see him go and she told him so. And then she kind of waited for him to point out that, if they were married, he wouldn’t have to go.
But then he just kissed her again and said he’d see her tomorrow.
She put on her robe and walked him to the sliding door in the great room. Once he was gone, she stood looking out at the stars, thinking about saying yes to him.
Wanting to.
Because she wanted him. She liked him—and she liked his daughter and Manny, too. He wanted a wife and a mother for Annabelle. And all her life, she’d longed to be an excellent wife to a good and decent man, to be a loving mother. The idea of having Annabelle as her own made her heart feel too big for her chest. And the part about having Quinn’s babies?
That hollowed her out and made her burn.
But speaking of burning...she’d been burned before, and badly. And it hadn’t even been three weeks since that first night Quinn came up the hill and joined her in her bed.
How could she be sure of him in such a short time? With her track record, how could she be sure of anyone?
The stars outside were silent. They had no answers for her.
* * *
Tuesday flew by. She had several customers at the showroom. And she had shopping to do, an endless list of goodies that would be needed for Quinn’s remodel.
When Chloe got home that evening, she saw a moving van at the house across the street. She went on over. Manny was there, directing the movers. He greeted her with a grin and a hug and said that Quinn was down at the other house feeding Annabelle her dinner on the last night they would spend at home until after the remodeling.
Chloe explained about the fairy princess dress.
Manny said, “She’s gonna love that.”
“So it’s okay with you? You don’t think I’m a complete pushover?”
“I think we got a little girl who loves her princesses. And you want to help her with that. Sounds about right to me.”
She thanked him and then glanced around, admiring the soaring stone fireplace and the thick log walls. “Give me a tour?”
“Getting ideas for this one already?”
She nodded. “I’m happy that I’ll have a chance to get to know this house ahead of time, get familiar with it, you know? I’ll have an opportunity to mull over what changes will work best for it. Redoing a log home presents a special set of challenges.”
Manny seemed to be studying her. “You’re all right, Chloe.”
“I’m glad you think so, Manny. I’m growing quite fond of you, as well.”
“Quinn pop the question yet?”
Chloe fell back a step. “He told you he was going to?”
“Hell, no. He told me zip. But we been together more than a decade. I got a good idea what’s going on with him, whether he lays it out for me or not.” The two burly moving guys came in with the dining-room table. Manny said, “Through there, boys.” And on they went. Manny lowered his voice for Chloe alone and said, “You haven’t said yes yet, have you?”
Chloe pretended to ponder. “Hmm. Let me see. Would Quinn really want me to answer that?”
Manny chortled out a rough laugh. “Come on. Let me show you the house...”
* * *
The landline was ringing when Chloe got back to her place. It clicked over to her old-school answering machine before she could pick up.
It was her mother. “Sweetheart, we’re home. Walked in the door five minutes ago. Maui was heaven, as always. But it’s nice to be back and I can’t want to see you, find out how you’ve been doing and tell you all about our trip. Call me the minute you get this. Love you...”
Chloe stood by the phone and considered getting it over with, calling her mother back right away. Years of conditioning had her feeling she really ought to call now, that a good daughter could be counted on to keep in contact with the ones she loved.
But as soon as her mother asked her what she’d been up to in the past two weeks, Chloe would be confronted with the question of how much to say.
Ha. As if there was a choice. Monique Hightower was spreading the news about her and Quinn far and wide. One way or another, it wouldn’t be long before her mother got an earful. And it would probably be better if her mother heard it from Chloe.
Better being a relative term, knowing her mother.
Chloe picked up the phone.
And then set it back down again.
Her hand was shaking slightly, and that made her mad.
Why should she live in fear of her own mother? She’d faced Nell Bravo right down and told her that Linda Winchester did not run her life. She’d told Quinn the same thing. She needed to live by her own words.
Chloe turned the ringer off on the kitchen and bedroom phones and turned the volume on the message machine all the way down. Then she switched the sound off on her cell, as well. She’d check to see who’d called her at her convenience, thank you very much.
And she would get in touch with her mother later, after she’d had a little time to decide exactly what she wanted to say to her.
* * *
The evening went by—a goodly portion of it spent joyfully in Quinn’s strong arms. After he left, she had trouble falling asleep. She couldn’t stop stewing over what to tell her mom.
Somehow, in the morning, she slept through her alarm. That left her rushing to get ready and out the door in time to get the showroom opened by nine.
Her mother called the showroom number at ten. “Sweetheart, there you are!”
Chloe still wasn’t ready to deal with her. “Mom. Glad you’re home safe. Can’t talk now. You know that. I’m at work.”
“But how am I supposed to get hold of you if you won’t answer your—?”
“Mom, I have another call,” she outright lied. “I’ll call you this evening, I promise.”
“But—”
“Gotta go. I’ll call. Promise.”
Her mother was still protesting as Chloe hung up the phone. She knew time was running out. She was going to have to stop being such a coward. All day long, in the back of her mind, she rehearsed the things she would say when she called back that night.
I’ve been seeing Quinn Bravo. I care for him, Mom. Deeply. He’s asked me to marry him and I am seriously considering telling him yes.
It all sounded so simple. It was...what people did. They found each other and they fell for each other
