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Damn. Her place seemed to be falling apart. I would make sure she got out of there soon.
I’d also requested an exquisite breakfast to be delivered here in the morning. A table and chairs were to be set up on the eastern side, and I’d wanted us to have breakfast with the sunrise.
The look on her face was one of regret. “I’m sorry, but can we go back to New York now, please?” she whispered, placing a kiss on my lips and getting up. “I need to get home.”
I nodded even though what I was feeling had nothing to do with being agreeable. “I’ll take you home,” I said, reaching for my clothes. “It’s okay.”
My hand was on the small of her back as we made our way down the elevator, and even though I tried to avoid it, our moods were subdued.
I suspected Bruce had left her for the same reason—her role as a caretaker meant she had less to give as a girlfriend. But I hated that I was so conflicted about Chloe’s role of being a caretaker. She had no other option, but I wanted more fromher and was upset she couldn’t give it to me. It felt ridiculous to know she couldn’t help something and simultaneously feel frustrated with her for it.
“If Greg helped Henry back on his wheelchair, why do you need to go?” I asked finally, unable to keep the questions off my tongue.
I didn’t want to seem irritable at Chloe, but I also needed answers. Was there something I was not getting?
She bit her lip. “Henry’s rattled. I’d hate myself if I wasn’t there for him right now,” she admitted finally, and I stared at her in amazement.
“Why?” I asked as the elevator doors opened in the lobby and we got out.
“I want Henry to know that I’m always there for him. That I’ll never leave him like our dad did.”
Scenes flashed back into my mind. Her at the café, in her wedding dress, getting dumped over the phone.
“Was that your brother on the phone during your wedding day?” I asked, my voice giving away my utter disbelief. “Was he why you rescheduled your wedding?”
Her gaze stayed on my face, and I could see the vulnerability on hers.
“Yes,” she said at last.
Fuck.
This added a whole new dimension to my understanding of Chloe’s need to be Henry’s caretaker. She didn’t just need to be around him all the time; she had decided to not have a life of her own too.
“This is crazy,” I said, running my fingers through my hair as we walked out the main doors and into the night, where my car was waiting. “Why are you doing this? I bet Henry doesn’t want you to give up your night for him when he’s fine. Why don’t yougive yourself permission to just have fun? To live your life like you should?”
A look of frustration crossed her face as she paused on the steps. “Sean, we can’t go there tonight. There simply isn’t time to discuss this. Besides, you said it yourself. We wouldn’t be serious. We’re temporary. What’s the need to stay out all night when it’s going to end anyway?”
Her questions silenced me.
What had I expected, honestly? That one night would change the way she felt about us?
I was just her boss—someone she hooked up with. And this night meant absolutely nothing more to her.
Even if I felt angry, unhappy, and frustrated about parting with her, even if I brought myself to admit that this hurt, I needed to be sane about this: Chloe wasn’t in love with me.
We were nothing more than no-strings-attached sex.
Nothing about us showed signs of us being a couple in the future.
Her brother would always be the most important thing to her. Even if I could start to admit to myself that the mad feeling I felt was something closer to love.
Shaking my head in disappointment, I held open the door to my car. Chloe got in, and I followed, still shocked.
As the car began to move, I turned to her, wishing I could hold her hand in mine and pull her closer. She looked out the window, her chin up and her eyes away from me. She didn’t want me to argue with her, and I knew I couldn’t push it.
But I had one last question for her.
“Did you tell Henry that you were out with me tonight? Your boss, Sean, and not Will?”