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“Okay. I won’t come inside. I can wait nearby.”
I shake my head. “I need to handle this myself.”
His arms loosen around me. “Last night, you said the vote wouldn’t change us.”
“It hasn’t.”
“You sounded more certain when you thought my hotel would be rejected.”
The words sting because he’s right. I pull back enough to look at him. “It was easier when I thought the Hartwell was safe.”
“And now?”
“Now I need time to understand what this means.” I take his hand. “But we’re okay. I’m not asking for time to decide whether I want you. I do.”
“Then don’t shut me out.”
“I’m not. I love you, but the Hartwell comes first.”
“I know,” he says. “Can I see you tonight?”
“I don’t know.”
Eric is quiet for a moment. Then he raises my hand and kisses my knuckles.
“Call me when you’re ready. I’ll be here.”
37
RACHEL
Chloe comes over that evening with a bottle of wine and enough Chinese takeout to feed six people. She spreads the cartons across the coffee table, then fills two plates neither of us is likely to finish.
Percy sniffs each open carton, decides none of it meets his standards, and stalks down the hallway.
“Grandma’s home,” Chloe says. “She’s upset, but she’s okay.”
“Did she say anything about me?”
“About the bombshell you dropped? No. You know how she gets when she’s hurt.”
I close my eyes. When Grandma is angry, she says exactly what she thinks. When she’s hurt, she goes quiet.
“I tried to explain,” Chloe says. “I told her you never stopped fighting for the Hartwell and that falling for Eric doesn’t change that. Besides, the two of you were always going to end up together. You’re a perfect match.”
My eyes widen. “What, exactly, do you know about Eric and me?”
Chloe’s mouth curves into the smug smile she wears when she’s far too pleased with herself. Until today, I’d only ever complained to her about Eric. I certainly never gave her a reason to call us a perfect match.
“I had a feeling about the two of you from the beginning,” she says. “I didn’t even have to interfere…much.”
“What are you talking about? You don’t even know Eric.”
“I know Amelia, remember? She told me quite a bit about him while I was helping her find a husband. The more she told me, the more I thought of you. But he wasn’t my client, and I couldn’t exactly track him down and tell him to date my friend.” She pauses. “Obviously, if I’d happened to meet him, I would’ve mentioned you. But then he bought the building next door and walked into that council meeting all by himself. The universe had already done the hard work. I only passed along one useful detail from Amelia after you told me it had been nine months.”
“You told me about his penis as part of a matchmaking strategy?”
Chloe takes a sip of wine. “Did it work?”
