My body warms at her words. “I swear from here on out that I will always tell you the truth. No matter the consequence. No matter the situation. No matter how much it could hurt me or you.”
“You promise?”
I nod.
“Even when I ask you if I look fat in a pair of jeans?”
“Is that a trick question?”
She pinches me in the ribs.
I grin, loving the smile on her face. “I’ll tell you, especially if you look fat in your jeans. The more curves, the better.” I wiggle my brows.
She throws herself back into my arms and wraps her arms around my neck.
I lean back against my car, easing some of the weight off my leg. “Am I forgiven?”
“You were forgiven the moment I read your letter on the back of your design. While your executions sucked, I realize you had good intentions, and that’s what matters most. I can’t fault you anymore for wanting to save me from a painful experience.”
I stare at her wide-eyed in disbelief. “I promise not to lie anymore. No matter what my reasoning is, you always deserve the truth.”
She chuckles under her breath and cradles my face. “Even when I ask what you think of my cooking?”
“Especially when you ask about your cooking. Dying from food poisoning isn’t on my current agenda.”
She laughs in the most beautiful way.
“I love you, Chloe.”
“I love you too.”
I place a soft kiss against her forehead before taking a deep breath of her flowery scent.
“So I’m you’re wildflower, huh?”
My cheeks heat. I might have gone a little overboard with my writing. I’m no Robert Frost, but I can get inspired too.
“I love when you get all shy on me. It’s cute.”
“I’m not shy.”
She lifts a brow. “I thought we said no more lies.”
“Is it too late to cancel this connection?”
She throws her head back and laughs. “I’m not a cellphone data plan. You can’t just cancel me whenever you feel like it. Plus, you can’t write a love letter like that and expect me to disappear. That’s what every girl dreams of.”
“Did it make your closet-romantic heart happy?”
“No. It made my heart whole.”
I follow her into my house. The massive front door clicks shut behind us. Chloe turns on her heel and pushes me against the door. I barely have a moment to recover before her lips crash against mine, her tongue tracing the seam of my mouth. My body shudders as her hands latch onto my T-shirt. With a huff, she pulls away from our kiss to give herself room to pull my shirt off.
Her eyes match a stormy ocean, endless and dark as her pupils dilate. She licks her lips, tracing the scar I love.
I want to fuck her so badly, to erase the last week from our memories. The time we spent apart might as well have been a year based on the way my cock pulses to life in my jeans.
My shirt falls to the ground and Chloe’s lips return to my neck. I groan as her right hand presses against my erection.
My hand covers hers, halting the movement. “Wait.”
“Are you really going to stop me right now?”
“No.”
Her lips find the sensitive spot on my neck, but I pull back, smacking my head into the door. “Yes. Wait.”
“What’s wrong?” She pulls away and steps out of my personal circle. Her brows draw together.
I don’t blame her for being confused. Hell, even my dick is siding with Chloe on this one.
“I need to tell you one last thing before we move onto that part of making up.”
“What?” She takes another step back, adding to the growing distance between us.
“There’s one more thing I need to tell you.”
She blinks. Once. Twice. Three times.
The silence is deafening as she says nothing.
I stare her in the eyes despite the urge to look away. “I did something you probably won’t be happy with.”
“Don’t leave me hanging in suspense. My heart can’t handle it.”
“I should preface this with the fact that the only reason I did this in the first place was because I wanted to protect you.”
“Thanks for the prologue. What is it?” Her voice comes out wooden.
“Your mom called Noah, who called me.”
“WHAT?!”
“Let me explain the whole thing before you interrupt okay? Please?”
Her frown becomes more pronounced. “Don’t skimp on one detail, or else I swear to God…”
Okay, I can work with that. “So, I called her after Noah told me that she spoke to his personal assistant. She threatened to release some story about you and an assault charge because of Ralph. The whole phone call was disgusting. I didn’t expect her to be obvious about how little she cares about you. After that, I paid her off because I just wanted her out of your life permanently. And to be clear, I didn’t do it because I was afraid of what something like that could do for my reputation. Any decision I made about her was solely to save you from any additional pain. I want you to know that first and foremost.”