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“Just a family friend. I’m renting the house for the duration of your residency. It gives me a place to get away from the bright lights of Vegas and … um …”
Jordan was staying somewhere out in the desert alone.
“Could I maybe come and see you? I’ve been thinking about our conversation on the way over from LA and thought we should talk some more. If that’s okay? I can call an uber or get someone to drive me. Do you have an address?”
A sigh drifted down the line. “Don’t do that. I’ll come and pick you up. I’m leaving now.”
* * *
Damn.Another of his apparently not so well laid plans just went up in smoke. He’d chosen the desert house, well out of Vegas, as a place to go when Chloe wasn’t in town, it was somewhere that he could continue to work on his mental health while also considering his future. He wasn’t cut out to run hotels and resorts. Hours of therapy had seen him finally accept that being different from his high-achieving family members wasn’t a failing, he just wasn’t them. His passions lay elsewhere. Jordan was under no illusion that his career at Royal Resorts was all but over—much to his relief. The board and he were in agreement. This assignment was his swansong.
And now his sanctuary was about to be invaded by the one person he’d hoped would never set foot through the front door. He glanced at the open living space and gritted his teeth. This house was amazing. While the front was solid rock, the back which faced toward the desert and the mountains was a series of seamless glass panels. During the day, the view was a constantly changing palette of gray, gold, and red. The sand and rocks seeming to merge into one. The blue sky formed a frame for nature’s art.
At night, the sky was filled with a billion stars.
If he knew Chloe as well as he once thought he had, she would take one look at this desert oasis and decide she didn’t want to leave.
Resigned to his fate, Jordan snatched up his car keys.
* * *
The second Jordan stepped out of the elevator and into Chloe’s sky villa, she leapt off the couch and came to greet him. “I’m sorry, that was selfish of me. You were taking time for yourself, and I just clicked my fingers and summoned you, like the ultimate diva. I promise it won’t happen again.”
He gave her a doubtful look. They both knew that was a lie. She might not be a diva, but she wasn’t someone who was used to doing things for herself. Nor was she particularly good at being alone.
“Are you ready to go, or would you like to change?”
Chloe glanced at her sweats and dip-stained hoodie. The transition to couch potato had started not long after her people had all left, but over the past two days, she’d almost reached peak performance.
“I’m a bit of a home body mess right now. Give me a few minutes and I’ll grab a clean T-shirt.”
Jordan pointed at her dirty top, then to Chloe’s bare feet. “Do you have anything warmer than those? The desert gets really cold at night. I thought we could go and look at the stars. The night sky over the desert at the house is beyond amazing. I’d love to show you, but you would need to be dressed in more than bare feet and a T-shirt.”
She’d not put a lot of thought into her packing, rather she had just emptied a few drawers and tossed the contents into her suitcases. Bringing her heavy silver travel case had been more for effect than anything with any real purpose.
If I’m going to be in Vegas for a while, I will need clothes.
Chloe screwed up her nose. “I’m an idiot. I didn’t bring any real warm clothes with me. Could we go somewhere and buy something? What stores offer private shopping?”
She couldn’t just dash into a department store or wander the aisles of Target, but this was Vegas and there had to be somewhere that catered for the VIP shopper.
“We have arrangements with Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and a couple of high-end boutiques.”
They were all great sounding stores, but she doubted any of them would sell the sort of desert roaming gear she had in mind. “What about boots and jackets?”
Jordan pulled his phone from out of his back pocket and made a quick call. “Thank you, that would be perfect. We shall see you shortly.”
He hung up. “That was the private client manager at Nordstrom. They will have a room ready for us in half an hour. I’ll wait here for you to change and grab some things, then we can go.”
CHAPTERFORTY-SIX
The private shopping area at Nordstrom was in a separate space next door to the main store. After parking in the underground garage, Jordan and Chloe took the lift to the third floor. There they were greeted by a small team of elegantly dressed VIP shopping assistants. Jordan introduced her simply as Chloe, and noted what they were looking to purchase.
The VIP team was well trained. They were efficient, respectful, and never once gushed over the fact that they were helping one of the biggest pop stars in the world to shop for jeans and boots.
Chloe was ushered into an enormous changing room, while Jordan sat sipping a barista-made coffee. The shoppers took her measurements, and then disappeared. They returned fifteen minutes later hauling three racks filled with clothes.
“Would you like us to assist you with trying on some of the garments, or would you rather we left you alone? Some clients prefer us to leave them to work in private,” asked the head of the VIP team.
