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"I don't have time to go through it all here, so I'm taking some of the personal items to my house."
"Seems like you'll just have to move everything twice."
"You're right, but I'm tired, and I have to pick up Leo soon."
"You don't have to go through everything, Chloe. I don't need any more clues."
She wondered if that was true. "Well, like I said at the beginning, I want to do it for Eleanor. Someone should look at the things she thought were important to keep."
He frowned. "I believe you feel that way, but I think you still want to find the connection between Ellie and me."
"If I find another link, do you want to know?"
He thought about her question for a long minute. "I'm not sure."
"Well, you can think about it. It might not even be an issue. I'll see you tomorrow."
Decker spent the rest of Thursday and most of Friday thinking about the boxes that Chloe had taken to her house. He'd hoped to get an answer on Friday afternoon when she came to work at the house, but a work conflict kept her away, and he was left to wonder if she had found anything. He'd told her he didn't need any more clues about his connection to Ellie, but the longer he was working in her house, the more he realized he wanted more information.
That his father had kept the relationship a secret from him bothered him, because he hadn't thought they had any secrets. He'd believed they were as close as a father and son could be. But there were things his father had never shared with him. Maybe he would have eventually, but his father hadn't gotten the chance.
He might have that chance now.
When he finished up in the late afternoon, he got into his truck and made a quick decision that might be bad on a lot of levels, but he was going with it. He picked up his phone and called Chloe.
"Hi, Decker. Is everything okay?" she asked. "Sorry I couldn't get over there today."
"It's fine. I have some samples of tile and flooring that I wanted to show you. Can I bring them by the house?"
"Sure. That sounds fine."
"You're not going out."
"Nope, just hanging with Leo."
"Want to share some pizza while you look at the samples? You can call it a working dinner." He didn't know why he felt he needed to give her an excuse to have dinner with him, but it probably had something to do with the kisses they weren't talking about, the kisses he couldn't quite forget.
"Leo and I both love pizza," she said.
"Then I'll get enough for all of us."
"Great. But I have to ask..."
He steeled himself for whatever was coming.
"Do you just want to have dinner together and look at samples, or are you also curious about the boxes I brought home yesterday?"
He was relieved that her question was about the boxes and not about the attraction sizzling between them.
"Maybe both," he admitted. "Did you find something?"
"I haven't looked. I was going to do it tonight after Leo goes to bed. You could look with me."
"Well, let's start with pizza," he said, unwilling to commit to more. "Any requests?"
"Plain cheese for Leo, get a kid's size or a small one. I love everything: meat, veggies, whatever you like."
"Then I'll surprise you. I'll get salad, too."
