Chapter Twenty
After their heartbreaking conversation, they’d both finally fallen asleep and slept the remainder of the day away.
Chloe awoke to find Erik still in bed with her, still holding her, but already awake.
She’d expected him to still be sleeping.
After all, she hadn’t stayed up all night like he had, so she should have woken first.
He kissed her nose. “Want to go out for that coffee tonight?”
The question perked her up with excitement until she remembered the motivation behind the date was to lure Jackson out. Talk about a mood killer. But she still agreed. She also went all out getting ready. Regardless of the reason behind it, she was excited to go out on a date with Erik.
She had a nice, long shower and took her time preparing.
She did her hair, painted her nails, then spent extra time on her makeup to make sure it was perfect, before donning her prettiest dress.
The deep burgundy color was one of her most flattering shades.
The halter neckline left her shoulders bare, while the gauzy layered fabric of the knee-length skirt floated around her legs as she moved.
It was too dressy for a coffee date, and the strappy high-heeled sandals she paired with it would leave her feet cold, but she didn’t care.
She wanted to look her best, and judging by Erik’s face when she stepped out of the bedroom, she’d succeeded.
He stared at her, his lips parted, until Jayla, grinning, whacked him in the stomach with the back of her hand. “Say something,” she hissed.
Chloe let out a low laugh, her cheeks heating with pleasure, as Erik tried to pull himself together. “You look amazing.”
“Thank you. So do you.”
He was dressed similarly to what he’d worn to Danny’s burial, except he’d swapped out the black sweater for an olive green one.
“I feel underdressed.” He waved his hand up and down. “You look… Wow.”
“Yes, yes,” Jayla cut in brusquely. “Everyone gets to look nice and go out and have fun, while poor Jayla is stuck in the car on surveillance with nothing but stale coffee and donuts.”
Erik cut her a look. “I just brewed that pot for you, and you said you wanted donuts.”
“Whatever. Not my point. Are we ready? Do we need to go over the plan?”
They’d chosen a place close to the opera house.
Chloe had been there once before with Lattie, and while they served coffee and pastries, it was a place people went to be seen.
Young professionals, artists, intellectuals, and grad students.
It was just the sort of place the old her would have frequented.
The kind of place Jackson would expect her to go.
It was busier than she thought it would be, with it being a Sunday night, but they got lucky and managed to snag a table near the large front window when a group of young women left.
“I’ll go order for us?” Erik offered.
Chloe nodded happily and told him what she wanted.
Quietly, for Jayla’s ears, he asked, “You’ve got eyes?” She must have answered in the affirmative, because he dipped his chin and told Chloe, “I’ll be right back.”
She couldn’t resist watching him, admiring him, as he stood in the slow-moving line.
He was wearing his black wool peacoat again, and it was tailored superbly to his frame.
It was only when he dropped his head and his shoulders hunched slightly that she realized she wasn’t the only one looking at him.
Glancing around, she saw the expressions on people’s faces as they stared, saw them whispering behind their hands, and she stiffened.
Something told her he could hear them, whatever they were saying, and fury for him rose inside of her.
She wanted to spring out of her seat and scream at the lot of them to leave him alone!
Instead, she rose and went to him. He looked at her with surprise, but she smiled up at him, wrapped her arm around his waist, and went up on her tiptoes to kiss him. “I missed you.”
A hint of a smile touched his mouth, and she could tell he knew exactly what she was up to, and also that he was grateful. With an arm around her, he hugged her closer. “We might lose our table.”
“I don’t care. I’m right where I want to be.”
Erik stood a little taller, though Chloe was well aware he was still uncomfortable.
People continued to stare, kept talking, speculating, but as long as she was with him, he wouldn’t have to bear it alone.
“We don’t have to stay long. If you want, we can get the coffee to go.
I’m looking forward to our walk, anyway. ”
His mouth tightened a bit, and he nodded. “All right.”
Outside, it was chilly, the temperature having dropped in the time they’d been inside.
She probably should have brought a jacket, but she was glad she hadn’t when Erik removed his peacoat and draped it around her shoulders.
