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Everyone looked to be having a good time and chatting. Technically the place had been open for the event for the past hour, so maybe fashionably late would be okay. Point was, he’d made it. And the stop beforehand would be worth it…he hoped.
He stayed in the shadows between the bar and kitchen. Everyone was on the main floor, and that’s when he spotted her.
Chloe.
She was beautiful. Her dress, hair, face—she was the loveliest woman he’d ever seen. She spoke with everyone, but her smile didn’t reach her eyes. In fact, her gaze looked a little glossy.
And it was his fault.
She moved through the crowd so gracefully it made his heart jump, but she didn’t see him. Not yet.
Didn’t matter. She was his—always had been. And he had to make this work.
Finally, she headed toward the kitchen…
“Sweetheart,” he said as soon as she stepped inside.
Chloe jumped. “What are you doing here?”
He slid the small covered dish he’d brought toward her. “This is for you.”
She frowned at the dish and shook her head. “Are you okay?” She covered her mouth. “Is the family okay? Did you find her parents?”
“The parents are fine. They’re all together again.”
She nodded. “So you did your job.”
“Actually, I didn’t go back out. The team I trained found the parents.”
He watched her chest rise and fall on a heavy breath. She cared about him. Worried about him. And he’d made her worry more.
She frowned and her eyes ran the length of him. “Um, Gage…what are you wearing?”
He glanced down the front of himself. “Scrubs.”
“Uh-huh.” She looked him over again.
“What? You’re not into the doctor look?”
A small smile broke her lips. “You look like a GI Joe dressed up to play doctor, right after you jump out of a helicopter and meet the A-Team for a rendezvous at headquarters.”
Well, that was better than her telling him he looked like a jackass. Because he felt like one.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I would have dressed up. I really am so sorry, and I just needed to get here. I would have been here sooner, but I—”
“Have a job. People to save. I know. I get it. And I’m not mad about it.”
“Actually, I was going to say I had to make this…” He slid the dish toward her again, and she opened it.
“Crab cakes?” she asked.
“A few days ago Natalie said you were struggling, so she gave me the recipe. I don’t know if they’re exactly like your mom’s, but maybe they’re close?”
Chloe stared into the dish and covered her mouth with her palm. “They look exactly the same. Thank you.” That look in her eye softened. “They’re raw.”
“Well yeah, I put them together, but you are going to cook them.”
“I can’t,” she said.
