Chapter Ten #3
A dark kind of excitement, much like his own, flickered in Zayne’s eyes, and while Ethan knew he should move away from it, he found himself drawn further in.
“Your dad’s a dick.”
Zayne’s lips twitched. “I think that’s an insult to dicks, but yeah, he is.”
Ethan looked down to where Zayne still had a hold of his wrist, and Zayne instantly let him go.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“To touch me?” Ethan wasn’t sure where the words came from or why he even said them, but the second they came out of his mouth, he felt his cock jerk behind the zipper of his pants.
What the fuck?
Zayne swallowed and angled his chin up a fraction, trying to keep them the same height, but Ethan had him by a couple of inches.
“I grabbed you so we could talk. That’s different from just touching you.”
“Right…”
Zayne’s eyes narrowed. “What the hell is your problem, man? One minute you’re saving me, and the next—”
“And the next what? Ever since you got here, you’ve been getting all up in my face, trying to get my attention.”
“So?”
Ethan took a step back and ran his eyes over Zayne. “So, now you have it.”
“ THAT’S HOW YOU became friends?”
Ethan looked to Chloé, who sat wide-eyed and fully engrossed in his story, her half-eaten toast in her hand.
“I’m not sure friends is the right word. But that was the day everything changed.”
“What does that mean?”
Zayne’s eyes met his over Chloé’s head, and there was no mistaking the dark desire swirling in them. “He means that after that day, he couldn’t stop thinking about me.”
“Arrogant,” Ethan said.
“Tell me I’m wrong.”
“I can’t. That day changed everything for me. Every time Zayne walked into a room, I felt him. Every time he looked my way, I knew it. It was as if he was suddenly hard-wired to my soul.”
“Wow…” Chloé took a bite of her toast, then asked, “So what happened after that?”
“After that ”—Ethan winked at Zayne—“I let him eat lunch with me every day.”
Zayne chuckled. “Dinner and breakfast, too. I told you, I’m relentless.”
Chloé fell back against his chest and sighed. “I love that story. You were like…his Prince Charming.”
Zayne laughed. “I’m not sure Prince Charming ever called Cinderella’s dad an asshole, but it worked for me.”
“You know what I mean.”
Ethan eyed her closely. “You’re a romantic.”
“Maybe a little bit. I love a good love story. My fathers have a great one, and every time I hear it, my heart feels happy.”
Ethan caught Zayne’s eye as she took another bite of her toast, and he made a mental note to file that piece of information away and talk to Zayne about it later.
Romance. That was something they hadn’t done before. But then again, when it came to Chloé, they were doing a lot of things they hadn’t done before—what was one more?
* * *
“OKAY, I’M READY to go.”
Zayne looked across the living room to see Chloé fresh-faced and wearing the same dress she’d arrived in yesterday. She was on her way home, and had promised that she would steer clear of the restaurant until at least Monday—hopefully, by then all of this insanity with the senator would’ve passed.
Fuck, just thinking about his father left a bad taste in his mouth, and that was saying something after that delicious breakfast they’d all eaten out on the deck.
Ethan glanced up at him from the dishes he was stacking in the machine. “I’ll finish up here if you want to walk her down?”
“Sounds good.”
Chloé stopped on the opposite side of the counter and smiled at the two of them. “You look so domestic right now.”
Ethan wiped his hands on a dishtowel. “Looks can be deceiving.”
He crooked a finger at her, she leaned over the counter, and he took her chin and brushed a gentle kiss across her lips.
“We’ll see you tomorrow. I’m going to send a car for you and your fathers.”
“Ugh, okay. That’ll be a fun ride.”
He brushed his thumb over the corner of her lips and then reluctantly pulled away. “Everything’s going to turn out just fine. You’ll see. Now, Zayne’s going to walk you downstairs and our driver will take you home.”
“Okay. Thank you. I can’t wait to get my car back.”
“It should be sometime next week. And you don’t have to thank us. Just be safe.”
