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“Maybe I want to provide for you and Eloise!”
“No, you don’t. I appreciate your friendship, Chet. It means a lot to me. You’re one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, but—”
“Oh, you’re not going to give me the friend talk right now. You fucked me in my bed last night.”
“So? It didn’t mean anything to you. You said it yourself.”
“When did I say it didn’t mean anything to me?”
“You told me that.”
“I don’t think I did, actually. I think you assumed that without talking it through with me.”
I blinked. “So… what are you trying to say?”
Chet swallowed. “I’m saying that maybe, just maybe, I want to step up to the plate. Maybe I want to have a real go of this with you, Arya.”
“A real go of this?”
“Maybe it means that I’m falling for you, and I want to step up to the plate and take care of you.”
“I don’t need you to take care—”
“I know you don’t need me to pay for everything for you and for Eloise. And I know you don’t need me to be Eloise’s father, but I want to be there for you. Maybe I’ve realized that what I’ve been fighting is myself. And maybe I realize that two is always better than one. Or in our case, three.”
“What do you mean three?”
“You, me, and Eloise, silly.”
“You can’t just say things like that, Chet. This isn’t a game.”
“I never said it was a game.”
“I can’t just have someone in and out of Eloise’s life. If you’re going to be in her life, it has to be…”
“Forever,” he said softly. “I know that, and that’s what I want.”
“You do?”
“Yes. I know you don’t believe me, and I know this has just been an absolutely crazy week, but I want to be in your life forever. And I want to make this work. I want this to be a real relationship. Will you give me a shot? Please?”
The silence stretched out between us as I considered his words. “I have to think about this,” I finally said. “I just don’t know.”
“Okay. I’ll give you as much time as you need, but promise me one thing, Arya.”
“What, Chet?”
“Promise me you’re not going to take another job without talking to me first, please.”
“Fine,” I said. “I can do that, but…”
“What?”
“If I like the job, you have to let me do it.”
“Fine. I promise.” There was another long pause, then he smiled. “So does this mean you’ll spend the night with me?”
Chapter One Hundred Twelve
