“Juice and fruit islovely, thank you.”
“There’s scrambledeggs too if you’d like some. I figured you liked chives since Ifound a bunch in the fridge. I put some in the eggs.” Chloe placedthe pitcher of orange juice within his reach.
“Sounds great. I’llhave whatever you’re having.” Todd retrieved the pitcher of juiceand poured two glasses.
“Lovely. Make a starton the fruit and I will join you in a second.”
“Bonappetit.” She placed the plate of creamyscrambled eggs in front of Todd with a flourish, and sat down toenjoy hers.
“Are you up to allthis? I should be waiting on you.”
“It’s only breakfast,Todd. I think I can cope.”
“These eggs aredelicious!”
“That’s nice to hear.I do make good scrambled eggs, if I say so myself.”
They ate their breakfast incompanionable silence for a few minutes.
Chloe smiled at him, a great bigbeaming smile, and all of his concerns about her presence in hiskitchen faded into the background.
“I should be home bysix o’clock tonight. I thought we could have steak and salad fordinner. The doctor said you need to boost your ironlevels.”
“Steak and salad wouldbe lovely. Can I request ice-cream for dessert? I have a massivesweet tooth.”
Todd walked around the bench tocollect Chloe’s empty plate for the dishwasher. “I find that veryhard to believe, with your figure. But sure, you can have someice-cream. I might even buy some of that salted caramel sauce Ihear is popular, to pour over the top.”
Chloe’s eyes lit up at themention of salted caramel, and she stood up and threw her armsaround his neck and gave him a resounding kiss on thecheek.
“If that’s what I getfor suggesting salted caramel, what do I get when I deliver?” Toddplaced his hands on her hips, enjoying the sight of this carefreeChloe, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
“Oh. I’ll have tothink about that one.” Chloe giggled, and gave his cheek one morekiss for good measure, before she pulled away.
“You won’t be the onlyone.” Todd muttered under his breath as he left the kitchen tobrush his teeth.
Time flowed lazily, one day tothe next, without incident. Chloe had accepted her doctor’s adviceto rest. She appreciated Todd’s surprise visits, dropping by with agourmet sandwich for lunch or a muffin for afternoon tea if he hadbusiness in the area. He preferred to be the one to cook dinner forthem both, and Chloe could not complain about his skill in thekitchen. Samantha called often, when the office was quiet, and shehad time to chat. Chloe delighted in the easy friendship which hadformed between them.
She kept busy most days, drawingin her sketchpad, changing the layout of her kitchen and familyroom. Surfing the net, sourcing furniture and appliances for thenew addition, meant she had a wide range from which to choose. Shehad cut out articles and new designs from the Home Improvement andHouse and Garden magazines Todd had graciously brought home forher. The portfolio had grown considerably now she had moretime.
She hadn’t felt this relaxed inyears. She didn’t want to question this new found contentment,didn’t want to risk jinxing it. She had been searching for it forsome time without knowing it. Even for the short time she datedPatrick, when hormones seemed to go into overdrive, there had neverbeen this level of comfort in his pesence. The only thing she wassure of was that Todd had become the person she could count on, theperson she looked forwards to seeing walk through the door eachevening. The person who had brought her into his house and hadexpected nothing in return.
CHAPTERNINE
Todd had quickly fallen into adeep sleep. It took him a few seconds to realise the blood-curdlingscreams yanking him to consciousness came from inside hisapartment. He bolted out of bed and down the hall to the guestroom, where the screams were now a whimper. Unsure of what he wouldfind, he threw open the door. Chloe was curled up on the bed, fistsclenched, her face buried in the pillow.
Without a second thought, he saton the bed and drew her into his arms, cradling her head on hisshoulder as he held her. Her whole body shook. Her tremorsreverberated through his chest.
“Shhhhhh, Chloe,shhhhhh. It was a dream. Only a dream. It’s okay, you’re okay now.”Todd stroked her hair and tried to soothe her.
“I was falling. Theaudience below was watching. I could see their horrified faces. Ifelt my leg hitting the podium, and then the pain … the pain again.I was falling into a deep pit. I just kept falling, and falling,deeper and deeper into the darkness, breaking more and more of mybones, breaking into pieces as I fell.” Chloe said, through hertears.
Todd rocked back and forth on thebed, rubbing her back and stroking her hair until she calmed downenough for him to tuck her back under the covers. He rose to leave.Her hand shot out and closed over his.
“Please stay,” Chloewhispered. The recurring nightmare had shaken her. She didn’t wantto close her eyes. Or be alone.
Todd stretched out ontop of the bed behind Chloe. She relaxed into his arms andeventually fell asleep. Todd, however, did not enjoy that luxury.With her body nestled into his, he had time to analyse hisfeelings. He could push them down, bury them under friendly banter,but he could no longer deny he had strong feelings for Chloe. Hehad an overwhelming desire to protect her. Was this love? He wasn’t sure, as hehad no experience with falling in love. He lay awake until theearly hours, and when exhaustion finally took over, he fell asleepbriefly and dreamt of Chloe once again.
As dawn appeared, he slipped awayto the gym to work off the frustration before the temptation becametoo much for him to withstand.
When Chloe finallywoke, Todd had left the apartment. She noted his immaculately madebed, the sparkling kitchen, and the sticky note attached to thefridge announcing he had left her a pitcher of freshly squeezedorange juice. A decadent chocolate croissant from the French bakerydownstairs sat taunting her on the kitchen bench. He had obviouslymade a special trip to the bakery for her breakfast