Chloé turned to Zayne, who held his hand out. “Ready to go?”
She nodded, took his hand, and waved her goodbyes as he led her to the elevator.
Moments later, they made their way into the foyer, and Zayne squeezed her hand. “You okay?”
Chloé looked up at him. “Yeah, I’m great.”
“Great huh?”
“Well, I’m going to miss going to work. But I understand now that you’re looking out for me, and I appreciate that.”
Zayne scoffed. “No you don’t.”
“I do .”
“Uh huh. You just don’t think it’s necessary.”
She was about to respond, but before she could, Zayne’s phone went off with Ethan’s ringtone. Not sure why Ethan would be calling him, he answered.
“Hey, what’s—”
“You need to come back upstairs.”
“What?” He shook his head and looked at Chloé. “Why?”
“Chloé can’t leave, at least not out the front door. There are reporters out there. Lillian just called up to tell me.”
“You’re fucking kidding.”
“I’m not. I just pulled up the feed, and there’s at least a dozen.”
Fuck . This was exactly what they’d been trying to avoid.
“Do you think they saw her yesterday?” he asked, and Chloé frowned, suddenly realizing she was the topic they were discussing.
“I don’t think so. I did a quick search and haven’t seen anything online. I think they’re waiting for you or me to step outside. She would just be an added bonus.”
“Fuck that.”
“My thoughts exactly. Come back upstairs and we’ll work out what to do next.”
He didn’t have to tell him twice. Zayne ended the call and reached for Chloé’s hand. “Change of plans, Red.”
As he led her back to the elevator, Chloé followed with a few questions of her own. “What do you mean? Who was that? And who saw me come here?”
Zayne all but punched a hole through the button to open the elevator doors, then they stepped inside.
“Zayne?”
He turned to see a look of worry in her eyes and tried to bank the annoyance that was filling him. “Sorry. That was Ethan. There are a bunch of reporters outside the club.”
Her eyes bugged wide. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.” He cursed and rubbed a hand through his hair. “We don’t think they saw you yesterday. But…”
Chloé swallowed and leaned back against the elevator wall. “Oh my God.”
He nodded. “Yeah, this is why we wanted you to lie low for a little while.”
When the elevator arrived back at their floor, Ethan was waiting. A grim line had replaced the relaxed expression they’d seen minutes ago.
“Show me,” Zayne said.
Ethan turned his tablet around, and Zayne saw the vultures with their cameras standing around the front entrance.
“Fuckin’ hell. This is the last thing we need.”
“Agreed.” Ethan looked to Chloé, who was standing as still and silent as a statue. “Chloé? Are you okay?”
She blinked as she looked between the two of them. “You were right.”
“Unfortunately.”
Zayne handed the tablet back to Ethan and headed to the windows that looked out over the city. “Did you check the back?”
“I did as you were coming up, and no one’s out there yet.”
“Then we should go.”
Ethan gave a clipped nod and grabbed his wallet, as Zayne took Chloé’s hand and led her to the fire exit. They quickly made their way down to the back alley, and a second later their SUV pulled up behind them.
They hurried her inside, and once the doors were shut and the vehicle was moving, Zayne looked to Ethan. “The estate?”
Ethan nodded. “That’s the best place right now. It’s safe and private.” He looked to Chloé, who was gripping Zayne’s hand like it was a lifeline.
It was one thing to know that reporters might be looking for you. But it was a whole other thing to come face to face with the reality.
“We know you aren’t supposed to come out there until tomorrow with your fathers,” Zayne said. “Do you want us to drop you home, or—”
“I want to come with you. If that’s okay?”
He squeezed her hand, trying to calm some of the nervous energy he could feel swirling around her. “Of course it’s okay. We just don’t want to cause any more issues with your family.”
“No. No. I’m sure once I explain, they’ll be fine with it. They’ll understand.”
Zayne nodded then looked back to Ethan, who gave the go-ahead to their driver and set a course for Winnetka.