Page 40

Chapt er 40

Chloe

We end up teaching Gunner how to play our regular game of Five Crowns, and he keeps up with us.

Grandma May still wins, but that’s nothing new.

When we head out, Gunner’s quiet beside me.

I don’t say anything until we get in his truck.

He surprises me by beating me to it.

“What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” I repeat, turning to face him and leaning against the passenger door.

“I went to the finance office to see what I need to do about getting Grandma May transferred to the other side. I had to sign some paperwork, and then I asked what I owed. Do you know what she told me, Coftman?” I don’t wait for him to say anything.

“She said it’s already been paid for. Not just a month or a few months, mind you. Her care has been taken care of basically until she dies.” I take a moment to try to compose myself.

“Now, I certainly didn’t pay for that; and I only know one person that has that kind of money who knows Grandma May.” He’s not looking at me; he’s staring straight out the windshield.

I wait until I feel like I can keep a steady voice.

“Why did you do it?” My voice is soft.

“I never would have brought you to meet her and kept bringing you here if you felt like you had to pay for it. I would never ask you to do something like that.”

“And that’s the problem.” His voice is low and his words quiet.

“You would never ask anybody for help, Chloe.” He turns to face me now.

“Of course, I know you didn’t bring me here to meet her just so I would pay for her care. That’s not why I did it.”

“Then why did you do it, Gunner?” I can’t even bring myself to keep the barrier between us that his last name provides.

His eyes soften just the slightest bit.

“Because of that right there.”

I smirk.

“Because I called you by your name?”

“Exactly that.”

“That’s not true,” I argue.

“It is true,” he argues.

“You never let me in, never let me close. The times you’ve let me come with you and spend the afternoon with you and Grandma May have been some of the best days of my life.”

“You can’t mean that.”

“I do, Chloe. I mean it with everything in me.”

“But we were just sitting around, chilling. We didn’t even do anything special,” I point out.

“I know, and that’s why it’s so perfect. You weren’t being professional or standing on ceremony around me; you were just being you. And that’s all I’ve ever wanted from you.”

“Stop.” My voice isn’t strong.

“Just stop. Don't...” I put my hand up and try to deal with this onslaught of emotion. I settle in my seat, so that I’m looking forward. “I just want to go home.” I can feel his eyes on me, but I stare straight ahead. After a few moments, he finally starts the truck.

The ride home is silent; I don’t bother to try to fill it with conversation. Finally, we pull onto my street. I unbuckle before he comes to a complete stop. “Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I climb down from the truck and walk quickly towards my front door. I hear his truck door, and I speed up. But it’s pointless; he catches me before I get to the door.

“Hey, what’s going on? Talk to me.”

I don’t want to talk, not tonight, not tomorrow night, not the next night. Because if I do, I will do something stupid like declare my undying love for this man. I don’t think I could live down another rejection from him; I think it might just kill me. I look at his chin, so I don’t make the mistake of looking him in the eye. “I had a great time today; thank you. And thank you for paying for her care. Really. That’s...” Words fail me. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” I turn back to my front door and slip my key into the lock. I step inside and with a quick wave at him, close the door behind me.

I wasn’t kidding when I told Grandma May that we would just have to make the best of Christmas because Thanksgiving would be a wash. The week passes in the blink of an eye, and then we’re into the busiest part of the season. The weeks fly by. There are so many events that happen in December. Thankfully, my schedule keeps me incredibly busy; so, I don’t have to think about Gunner. Of course, he still shows up religiously with lunch on days we’re both at the facility. I spend any free time I have thinking about the job offer I’ve been carrying around in my purse for the past few weeks. While I can’t imagine leaving my Green Thunder, I wonder if it would be better to go somewhere else, somewhere where I wouldn’t have to interact with him on a daily basis. It’s a huge decision, because it would impact Grandma May as well. Then there’s the problem staring me in the face, literally .

Somebody knocks at the door, pulling me from my thoughts. I know it’s not Gunner, because he always just comes in. The door opens, and Brielle walks inside. “Hey, Chloe.” I mask my face to keep the surprise off my face.

“Brielle, how are you?”

She walks or maybe waddles over to the chair in front of my desk and drops ungracefully into it. “Like this baby is never going to come out, and I’m going to explode. I can’t walk; I can’t sleep at night. I pee all the time, and I feel so unattractive.” She looks at me with a longing expression. “How do you look so...like that all the time?”

I blink. I’m thinking it’s a rhetorical question, but when she waits for an answer, I lean back in my chair. I’m not really sure why she’s here. “How was your Christmas and New Year’s?”

“It was good. We got to celebrate with Aiden’s grandpa and Dante and his dad and of course my mom and Amber and Rico. How about you?”

