62. Chloe
62
CHLOE
I woke just as dawn broke, lying in a bed that was as soft as a cloud.
I turned to glimpse the man next to me.
A sight I still hadn’t gotten used to after a week.
When my eyes came to rest on Sean, I noticed he’d awakened earlier than me, and he was lying on his side, propped up on his elbow.
Just looking at me.
“How long have you been awake?” I asked, glancing at the clock.
It was a little after seven in the morning.
“Not long enough,” he said, placing a kiss on my forehead before wrapping an arm around me and pulling me closer.
It had been a magical, busy week.
A few days ago, after Henry’s graduation ceremony, Sean had suggested we take a quick vacation, just the two of us.
I agreed, and we visited the little town of Southampton.
It had been a wonderful three days of lounging about in a luxurious hotel and having nothing but glorious, wonderful sex.
We’d had meals at odd hours, stayed up late, and said goodbye to any and every notion of a routine.
Now that we were back in New York, in Sean’s old apartment, I considered my options.
Most of my things were still in my apartment, and I knew I’d have to go back sometime.
It felt strange, waking up in Sean’s apartment without having Henry around.
I had no idea about Henry’s current schedule, but he’d been happy and made an effort to ensure our calls these days focused more on my life and the changes I’d been having than his.
Henry was packing, and soon, our apartment would be empty.
That hurt deep, but I knew it was a choice I’d made, and it was the price I had to pay.
I’d chosen another life, and our childhood apartment wouldn’t be ours anymore.
Sean leaned in, trailing kisses down my neck.
“I have an idea,” he said, nuzzling my neck and pulling me closer.
I was in shorts and a tank top, and Sean was wearing nothing but his boxers.
After we came back to his New York apartment, Sean had made sure to introduce me to every nook and corner.
We’d made a habit of making sure we had sex everywhere.
On the couch while watching TV?
Check. On the dining table right before dessert?
Check. In the bathroom right after finding a creative way to finish dessert?
Check. The kitchen wasn’t spared either, and there was an imprint of my hand on the glass cabinet from when Sean had taken me deep on the counter.
Going by the way his lips trailed a path down my face and to my neck, he was getting ready for another amorous adventure.
He smelled of his cologne from last night—a hint of citrus and cedarwood.
Before his warm lips on my skin could make me catch my breath, something else did.
I saw my old black tutu on a hanger in front of the dresser.
“What’s that doing here?” I asked, sitting up on my elbows.
I turned to Sean with a questioning look because there was no one else I could accuse.
He had a very knowing smile on his face as he reached up and ran his thumb lightly over my lips.
“You’re smiling,” I noted as I looked at him.
His brown eyes were warm with amusement, a playful expression on his face.
“From now on,” he said, kissing my nose, my lips, and my neck, “I’ll have you know that whenever I’m smiling, it’s completely your fault.” He finished up by kissing me on my bare shoulder.
His eyes, tender but all knowing.
“If there’s a question you need to ask, you’d better do it now before I lose myself in you.”
I placed a hand on his shoulder to nudge him aside as I got off the foot of the bed and walked toward the tutu.
It was old and faded …
but it was mine. My memories were tied up in this smooth fabric.
Loss and love intertwined.
“Where did you get it from?” I asked, amazed.
He sat up, swinging his legs off the bed.
“During one of my evenings with Henry, I asked him if he knew of any special things from your time dancing, and he said you had this tucked away in your closet somewhere. He said you wore it last when you danced the night of his accident and never again. So, I brought it out.”
“But I gave up on ballet a long time ago,” I said, running my fingers over the tulle.
“But I remember seeing a rather wistful expression on your face at Brianna’s dance performance. So, when I noticed a ballet dance company down the road from my new apartment, I thought of you. You’re going to dance again, Chloe. I want you to have everything you’ve missed in the past ten years.”
I walked over to him and cut his words off with a kiss.
He held me tight against him as he kissed back.
When we broke apart, I looked up at his warm brown eyes.
“I love you,” I said.
His voice lowered. “Move in with me,” was all he said as his arms tightened around me.
I inhaled. I wanted to.
Ever since that horrible fight, I’d regretted turning him down.
“To your new apartment?” I asked cautiously as my heart thrummed.
He hadn’t moved there himself.
He nodded, easing me down gently onto the bed next to him.
“Yes. I bought that place for us, and I didn’t have the heart to move in there alone. If you don’t like that apartment, we can find another one. But move in with me, Chloe. Live with me. It’s been only eight months together, but I want to wake up with you and go to bed with you night after night.”
All my breath left my lungs as wave after wave of emotion took over me.
It took me a while to find my tongue, and when I did, I nodded, blinking back the happy tears.
“I will,” I said, my hands brushing up his shoulders and cupping his face.
I loved this man. The way his stubborn expression broke into a smile just for me.
The way he reached for my hand every time we walked together.
The way he loved me, even when I couldn’t.
His eyes lit up at my words, and he bent his head over mine, his mouth soft and warm.
He tasted heavenly, his hand sliding up my back and cupping the back of my neck.
I reached up to thread my fingers through his hair and angled my face so I could deepen the kiss.