“Thank you.” She snuggled into it. It was warm from his body and smelled like him. A light, clean, woodsy scent.
With her coffee in one hand, she reached for Erik’s free hand with the other and laced their fingers together.
This was a nice, upscale neighborhood, well-lit by streetlamps, with wide sidewalks making it easy for them to walk side-by-side.
“There’s a pretty park not too far from here.
” Walking the distance in heels meant her feet wouldn’t just be cold, but sore as well, but she’d suck it up.
Erik nodded. “Heading to the park. Any sign?”
He wasn’t talking to her, and it was a sharp reminder that they had a third wheel on this date. Hell, it was a reminder that this wasn’t a date at all. A hint of bitterness crept into her voice when she asked, “Anything?”
“Nothing yet.”
Good. Then Jackson wouldn’t hear her. “When this is over, we’re going on a real date.”
“Sure.”
Chloe looked up at him. The tight jaw, the pinch of his lips, added to the tone he’d used, made her think he didn’t believe that would happen. Did he think that when this assignment was over, she’d just let him walk away? Not happening, mister.
Stopping, she dropped his hand and grabbed the front of his sweater, pulling him down – a move that only worked because he let her, but she’d take it.
“I’m looking forward to it.” She kissed him, licking at his lips for him to let her in.
With a groan, he opened his mouth, his tongue dancing with hers as his arm swept around her and pulled her tight to his body.
He was hard against her, ready, and Chloe had half a mind to say screw the park and go home.
When they finally broke apart, they were both breathing heavy, their gazes locked for several heart-pounding moments before Erik suddenly changed.
His eyes, which had been hot with passion and need just a moment ago, turned cold and predatory.
His movements would look casual to an observer, but Chloe could feel the tension surrounding him as he maneuvered her behind his back and scanned the buildings across the street.
“What is it?” Jayla had to have seen something and communicated it to Erik.
His posture relaxed, and he shook his head. “False alarm.”
Holding out his hand, she took it and they resumed their walk. But Chloe was curious. “What did she see?”
“Someone lurking in the alley across the street, but it was just a homeless person.”
At least it wasn’t one of the more aggressive ones.
Chloe always felt bad for them, but it was scary when they’d walk right up to your car, asking for money when you were stopped at a red light.
Worse, though, was when they approached you in the parking lot of a store as you were walking to your car.
Holding on to Erik a bit tighter, she took a tentative sip of her coffee.
It had cooled enough that it wouldn’t scald her tongue, so she took a deeper drink.
“I think I’d like to go for a walk on the beach,” she told him, picking up their conversation where they’d left off.
She wished her feet were in the sand right now since the straps across her toes were beginning to rub.
“We’ll bring a blanket and a picnic lunch. Make a day of it.”
“Going to be getting too cold for the beach pretty soon.”
That skepticism was still in his voice, but Chloe pretended like she didn’t hear it and barreled on.
“Oh, I don’t know. Mother Nature may still have a hot flash or two in store for us.
” Autumn down here was very different from New York.
Chloe remembered the previous year, there’d been a couple of days, even in December, when she’d had to turn her AC on.
With a quiet, “mm,” Erik nodded and raised his coffee cup to his lips. Chloe’s eyes narrowed. Doing the non-committal thing was he? She’d see about that. “What would you like to do for a date?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably something quiet. Just the two of us.”
She leaned into his side, and he let go of her hand to wrap his arm around her. “I’m on board with that,” she told him. “Paint me a picture.”
“You want me to paint something for you?”
Chloe laughed. She probably should have worded that better, considering he was an artist. “No. Well, I mean, yes, if you want to paint me something, I’d love it, but I meant, paint me a picture with words. Your perfect date. Describe it. Where would we go?”
He stopped and turned toward her, and his finger hooked under her chin. “Every moment I spend with you is perfect, Chloe. The where doesn’t matter, because, when I’m with you, you’re all I see.”
Her breathing hitched, and her heart pounded as he leaned in to kiss her. Chloe sank into the embrace, returning it. When he pulled back slightly to look into her eyes, she whispered, “Let’s go home.”
Because all three of them had been away, they needed to check the perimeter, the building interior, and her apartment before Chloe could even get out of her car.