“Mine was good, thanks for asking.” Grandma May and I had a quiet day together; it was really nice. On New Year’s, we watched the ball drop on tv and toasted each other with sparkling apple juice. “Does Aiden know you’re here?” I ask her. When she shakes her head, I push my chair back. “How about I go get him, and—”

“No. That’s who I came to talk to you about.”

I frown. “You came to talk to me about Aiden, your husband?”

“Yes.”

I cross my arms across my chest and study her face. She looks nearly ready to burst into tears. “Brielle,” I keep my voice as gentle and calm as I can. “I’m not sure I’m the right person to talk to, but if Aiden is doing something,” I pause a moment. “I can talk to Gunner. He'll set him straight fast.”

Brielle takes in my words, and then her eyes widen. “What? Oh my goodness, no. Aiden’s not...there’s nothing...he’s...” She pauses and takes a deep breath. “I came to see you because I want to plan a birthday party for him, and it’s so hard to figure out around his schedule. I figured you would know best when he’s coming and going for flights and how I could plan one around all that.”

“Why did you look like you’re about to cry then?” I ask in confusion.

She waves a hand. “I’m always about to cry.” I make a mental note to never ever get pregnant. I pull up the team schedule on my laptop. “All right. What month are we looking at?”

“Sometime this month.”

We discuss dates for a moment before she gets distracted. “Those flowers are gorgeous, Chloe.”

I lift my head at the change of subject and look at the flowers. “They’re from Gunner,” I finally admit. There’s no getting around it. And even I can admit, they’re gorgeous—as have been all the other flowers he’s left for me on my desk. Every single Monday since Thanksgiving, there’s been a gorgeous bouquet of flowers on my desk. Even if we’re out of town, when I come back, there they are. The only reason I even know they’re from him is because they each come with a tiny card that just has his name. The first time they came, I sought him out, looking for an explanation. But I chickened out and just said thank you. Now each time they come, I simply text him a thank you.

“You and Gunner finally stopped fighting this thing between you? Good for you!” At the look on my face, she lifts her eyebrows. “Wait, you’re not?”

“Not what?” I ask.

“Not together, not dating, not in love...pick your choice.”

“We’re not any of those things,” I tell her, even as I glance at the flowers.

Brielle laughs. “Oh, Chloe, you may be the smartest woman I know; but in this you are just clueless.”

I frown. “Clueless?”

“Yes, the man is in love with you. He has been forever. He knows it, the guys on the team all know it, even all the wives and girlfriends know it. I’m pretty sure even the coaching staff knows it.”

I’m already shaking my head. “No, he’s not. We were just fake dating for a little while because he needed me to, but there’s nothing between us.”

She gives me a sad smile. “You are in denial. Complete denial because that man is so head over heels for you, it’s not even funny.” I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I sit back in my chair and try to think if there’s any truth to what she’s saying. I start thinking about how many times he’s brought me lunch, making sure that everything is allergen free for me and how many times he’s driven me places, how many times he’s come with me to Grandma May’s, the flowers...I put my hand over my mouth but can’t hold in the groan. Brielle gives me a sympathetic smile. “It’s just hitting you, isn’t it?”

I stare at her with wide eyes. “He paid for Grandma May’s care for basically the rest of her life.”

“Is Grandma May your grandma?” she asks gently. I nod because it’s close enough.

“She’s in a nursing home and needed more care, and I didn’t know how I was going to afford it. When I went to the finance office to talk to them about it, they said it had already been taken care of.”

It’s Brielle’s turn to put a hand over her mouth. “He paid for it?” Her voice is filled with emotion. I can only nod. “Oh, Chloe.” And then she starts crying right there in her chair. Not like a single tear; no, this is a full-on sob. I stand up, alarmed.

“Are you okay?” I ask as I walk over to her.

“No,” she sobs.

I don’t know what to do with her. I panic and look around my office for tissues. Finding a box, I put it in her lap. When there’s no sign of her tears stopping, I pat her shoulder. “I’ll be right back.” I stride down the hallway and make my way to the weight room. When I get there, I knock loudly on the door. “I’m coming in.” I throw open the door and step inside the room that smells like sweat and disinfectant. “Brooks,” I call out, scanning the huge room. Aiden strides towards me a moment later, a wary look on his face. “Your wife is crying in my office.”

“Why is she in your office?” he asks with narrowed eyes.

I raise my hands. “I didn’t do anything, I promise. She was just talking to me, and I told her about—” I pause and lower my voice. “About some of the stuff Gunner has done for me, and she burst into tears.”

His face softens. “Yeah, she’s been doing that a lot lately. I’ll take care of her; thanks for getting me.” He strides out of the room, and I turn to follow but a large body steps in front of me.

“Chloe, everything okay?”

I swallow and do my best to look at anything besides Gunner’s sweaty, toned chest. Aiden just stood before me without a shirt and just as sweaty, and it didn’t bother me in the least. I barely even noticed. And then Gunner does the same thing, and I can’t even form a sentence.