Page 22 of Reluctantly Yours

“Barrett and I play tennis frequently, too,” Chloe announces.

“That’s great.” Fred smiles, his eyes moving between us.

“Sometimes I even let Barrett win.” Chloe laughs.

“You must be pretty good. Barrett has been the club’s singles champion eight years in a row.”

Chloe pauses for a moment but then smiles and says, “I’m a three-time high school state champion, so we challenge each other.”

Fred nods. “We’ll all have to play sometime.”

“Definitely.” Chloe smiles warmly at Fred, but when she catches me staring at her, the corner of her lips drop.

The waiter arrives to take our order. Fred orders for Frankie and then himself. Since Chloe had been unsure about her drink, I figure ordering her dinner would be the boyfriend thing to do.

“She’ll have the veal filet—” I start, but Chloe cuts me off.

“Actually, I’ll take the chicken primavera.”

“Right,” I say, then order the veal filet for myself.

While Frankie and Fred converse with Chloe, I finish my drink and order another. As I listen, hearing about Chloe’s family, where she grew up, how she saved up money to move to New York and her career aspirations, I almost forget why we’re here. That I’m supposed to be focused on Fred and getting him talking about business.

Chloe must feel my eyes on the side of her face. She turns to meet my gaze.

“Look at you two.” Frankie giggles. “I’m a sucker for romance. Tell us how you fell in love.”

“Oh.” Chloe sets her drink back on the table. “It’s pretty boring really.”

“I’d love to hear.” Fred nods enthusiastically.

“How did we meet, Barrett?” Chloe turns toward me. “Do you want to tell the story? Or should I?” What she’s really saying is ‘I have no idea what to tell them.’

I reach for my water.

“It’s not much of a story. My mother introduced us. Chloe is my mother’s assistant at St. Clair Press.”

“I’m an editorial assistant, but I’ve recently taken on some assistant editor duties while a co-worker is on maternity leave. That’s what I’d love to do full-time.”

“A workplace romance?” Frankie sighs dreamily. “Love it.”

“Not really. I don’t work at St. Clair Press,” I add.

“Barrett is the CEO of SCM,” Fred offers.

“Was it love at first sight like with me and Fred?” Frankie asks, then slides one hand affectionately over Fred’s shoulder.

“Yes,” I answer as Chloe responds, “No.”

“What Chloe means is that she was not a big fan of me but I was quite taken with her.”

I casually drape my arm over the back of Chloe’s chair and she lunges forward, knocking her water glass over.

“Oh, gosh! I’m so sorry.”

“No harm done,” Fred says easily. Our waiter quickly swoops in to clear the ice off the table and replace Chloe’s glass.

“Frankie, I like your nails,” Chloe says, obviously trying to change the subject.