She knew it was for her safety, but it was all so tedious.
Her feet hurt, she wanted to take her shoes off, and she just wanted to go inside and cuddle up with Erik alone.
As soon as they walked through the door, Erik excused himself, saying he had a couple of calls to make, and Chloe tried to keep the disappointment off her face. So much for dragging him into her bedroom for that alone time.
Chloe bent over to remove her sandals, and Jayla commented, “Well, I don’t know if Savoy was watching, but if he was, he certainly got an eyeful. I know I got an eyeful.”
Letting out a sigh of relief as she kicked off the heels, Chloe examined the red marks on her feet. “It was just a couple of kisses.” It wasn’t like Erik had pushed her against a wall and raised her skirt. Hm. Now there was an idea…
“I bet he’s raging.”
With a confused frown, Chloe looked at Jayla. “Who?”
“Savoy, of course.”
In response, Chloe let out a sound of irritation.
She was sick of talking about Jackson, hearing his name, planning everything around him.
She was just sick of it all. She wanted to close that chapter of her life.
Permanently. The sooner they drew him out, the sooner she could be done with this. “I need to call Lattie.”
Closing herself in her room, Chloe changed out of her dress and into some comfy sweats and warm socks before she made the call.
Lattie’s exuberant greeting immediately brought a smile to her face, and she almost wished she’d done a video chat.
The production hadn’t been shut down that long, but she already missed him.
“How are you, Chloe?” His voice turned somber. “That was lovely, what you and John did at the burial. Everyone thought so.”
“Thank you.” A duet hadn’t been planned, but she’d been grateful when John had joined in. Between the grief and the fear of possibly seeing Jackson, she hadn’t been at her best, and John’s strong baritone had helped bolster her.
“How are you holding up?”
“I’m well, thank you, Lattie. Listen, I wanted to pass an idea by you. Get your thoughts.” She told him about the idea for the concert to honor Danny’s memory. “Is that something you think you could pull together on short notice?”
“What a splendid idea, and yes, absolutely. We’ll all have to put our heads together, nail down a date, plan the program, schedule rehearsals and costuming, but it’s certainly doable. Let me reach out to some people, and I’ll get back to you.”
“Thank you.” She was just about to say goodbye when a thought suddenly occurred to her. “Oh, and Lattie? When you talk to the media, you have my permission to include my name.”
Hesitantly, Lattie asked, “Are you sure, Chloe?”
“Yes. I’m sure.”
The call concluded, Chloe opened the door to her bedroom. Erik and Jayla were sitting in the living room, both with laptops in front of them, as they quietly discussed something. She was just about to update them on where they were with the concert for Danny when Erik’s phone rang.
He sprang up from the couch, his phone to his ear. “Doctor Fernandez, thank you for calling me back so quickly.”
Chloe’s heart leaped into her throat. He’d called a doctor? Was he sick?
“Yes, I’d like to get the ball rolling as soon as possible. I understand we need to meet, and you’ll need to take a biopsy.”
What in the world?
“Yes, that’s right, but I’m still in the area. I can take a few hours.”
Chloe wanted to go over and ask Jayla what was going on, but she didn’t want to miss anything Erik might say.
“Really? That would be perfect. What time tomorrow?” He nodded. “Nine a.m. it is. I’ll see you then.”
As soon as he hung up, she lurched forward, her arm extended. “What’s the matter? What’s going on? Did you find a lump?” That was the only thing she could think of that would require a biopsy.
Erik took her hand. “No. There’s a doctor who can fix my face. It’s cloned skin, so he needs a biopsy of healthy tissue to grow the graft.”
She was so relieved her knees nearly buckled. He wasn’t sick, wasn’t dying. “That’s great news.” She searched his face. “I hadn’t realized you were looking into that.” He hadn’t said anything.
He nodded, but instead of elaborating, he turned his attention to Jayla. “He can meet me tomorrow morning at the Children’s Hospital here, so I shouldn’t be gone long.”
Jayla smiled. “We’ll be fine.”
Maybe it wasn’t her place, but the words tripped off her tongue. “I want to go with you.”