Chapter 34
EVAN
After dinner tonight, tell me something you’ve been keeping from me.
That was the challenge Chloe had left on my bedside table before I woke up this morning, and the note had been burning a hole in my pocket all day.
There wasn’t a lot I’d kept from her. But I could think of at least one thing I’d never told her.
I’d been hoping she’d conveniently forget that it was her turn to challenge me—but no such luck.
So much had happened in the week since we’d slept together.
Chloe had found a local woman to act as Judy’s caretaker so she could try moving her into the house.
With that falling into place, Chloe and I had decided to explain the significance of the house to Effie tonight at dinner, as well as break the news that Chloe would be moving there to live with her mom.
In the middle of our meal, I turned to Chloe. “You want to start?”
“Sure…” She cleared her throat. “So, Effie, we have to talk to you about something.”
My daughter stopped twirling her pasta and looked up at us with her big, beautiful brown eyes. “What?”
“I have to move out next week.”
A look of fear crossed Effie’s face. “You’re going back to Chicago?”
“Not yet, no,” Chloe corrected. “You know how my mom is in that facility? We’re going to try having her move into a house with me for a while. I think she might like that better.”
Effie looked between Chloe and me. “Why can’t your mom stay with us?”
“Well, honey, because there’s no room. It’s not just going to be her and me. She’s going to have a caretaker who comes in and out. As kind as it is that you would want that, it wouldn’t work.”
Effie pouted. “I don’t want you to leave.”
“I know, sweetie. But I’ll be really close.”
“Where will you be living?”
Chloe looked over at me. That was my cue.
“She’s gonna be living in our new house for a while, honey.”
“Really?” Effie’s eyes widened. “It’s ready?”
“Not quite. But I’m stopping the renovations a little early so she can live there with her mom for as long as she needs it.”
Effie was understandably confused. “But that house is big enough for all of us.”
“That’s true, but Chloe’s mom needs it quiet. She’s not doing well, and she needs some peace. You and I wouldn’t be able to be our usual loud selves there.”
“I can be quiet,” she pleaded.
Leaning my elbows against the table, I chuckled. “I think we both know that’s not true, baby. Even when you whisper, you’re loud. We need to give Chloe and her mom some space, okay? I need you to accept that.”
“Okay.” She sulked.
“There’s something else I never told you that makes it kind of special that we can let Chloe and her mom stay at our house for a while,” I added.
“What?”
“I was gonna surprise you with this news after we moved in, but the house we bought? It’s actually the very same house where Chloe grew up.”
Effie gasped. “It is?”
“Yes.” Chloe nodded. “Your dad saw that the people who bought it from my parents put it up for sale, and he grabbed it before anyone else could. And guess what the best part is?”
Effie leaned in. “What?”
“Your room, the pretty one with the pink and white stripes on the wall?”
“Yeah?”
“That was actually my old bedroom!”
“No way! I’m gonna get to sleep in your bedroom?”
“Well, it’s your bedroom now.” Chloe reached out to ruffle Effie’s hair. “I was thinking that while I’m there temporarily with my mom, you could visit, and we can get it ready for you.”
“You mean like decorate it together?”
“Yup.” Chloe clasped her hands together. “How does that sound?”
“Amazing!” Effie bounced in her seat.
I smiled. “See? So it’s not all bad news.”
Effie turned to Chloe. “What room are you gonna sleep in when you stay with your mom?”
“Well, the only two rooms that have beds right now are the big bedroom where my mom will stay and the bedroom that used to be your dad’s when he was younger. So, I’ll stay in that room.”
“Who did the big bedroom belong to when you lived there?”
“That was my parents’ room. So, my mom will have the big room since it might spark some memories. Plus, she needs space to accommodate her helper.”
Effie was so cute as she processed all of the information we’d just thrown at her. “I’m even more excited now,” she finally said.
I grinned. “Why is that, baby?”
