“Do you love her?” Shifting uncomfortably in my chair, I tried not to show how tense I’d become. “Because any man that takes a woman away for a weekend, a romantic one, a man that shows up at her place expecting more than a movie and dinner, should ask himself that. He should ask himself if what he is doing is just for fun or if it could be forever. Especially when that woman is my daughter. Those are the things a man should be asking himself.”
He stood without another word and walked across the dance floor toward his wife. I noticed immediately the sympathetic look she gave me from across the room. I wanted to ask him if he knew that he loved Leann so soon in their relationship, but I also knew that wouldn’t help my case much. Somehow I pictured the two of them knowing that they were meant to be almost instantly.
Do you love her?
Relocating Chloe, I saw her mixed into a sea of guests. Her long blonde hair hung down over her shoulders. Shoulders that were fully exposed by the low-cut, strapless dress she was wearing. A dress that practically dragged the floor, only the toes of her high heels peeking out from beneath. I could find her in any crowd; it’s almost like I could feel her. Like an invisible pull that located her and drew me near.
Without another second wasted, I stood and began to walk toward her. Things had been off between us since the disrupting night in the hotel. I’d been irritable, and I knew the other guys had been, too. I think our egos were bruised, but more than that, we were all scared out of our minds. The idea of them being harmed was crippling.
When I was close enough to smell her sweet perfume, she stood a little taller as if she felt me, too. With her back still toward me, I slipped in from behind and curled my arm around her waist. This was the first time I’d touched her in front of her family…with the exception of the girls and guys, but even then I’d kept it light. But seeing her with Blake, after the words from her father, something shifted. If I was all in, then I needed to make that decision now. Chloe was not and would never be someone to pass the time with. Chloe was the forever kind of woman, and I couldn’t say that five years from now she and I would still be an us. But what I did know was that was what I hoped for, and it was what I would do everything in my power to accomplish.
Leaning in close, I kissed the top of her shoulder, never once letting go of my hold on her. I needed her close, her body pressed to mine, the smell of her lotion and of her perfume surrounding me.
“I don’t want you to avoid me any longer.” I whispered the words with my lips still resting upon her shoulder. “Before you say you’re not, you should know that I’ve already figured it out. Throughout the ceremony, even before that, you’ve done everything possible to keep a distance between us.”
“I know you’re mad at me.”
“Not mad, Kitten.” Confused maybe.
Do you love her?
“Just trying to figure you and me out.” She shifted in my arms, turning to face me. “Are we doing this?”
“This?” The way her forehead crinkled and her eyes squinted as she looked up at me was beautiful.
“Yeah, you and me, are we doing this?” Chloe still seemed confused. “Your father and I just shared a pretty intense conversation, and I just need to know how you see us. You and me, us, where do you see us?”
“I’m not sure what you’re asking me?” Fuck, I wasn’t so sure myself.
“We’ve spent time together, we went away for the weekend, I’ve stayed at your place, but what I need to know is if you and I are more than that when you think of us.” Again she seemed lost. “I need to know if what I am feeling for you is a two-way street or if I’m alone in this.” I was never the kind of guy to be a blubbering, lovesick fool when it came to women. “Your father—”
“Can be pushy and a bit ridiculous.”
“But nothing he said to me a few minutes ago is a lie. He wants what is best for you, and to be honest, so do I.”
“And what is it that is best for me?” A flash of fear crossed her face, a sense of panic as if she imagined this was my way of backing out of what had been unfolding between us. I knew I was losing her fast, and it was the last thing I wanted to happen.
“Me.” That ache in my chest intensified as I gripped her a little tighter. “I’m what’s best for you because your happiness is just as important to me as it is to him. So again I ask, where do you see this thing between us going? I need to know if it’s okay that I kiss you in a room full of your family.”
I felt her body relax, and she giggled as she leaned in to place her face to my chest. Relief, it’s all I could think of to explain the way she felt now in my arms.
“Can I kiss you?” She lifted her head, and her beautiful eyes locked on to mine. “Can we finally show every single person in this room that you and I are more?”
“I never wanted to hide it.”
Lifting one hand, I grazed over her jaw with my knuckles and cupped the back of
