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His body tightened at her words. He wanted to see where things would go in the bedroom, but he was afraid of where they were going everywhere else. He had a feeling their fun fling was heading for a disaster, and every second they spent together would make it worse.
"Decker?" Chloe asked, a quizzical look in her eyes.
"Can I get a raincheck? I have an early morning. What I really need is sleep."
Disappointment ran through her gaze. "Sure, of course you can have a raincheck. Any time."
He got to his feet. "Leo asked me to come to his show tomorrow. What time does it start?"
"Noon."
"I don't know if I can break away. I told him I'd try, but I don't know."
"Okay. That's fine. I just wish you hadn't told him you'd try to make it. His father tells him that a lot."
"Well, I'm not his father," he snapped.
"I know. I just meant—"
"I know what you meant. I'm sorry. He took me by surprise. And by the way, apparently, some kid named Joey has a mom who thinks I'm your boyfriend, and Leo seems to have thoughts about that."
"What kind of thoughts?" she asked in surprise.
"He thought that meant I was going to live here."
"Oh." She licked her lips. "I guess people are already talking about us. I'll speak to Leo. I'll let him know."
"Let him know what?" he challenged.
She hesitated. "I'll tell him we're friends."
"We're more than that."
"What do you want me to tell him?"
He ran a hand through his hair, wishing he hadn't started this conversation. "I don't know. Let's discuss it later." He grabbed his coat and headed to the door.
Chloe followed him onto the porch. "I'm not sure what just happened," she said. "But thanks again for helping me tonight."
"You're welcome." He paused. "Everything is fine. I'm just tired. I'll talk to you tomorrow." He gave her a quick kiss and then left.
As he stepped onto the porch, the chilly air hit his heated face, and he drew in a deep breath, knowing he wasn't feeling anything close to fine.
ChapterTwenty-Six
Chloe didn't sleepall night, thinking about how her night with Decker had taken an odd turn. Clearly, Leo's questions about him being her boyfriend had bothered him. He probably also hadn't enjoyed the comparison to Kevin. Plus, instead of making him a great dinner, she'd abandoned him and left him to take care of her son.
This wasn't the life Decker wanted. He was a single man, a wanderer. He loved to travel. He didn't stay in one place. He liked to move on to the next thing. He'd told her all of that. He'd been completely up front about it. And she had barreled past all that because she liked him so much.
She'd been hiding from the truth since she first kissed him, because she'd wanted him so much. Now things were getting complicated. She couldn't keep pushing the future off, because it was coming fast. The house was almost done. The only thing keeping Decker in town would be her. But he wasn't going to stay for her and for Leo. She'd seen it in his eyes when he'd brought up the boyfriend comment. He didn't want to be her boyfriend. He didn't want to stay in Whisper Lake. He didn't want to be a family man.
She really had only one decision to make.Did she break up with him or wait for him to break up with her?
That painful, heartbreaking question ran around in her head as she got Leo up and dressed for school on Friday morning. It followed her to work and then to the recital, where even Leo's silly, happy dancing couldn't quite bring out her smile.
Decker didn't show up at the performance, which was fine because she didn't know what she wanted to say to him.What she needed to say to him.
But when Leo got in the car and started asking about Decker, it became very clear that avoidance wasn't going to be a solution any longer.