“Because I’ll get to pretend I’m Chloe when I move in.”
Chloe and I shared a smile.
“You’re gonna love living there, Effie,” Chloe told her.
“The cottonwood tree outside your bedroom is so beautiful and blooms in the spring. And I know how much you love to look for rabbits in the yard. I remember lots of rabbits there when I was younger. Your dad is putting in that swing set, too. It’s gonna be so much fun. ”
“And a trampoline.” Effie beamed.
“Well, I’ll stay out of the workers’ way so they can work on the yard and get everything ready for you when Mom and I move out.”
“But how do you know you won’t be there with your mom forever?”
Chloe turned to me and smiled sadly. “Because I can’t be here forever. I’ll have to go back to Chicago at some point, and I don’t think my mom is—”
She stopped herself and looked to me. It was hard to give Effie an explanation without getting into the subject of death. Chloe probably wasn’t sure how much Effie knew about that.
I reached across the table for Effie’s hand. “Because we don’t know how much longer Chloe’s mom will be here with us, honey. There’s a chance she might go to heaven. But we have no way of knowing when it will happen.”
Effie nodded sadly.
Once my daughter went to take a shower and get ready for bed, my mind returned to the challenge note Chloe had left me earlier.
“You want to break open a bottle of wine tonight?” she asked.
“I would love to, yeah.”
“Meet you in the living room at eight forty-five?”
“Sounds like a plan.” I slapped her playfully on the ass with the dish rag I’d been holding.
It was like she knew I’d need wine to loosen up a bit.
It’d been difficult keeping my hands off her over the past week.
We couldn’t lose control with Effie in the house, so it’d been easier not to start anything at all.
We’d only had sex once, when I was able to come home during my lunch break.
The other days, I’d either had work obligations or Chloe had web meetings.
I still didn’t know where things were going with us or how it was going to end. In my heart of hearts, I wanted her here with me forever, but I didn’t know how I could ask her to give everything up and take that risk.
I opened a bottle of wine and went into the living room about ten minutes early. So far as I could tell, Effie was asleep. I poured two glasses of red and bounced my legs anxiously as I waited for Chloe.
When she finally appeared, she was wearing a T-shirt with no bra and skimpy shorts.
While it had always driven me crazy when I could see through her shirt, it had never been harder than now, when I knew what she looked like naked—not to mention what she tasted like and what it felt like to be inside her.
Tonight, the little peekaboo show was going to kill me.
She sat across from me, and I gave in to the temptation to kiss her.
“What are you doing?” she whispered over my lips.
“I know. I can’t help it.”
She dug her nails into my chest. “I’m really horny tonight. It sucks.”
My dick twitched. On that note, I pulled myself away and reached over to hand her one of the glasses of wine. “We do have to be careful.”
“You’re the one who kissed me.” She scoffed.
“I know. That was more a reminder to myself.”
“Ah.” She took a sip, peeking at me over the rim.
I gulped a bunch of wine and placed the glass on the table. Slinging my arm over the back of the couch, I decided to broach the subject I’d been avoiding. “So…your challenge. I wasn’t expecting it.”
She smiled. “It was my turn, wasn’t it? Besides, when do we ever expect them? That’s part of the beauty of the notes. They’re surprises.”
“I wasn’t sure if we were continuing the game.”
“Well, that wouldn’t be any fun.” She winked. But then she fidgeted in her seat, seeming tense.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I suspect you’re gonna tell me something tonight, and I’m a little afraid of what it is.”
“Don’t be. All the worst stuff when it comes to us has already come out in the wash.”
She licked her lips. “So there’s nothing you haven’t told me that would upset me?”
“Nothing bad.” I shook my head. “A little…sad and unfortunate, maybe. But nothing that should upset you.” I paused. “There is something you don’t know.”
She swallowed. “Okay…”
I sucked in a breath and let it out. “I almost moved to Chicago to be with you.”