get into a therapist’s office and have an honest discussion in front of a third party who isn’t invested. I’ll have Bethany talk to Alicia about it. Alicia got Bethany into therapy; it’s time for Bethany to return the favor.”
I shake my head. Damn, I would never have guessed the problems they were having, even though I’ve heard of exactly this kind of thing happening.
“Have Bethany call me after she’s talked to Alicia so I can know how she took it. I’m willing to go if it will help.”
“At this point, you’re going to have to be straight with her and just say she needs to go for the both of you. I wasn’t excited when Bethany wanted me to go, but I’m glad I did in the end, for both of us.”
Dom and I look at each other, neither of us saying a word, but it’s clear we’re not as envious as we might have been when we first got here.
11
Chloe
It’s ten minutes until ten on Monday, and I’m doing my best not to fidget. I’ve been here for almost an hour. The contractor, Ray, got here five minutes ago and has been doing his best to get on my last damn nerve since he walked through the door. I check my watch for what has to be the twentieth time.
“So, you want my sister’s number?” Ray asks intently.
“What?” Gay, he thinks I’m gay? Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I shake my head, trying to clear it. “I’m not gay. What made you think that?”
His eyes shift away, he shrugs as he mumbles and takes a step back. I think I catch the word “suit.” I look down at my clothes. It took an hour to pick this out. I’m in an Armani tailored suit in matte black teamed with a white button-down blouse. Okay, it’s a little severe, and maybe it would help if my hair was down and not in a slicked-back tight bun low at my nape, but how does it make me gay?
I’m relieved by the sound of the front door opening. I check my watch; it’s ten on the dot. The sound of Enzo’s voice skims right up my spine, I have not missed the bastard. Then he’s there filling the doorway and fuck, I have missed him.
His eyes find mine. Instantly they flare hot, bright, and steal the air out of my lungs. He blinks and turns away and I’m cold, empty. I want to scream at him for what he’s doing to me. The high-pitched giggle catches my attention, and it’s only now I see the tiny blonde at his side in sky-high stilettos. Introductions are made all around, and I struggle not to break the tiny hand of Jill Franklin. It doesn’t help when she giggles again; at what, I have no idea.
The next hour and a half is excruciating, not just because of the endless giggling, but because Enzo barely looks my way even as he drags me into the conversation, referring to my previous thoughts on how to redo the kitchen. Jill giggles as she tells me my thoughts are cute but won’t work without explaining why they won’t. Turning away, frustrated, I find myself in the odd little nook off the kitchen trying to get my temper under control, wishing I could hide in a restroom and splash some water on my hot face.
“Why don’t we use this space for a half bath? There’s no bathroom on this floor, visitors will have to go upstairs or downstairs. Enzo, what do you think?”
For the first time since he walked through the door I have his whole attention. He walks toward me, studying the space, the wall of windows and the oddly configured small seating area. “How the hell did I miss not having a bathroom on the first floor? This makes perfect sense. Ray, how hard would it be?”
Ray’s been scribbling the whole meeting, not missing a figure or measurement. He pulls out his tape measure and runs it from the center of the room toward the wall where the sink is. “We’ll have to reroute the plumbing over here so it will cost you a couple grand easy, but if we did it then we could give you the dishwasher in the island or even another sink. Considering this would be a bathroom, we’d want to bring the windows up to about here. We could leave them in place and do black glass or even colored glass to match the color of the brick. The main question is about whether or not to leave this storage here. We have all the room we need to drywall over this, but if you took this out you could make this a full bathroom with a basic bath surround.”
Enzo frowns as he looks to me. “A full bath right off the kitchen. I don’t think we need a full bath down here, do we?”
I shake my head. “The powder room is enough. There are six other full bathrooms in the house as things stand. I think you can have too many full baths.”
“A half bath it is. The angles aren’t great in this corner, make it as even as you can get it. While we’re talking about this corner, I hate the damn ceiling and that light.” Enzo moves away with Ray to discuss ways of changing the light fixture going down a hallway.
I almost jump when I realize Jill is only feet away from me, staring at me. “Your desperation is truly pathetic. You are punching way out of your weight class, sweetheart. Quit while you’re ahead before you embarrass yourself.”
The words are a hiss, barely audible to my ears, so Enzo and Ray couldn’t possibly have heard them as they are on the other side of the room going over how many men Ray thinks he needs over how many Enzo thinks are needed. Yet as my stomach dips at her ugly words, Enzo’s head comes up and his eyes find me. Without a word to Ray he’s in front of me within seconds.
“Are you okay?”
What the fuck? How can he be such a fucker, then act like he cares about me? I shake my head. “I need to get going. It’s almost noon, I have a lunch appointment with a client. I didn’t think we’d go this long.”
It’s clear he doesn’t believe me, but nods. “Go on, I’ll finish here.”
Jill bats her lashes, then she puts her hand on his arm to get his attention. “Enzo, I’m not going anywhere. I’m so excited about working with you on this project.”
Anger goes through me so hot, so shocking it scares me a little. Enzo shrugs off her hand, then steps back. “If you’ll excuse me, Jill. I need to see Chloe out.”
A hand wraps around my arm as he drags me after him. “What the hell is going on with you?” he thunders once we’re out on the front lawn.
“Don’t yell at me, damn it! Ar
e you fucking serious? You tell my boss a personal plan in a light meant to shame and embarrass me over brunch, you belittle me, you ignore me, then you want to know what is going on with me?”
