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“You’ll want a spot that’s unpainted or gray. The other curb colors have rules.”
“Uh, okay. Thanks.”
She nodded and smiled at him with a mouthful of perfect teeth. Just as she was about to turn away, he touched her arm. “Hey, can you help me?”
“Help you?” Her laughter was rich and warm. “I’d think you wouldn’t need any help at all, fancy car like this one. What’d this set you back? One hundred grand?”
He averted his gaze. “About that, yeah.”
“Nice ride. Better keep it moving. This neighborhood, someone might try to help themselves.”
“I’m only passing through.” Maybe. He honestly wasn’t sure.
If Chloe refused to leave with him—which all indications seemed to point to—then what? He couldn’t just take off. But he had no choice. She was a grown woman, and she had every right to make her own choices.
He was a virtual stranger, and he had no business trying to take over her life. His help was self-serving anyway, wasn’t it? He wanted to save his rep, so of course he wanted his new faux missus stationed at his home to help make the story more convincing.
Except it so wasn’t about only that. Not anymore.
“What did you need help with then? If it’s trying to get past that tangle up there, sorry, no can do. They’re here morning and night nowadays. The girl in that house? She
got married over the weekend to a rockstar. It’s the biggest news story around here since those three Carson boys made good.”
Michael frowned. “Which Carson boys?”
“Deacon, Simon and Nick.” She ticked them off on her fingers. “They were the best of friends around here, then went off to be rockstars. Guessing that’s how she met her fella. I enjoy rock music myself.” She patted the battered boom box-style radio in her cart and his chest lurched. “She’s a regular Pretty Woman, our Chloe. Got herself saved by her own Richard Gere.”
“I’m no Richard Gere.” And Chloe was no prostitute. She did have the gorgeous red hair like Julia Roberts though.
Fuck.
“No, but you do all right.” The older woman smiled at him, and he realized she’d known he was the rockstar all along.
“I’m sorry,” he said, not knowing what he was apologizing for.
That she’d had to struggle so much while he sat in an expensive car? That Chloe obviously did too while she was raising a little boy? He didn’t know.
All he knew was he wanted inside that little house to see Chloe again. More than anything.
“Nothing to be sorry for. You married that girl. She works herself to the bone to provide for her baby. When she is home, she’s with that child.” She cocked her head. “I bet you have a really nice place.”
“Yes, I do, ma’am.”
“So she should be there with you.”
He swallowed hard. “Yes. She should.”
Wanting her to live with him probably made about as much sense as any of the rest of this. She’d claim he felt sorry for her, but God, it wasn’t that. He was growing more impressed with how she lived her life and who she was by the second.
He’d seen her with her kid. She loved him to pieces. If his own mother had been half as conscientious, he would have been lucky.
“I need to see her, but I can’t get near her house. Do you have any ideas? I could just push my way past them and get inside, but they’d just bother her even more. I don’t want that.”
“You’re lucky none of them have noticed your flashy car yet. Handy, you being parked this far up the street.”
“Yeah, I kind of suck at subterfuge.”
She laughed. “Just leave it to me to get you inside, but you’ll have to move fast. Can’t leave the car here though.”