When we broke apart, chest heaving, I stared at him.
Finding an impossible urge to tease him.
“I don’t know about the new apartment though. What if it’s too far from my workplace and my next boss has me running errands at all hours of the night?”
He picked me up with a growl and nuzzled my ear.
“Then, I’ll kill him.”
I tut-tutted as I ran my hands through his hair while his lips made their way down my neck.
“Behave, Sean. What will Lucas think of his newly changed dad speaking like this?”
“He’s taking Brianna out on a date by the time he turns twelve. He’ll understand what I mean,” Sean said, his lips finding the dip in my cleavage and pulling me back to the bed.
Laying me down, he got on top of me on his knees, looking down with a proud smile.
“You look beautiful,” he said.
I savored the sight of him.
The fine slope of his nose and his sculpted jaw.
His hand slipped under my top, and I closed my eyes while his fingers went up and down my sides.
“But I won’t have you running around at night anymore,” he murmured.
“Not for me or anyone else, for that matter. You’ve taken care of Henry, and now that he’s independent, you need to let me take care of you. So, whether that means watching reality TV for hours after work or having our new cook, Madge, make dinner for us, you can have it.”
I closed my eyes at the image of relaxing in the evenings.
At the idea of having Madge, his personal chef, handle the housework.
“I like the sound of that very much, Sean. I don’t know how I’ll ever thank you.”
“You’re here,” he muttered again, bending down to get on his elbows as he brushed my lips with a light, feathery kiss.
“That’s all I need.”
I stared at him, eyes brimming with happiness.
“I can’t believe I almost lost you,” I whispered.
“It won’t happen again,” he said, pushing a lock of hair off my face.
“I’m happy with you. I’d be a fool to let you leave next time.”
He was making sure I was introduced to every part of his life, including his friends and business partners.
I’d even met Desmond and his wife, Ava, recently.
“By the way, I had a lovely time with Ava and Desmond yesterday,” I said.
“Did you know Ava asked me to join her shopping next weekend?”
“Is that so? That’s new to me. How do you feel about it?”
“I like her,” I said, thinking back to our dinner.
“She’s very grounded and totally in love with Desmond. I felt comfortable with her in a way I hadn’t expected.”
“She was Desmond’s high school sweetheart. She knows him better than anyone else, and she’s a very smart businesswoman herself.”
I remembered Ava mentioning her restaurant and resolved to ask her more about it next time.
Sean’s gaze turned curious.
“How is Henry?”
My eyes dropped to my hands.
I was quiet for a moment.
“He’s busy packing up his things and planning everything out for his PhD program. I’m not one hundred percent happy that he’s moving so far away, but it’s what he wants.”
“I think it’s a great sign Henry is going for it. The school has amazing facilities.”
Add to that, I didn’t have to worry about financing his medicines anymore.
Sean had refused to let me worry about that, finding a pharmacy that would deliver his brand-name medicines directly to his home.
I’d always worry about Henry’s health, but now, I knew that Sean would have Henry’s back even if I couldn’t.
I changed the subject, finding it hard to keep talking about Henry.
“Lucas should be here soon,” I reminded him.
Lucas was going to spend the day with me while Sean was having a busy day.
“And even though I’m not your assistant anymore, I should remind you that you have an event to get to today, even if it is a Sunday.”
Tassater Inc.
's foray into Asia had been a success, and they were having a celebratory press conference, where Sean would have to show up.
He was holding me around my waist as he looked at me, drinking me in. “Since you stopped working for me a couple of months ago,” he said, trailing kisses on my shoulder and down my arm, “it’s my turn to remind you that you need to get dressed for the same event. Lucas and you are joining me.”
I raised my eyebrows when he looked at me.
He nodded, a smile growing on his face. “All the public events? You’re accompanying me from now on, Chloe. You’re my girlfriend, and I’m showing you off to the world.”
I bit my tongue. I had known we would have this discussion sometime, but I hadn’t expected it to be so soon.
I was slowly getting comfortable with the idea of Sean and his world. But a public event?
“I’d love to,” I said finally.
Sean wanted to show me and the entire world that he was serious about me. He’d never been photographed with a woman in the years after his divorce. So, this was a big deal.
My fingers found his hand, and I gripped it tight. “Though I don’t know?—”
“I know what you’ll wear,” he finished, kissing me again. “It will be delivered to you in a few hours, so perhaps we need to head to the shower soon.”
Given my humble background, tongues would go wagging for sure, but I could now shrug and think … So what? I had the best man in the world, a man who truly loved me, and nothing could affect me anymore.
I cupped his face in my hands. “Thank you,” I whispered before leaning into his solid wall of a chest and hugging him. “Thank you for giving us another chance. Thank you for loving me. It’s been an awesome journey so far, and I’m nervous about what will come next because how do you top this feeling?”
He laughed as he pulled me off the bed and to the bathroom and turned the shower on.
“I think I know how to top this feeling,” he said, sliding a strap of my tank top off my shoulder.
He caressed my shoulders before undressing me. I lifted my arms, and in a minute, he took his clothes off as well, and we stepped into the shower.
“I love you,” I whispered, and his eyes softened.
He leaned in. “I love you more,” he said.