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He was laughing at seeing how worried I was, no doubt.
It made me feel even more irrationally angry with Chloe. It was completely irresponsible on her part to go along with this charade. But that grin … it was something I hadn’t seen on him in a long time.
As I frowned at the two insolent people on the couch, Chloe nudged him, and Lucas nodded back, whispering something.
“What was that?” I asked, my voice echoing in the large and silent lobby.
Lucas frowned at me. “It’s a secret,” he said, getting up and noticing Anne in the distance. “All right, let’s go home,” he said with an air of someone wanting to get things over with. He turned to wave at Chloe. “Thanks for the idea,” he said and strangely leaned in for a hug, which Chloe gave him willingly.
Wrapping her arms around his small body, she hugged him tight.
How did she get him to hug her willingly?
When he stepped back, she waved at him as he walked out the front doors with Anne. When Anne extended her hand to him on their way out, Lucas took it readily. In a similar situation, Lucas would have refused mine.
I gestured to Anne to go ahead and that I’d follow them in my own car in a few minutes before turning back to Chloe.
“What idea was Lucas talking about?” I asked.
Chloe looked at me for a long moment before standing up. She was so close that I could see her lips trembling with emotion. Unlike most people, Lucas’s meltdown had affected her.
“He told me that he felt like everyone was hiding from him. His mom, you … no one was around.” She hesitated. “So, I told him, sometimes, things can be in plain sight before we finally see them. And to test that theory, we decided to wait in plain sight while you?—”
“Made a fool of myself, searching for my son under the receptionist’s desk?” I growled.
She paused, a coy smile on her lips.
God, she was beautiful.
“He chuckled when you did that,” she said, her voice low and her face tilted up to me. “So, now, he thinks his mom must be in plain sight, too, even if he can’t see her.”
I groaned, putting my hands on my hips. Chloe’s response steadied me, even if it didn’t help. I looked at the doors through which Lucas had disappeared with Anne, my heart heavy.
“His mom is far,” I said, glancing at her. “If you count multiple continents as far.”
Chloe’s eyes widened, and she winced. “Oops. Sorry.”
It wasn’t her fault really. She couldn’t have known.
“I think a video call with her might be overdue.” I sighed.
I wasn’t someone who talked about their personal life. But with Chloe, my guard dropped. I should have resented her for it, but to my surprise, I found that I quite liked it.
I turned to her.
“You calmed him down,” I observed.
When would I be able to calm my son down from a meltdown? I had been pushing people away all my life, even the ones who wanted to be around me. And in return, the only person I wanted—my son—didn’t want me. It stung, and this incident painfully reminded me of how I’d been ignoring mystepsister’s messages to connect. Perhaps it was time I accepted her invitation to talk.
My gaze went to Chloe’s hair, shimmering under the lights. She had thick blonde hair, like the warmth of a sunny day, and her side braid from earlier in the morning had come undone. I frowned.
“What were you doing tonight when I asked you to run this errand?” I asked, taking a step closer to her.
16
CHLOE
When Sean asked me that question, the first thought in my mind was wondering what excuse I could come up with.