Chapter Three ~ Reardon
1207 Words
Chapter Three ~ Reardon
I couldn’t stop looking at her.
So beautiful, yet distant. Confident on the exterior, but so obviously feeling out of place, wondering how long she had to stay before she could sneak out without offending anyone.
Over the last nine months, since Chloe had reappeared back in my life, I’d gotten to know everything I could about her. Not just by doing background checks and such for Gabe, but by observing her whenever we were near each other.
Shit, that makes me sound f*****g creepy, I thought as I tore my gaze away from where Chloe was standing by herself on the deck, overlooking the dark backyard pensively.
I looked down to see Shauna watching me curiously, and mentally berated myself for being such an obvious d**k.
“Do you need anything?” I asked. “Another drink?”
“Why don’t you just go talk to her?” my date asked, perfectly comfortable calling me on my bullshit.
“Huh? No…” I stammered. “I don’t want to talk to her.”
Shauna rolled her eyes, then squeezed my bicep.
“I think you like her,” she whispered, leaning in so no one could hear. “You’re different with her than I’ve ever seen you.”
Shauna had been my plus one, and I hers, whenever either of us needed one for as long as I could remember. We’d both had serious relationships, her even a short stint of marriage, but we were always there for each other if we were single.
“Nah, she’s like family,” I replied lamely, sneaking another glance at Chloe and not feeling the least bit familial about the way she looked in that skirt.
Shauna snorted, indicating she didn’t believe me in the least.
“Whatever you say, hot shot, I’m not gonna make you talk to her,” Shauna said, then effectively changed the subject when she added, “Oh, and my roommate is out of town this weekend, so, if you want to come by after this, I’m game.”
Shauna winked, then walked over to where Dillon was piling a mound of shrimp cocktail on his plate and said something that made him laugh.
Yeah, so Shauna and I also had s*x, in addition to being each other’s plus ones, whenever we were both single.
We’d never been serious, had never even hinted at it. It was a weird relationship, one Jasmine never understood, but Dillon wished he could have. We didn’t want anything from each other, other than to be there to lend occasional support and f**k like bunnies when the need arose.
I enjoyed Shauna, but I was getting tired of being in relationships that didn’t go anywhere.
I looked over to where Gabe and Zoey were talking with Gabe’s parents. Gabe had his hand around her shoulder, a huge smile on his face, and Zoey was absently rubbing her baby bump.
As usual, my cousin was one lucky bastard, and I couldn’t help but feel a little bit jealous over his good fortune. Once again, he and I had been together when a woman had come wandering up to us, and once again, she’d gone for him. First Chloe, then Zoey … and they were sisters. Maybe something in their DNA was attracted to large, built, rich football players…
No, that was in every woman’s DNA.
Not liking the direction of my thoughts, which were heading into self-pity land, I turned from my happy cousin, my gaze catching on Chloe once more. I could see her sigh deeply, her shoulders hunching slightly, making her seem sad or upset, and before I could tell them to stop, my feet started in her direction.
The noise from my loud family’s raised voices dimmed as I stepped outside and closed the glass door quietly behind me. Hearing the door latch, Chloe looked over at me, her face betraying that she wasn’t very excited to see me approaching.
I couldn’t blame her; I had been kind of an ass every time she’d seen me.
“Hey, I was, uh, just coming to check and see if you’re okay,” I stuttered awkwardly as I walked toward her.
Chloe tilted her head in a manner that I found endearing, and gave me an uncertain smile.
“Oh,” she started, a nervous laugh escaping her lips. “Yeah, I’m fine, just wanted to get some fresh air. I love it out here.”
Chloe gestured out in to the abyss that was Gabe’s yard.
“Yeah, they’ve got a great setup here. Have you, ah, thought about where you want to live?”
Chloe shook her head and replied, “A little, but I’m still doing research. I did stop by the realtor’s office on Main Street today and got a list of houses, plus I have an app on my phone that shows houses available in the local area.”
“Well, the good thing is, we’re small enough that you can live pretty much anywhere and be close to downtown. It just depends if you want a gated community, a place on the lake, or something downtown.”
“Chris and I have been checking the different areas out. Of course, he wants to be close to here, but I’m not sure if that’s what I want…” her voice trailed off, and by the look on her face, I could tell she thought she’d talked out of turn.
“Hey,” I said, hoping my voice was gentle and understanding. “It’s an awkward situation, everyone knows that. You moved here so that Chris could be by Gabe and our family, and you by Zoey, which is pretty amazing. I think everyone would understand if you didn’t also want to be Gabe’s neighbor. Find a place that suits you and will make you happy.”
Chloe turned toward me, her face showing her surprise at my words of support.
“Thanks, Reardon,” she said softly, and my name on her lips caused my insides to light up. “I know you haven’t been exactly thrilled about me, and everything I’ve done, so it means a lot to me to hear you say that.”
My brows furrowed at her words, and I wondered just how big of a d**k I’d been to her since she came back.
“That’s not…” I began, wanting to clear the air and let her know that I didn’t feel any ill will toward her at all, quite the opposite, but Shauna chose that minute to seek me out and interrupted before I could explain.
“Hey, there you are,” Shauna said brightly as she opened the door.
I turned to her, confused at her sudden appearance. Hadn’t she been the one who told me I should talk to Chloe? Why, then, was she stopping me from doing just that?
“You ready to go?” Shauna asked when I didn’t acknowledge her appearance.
“I’d better get going myself,” Chloe said from beside me, then added, “Thanks, Reardon,” before brushing past me and saying goodbye to Shauna as she went inside.
“What was that?” I asked as I moved toward Shauna.
“What?” she asked, the picture of innocence.
“You said I should talk to her, and then you interrupted us when I did.”
“You can’t come off too eager, now can you, hot shot? You gotta show her that you’re a sought-after eligible bachelor. You can’t just roll over at her feet and beg her to scratch your belly. Women like a challenge.”
Unsure if whether what she said made sense or if Shauna was playing some sort of game, I followed her inside, just in time to see Chloe sneaking out the front door.
- Writer
