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“Yup.” I finish making the salad and place it in the fridge to chill while I set the table.
During dinner, the three of us talk about science, space, andHe-Man,of course, and Chloe asks Alex a litany of questions about his life. Afterward, we settle in with bowls of ice cream while we watch an episode ofHe-Manbefore I take Chloe upstairs for bed.
“Hey, sweetie, I wanted to talk to you really quick about earlier.”
“Yeah?”
“Well, Alex and I haven’t talked about anything serious, if you know what I mean.” She scrunches up her face in confusion. “We haven’t said the L word to each other.”
“You haven’t? Why not?”
“Well, it’s complicated when you’re my age and you’re a mom. You have to be very careful about who you say that to.”
“So you don’t love him?”
“Well,” my stomach flips and my heart feels like it’s in my throat, “I think that’s something I’ll need to discuss with him first, but I promise, no matter what happens between Alex and me, it doesn’t change anything with us.” I poke her nose and she swats it away.
“Mom, I’m not a little kid. I know.” She rolls her eyes dramatically.
“I wish you’d stay a little kid forever.” I grab her and pull her in for a hug, kissing the top of her head. “I don’t want you to grow up.”
“That’s why you need to be in love with Alex and marry him so I can have a little sister and you can have a baby.”
“Oookaay, enough of that, young lady.” I laugh, mussing her hair and tucking her in. “Good night, Chloe. I love you.” I shut off her light, lingering in her doorway for a minute. A massive weight has been lifted from my shoulders now that there isn’t the impending threat of someone watching my house or waiting to blackmail me.
Coming face to face with the man who had been terrorizing Chloe and me wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be. Maybe it was because he was in my office, and once I saw him in person, the threat of him didn’t seem so scary. Also, knowing that Alex and the guys at Four Forces were probably waiting outside certainly helped.
I let out a sigh of relief, closing her door and making my way back downstairs. Alex has just finished putting our ice cream bowls in the dishwasher, and he walks out of the kitchen to meet me at the bottom of the stairs.
He slides his arms around my waist, my mouth level with his as I stand a few stairs up. “So why are you still here, Mr. Rockwell? Especially now that the threat of someone hurting me has been mitigated and the settlement with Delmore has been reached?”
“Well, I always like to make sure I thoroughly see a job through.” He flashes me a sexy smile.
“And when will you decide if it’s through or not?” I keep my teasing, lighthearted tone. I know this is a very real conversation we’ve both been avoiding, but we can’t put it off forever.
“Chloe’s right, you know.” His lips hover over mine. His hand comes up to cup my cheek as he leans in, kissing me so gently. “Iamin love with you.” My heart skips what feels like 10 beats. “I don’t need you to say it back; I just need you to know it’s how I feel.”
He kisses me again. I can’t keep the smile off my face. I open my mouth to tell him that I’m scared—unsure about how to navigate this while being a single mom—when there’s a faint knock at the front door. I pause. “Did you hear a knock?”
“I did,” he says, stepping away from me. “Stay there.” He grabs his gun from his holster by the front door as I creep behind him. He holds the gun down by his side, out of view of the person at the door as he slowly opens it.
“Can I help you?”
“Hi, sorry, maybe I have the wrong address. I’m looking for Juliette Pierce?”
I recognize the voice instantly.There’s no way.I walk through the entryway, stepping up beside Alex to pull the door back.
“Caleb?”
20
ALEX
The ex-husband? You’ve got to be kidding me.
“Hey, Jules, sorry to stop by unexpectedly like this. How have you been?” He’s exactly what I pictured she’d go for: tall, fit, dresses like he comes from old money with a suit that was custom-made and a vintage Rolex on his wrist. You’d never know by looking at him that the man either had or still has any sort of drinking or substance abuse problem. But I’ve been around enough of these super-rich corporate types to know they hide it well. You’d be surprised the amount of cocaine most of these powerful guys mainline.
“I—I’m surprised to see you.” Juliette lets out a nervous laugh.
