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“Parking, right.”
“Park around the block, pull up your sweatshirt and keep watch.”
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you. But don’t get yourself in any trouble on my account—”
She was already gone, shuffling up the street.
He reversed the car into a cracked and weedy driveway, then did a U-turn and zipped down a side street. After a quick study of the curb, he discovered he’d picked the wrong side again, so he drove down the street until he found an unmarked area.
If it wasn’t valet parking, he was clueless.
He rounded the corner on foot and saw that there was a brief pause in the swell of foot traffic around Chloe’s house. It looked like a random shopping cart had hit the side of one of the TV stations shiny maroon vans. Not only that, but the older woman he’d just spoken to was sitting on the ground, wailing loudly while people knelt and assisted her.
Michael shook his head and smiled. Damn, she was some actress. Forget Julia. This lady could’ve gotten an Oscar.
Man, he owed her big time. Before he figured out how to pay her back, he had to get into Chloe’s place.
He jogged up the street, pretending he was out for a casual run. His dark glasses, scruff, and hoodie helped disguise him, and luckily, the crowd seemed to be mostly busy with the lady who’d saved his damn life.
Crossing the lawn at Chloe’s, he paused on the bottom step. What if she wasn’t home? Fuck, he didn’t have time to worry about that.
He knocked on the door he thought—hoped—was hers. When no one answered, he pressed his face against the glass. He couldn’t see through the lacy curtains in the window in the door.
Of course she wasn’t going to answer even if she was home. And she might not answer him anyway.
Out of options, he knocked on her neighbor’s door, praying under his breath as the voices in the street got louder and louder. The elderly lady was doing her best, but she wouldn’t be able to hold the paps off for long.
When the door swung open, he pushed his way inside and slammed it shut with his foot.
The woman whose house he’d just invaded shrieked. Actually shrieked.
“Shh, shh, I’m not a burglar.” He slipped off his glasses and gave her a sheepish smile. “I’m actually, well, a rockstar.”
“Do you have ID?” she squealed.
Rockstar ID? That was a new one. “I can show you my driver’s license, if you want to look me up.”
She nodded hurriedly and he pulled out his wallet, showing her his info.
“You’re Chloe’s new husband. Why didn’t you say so?” Her dark eyes widened and she peered up at him as if he was Jason Statham or something. “You’re beautiful.”
“Oh, thank you. Listen, I need to see Chloe. Like…now. Is she home? Can you let me into her apartment?”
“No, she’s at work. But her baby is here.” The young brunette woman smiled. “I’m Lori. So nice to meet you. You can stay here while we wait for Chloe to come home from work. She had the lunch shift today.”
“Great, thanks. Nice to meet you too.” He tucked his wallet and his glasses in his sweatshirt pockets and yanked back the hood. “Will Chloe be much longer?”
“About another hour. Axl’s still asleep, but you’re welcome to say hello to him. From the doorway, of course. He was fussy today and didn’t want to take a nap.”
“Axl.” Now that she said it, he was pretty sure he’d heard them mention the kid’s name before. “Like the guy from Guns ‘n Roses?”
Shit, he was already hot for Chloe, and now this? Her baby had a rockstar name. Damn.
“Yes. Her and her fiancé were big fans.”
“Nice.” He scratched the back of his neck. Yeah, the kid’s father had passed. Rough for him, and for Chloe too.
Neither of them had gotten many breaks from what he could tell.
