But there was more to it than just that. He’d seen the vulnerability in her gaze when she’d looked at him. Sensed the reserve behind the words she’d so carefully chosen before she’d allowed him to help her. Caution was a good thing. His entire business plan revolved around it, after all. But there was something about Chloe that made him want to slay dragons for her. She drew on every protective instinct he’d never known he’d had. And that surprised him.
Every relationship he’d had, to date, had been based on equal footing. Women as strong mentally and, occasionally, even physically as he was. None of them had needed his care or protection in the same way he sensed that Chloe might. Not that she was a complete damsel in distress—in fact she was probably far from it.
She was a schoolteacher. He had no doubt she could control a room of potential delinquents with a smile or a frown—she had that air about her. But there was something else, something that lingered beneath the surface. A sadness. A sense of something broken. Something that called to him to fix it.
Miles had never experienced this kind of attraction before. An intriguing blend of physical awareness together with that special something else that made him want to know everything about her.
The aroma of the Thai takeout he’d picked up on the way here teased his nostrils. Enough thinking. Time to do. He got out of the car and grabbed the takeout bag and tucked the box with the new phone under his arm. Oh sure, the store had offered to courier it out to Chloe for him, but he’d wanted to make the delivery himself.
Miles could hear the sound of music from inside the house as he strolled up the path to the front door. And was that singing? Well, he supposed it might be singing but it sounded like it had more in common with a nine-tailed cat in a room filled with rocking chairs. He raised his free hand to the front door and knocked firmly. Instantly the noise stopped.
A few seconds later, the door opened and Chloe stood there, cheeks flushed and eyes wary.
“Oh,” she said. “You’re back.”
“I’m glad to see that fall today didn’t affect your vision,” Miles said with a grin. He held up the takeaway bag. “Dinner.”
“I wasn’t expecting you. I thought you were the courier.”
“Tonight, I’m whatever you want me to be.”
The flush on her cheeks deepened and a laugh gurgled from her throat. “Did that come out exactly as you meant it to?”
He laughed in response. “To be honest, not exactly. It sounded much better in my head.”
Chloe stepped aside and gestured for him to come in. “I thought as much. You’d better bring that all in then.”
He noticed she was still wearing her arm in a sling, but she’d changed from the plain white one she’d left the clinic with, to a large, multicolored silk square instead.
“I like the sling.”
She half smiled. “White is so yesterday, don’t you know?”
“How’s your wrist?”
“Feeling a lot better, to be honest. I think the pain relief medication helps.”
Miles went into the kitchen and spied some sandwich fixings on the counter. “Dinner?”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, it was going to be until you showed up.”
He gave the stale bread and jar of peanut butter a disparaging look. “I’m glad I did, if that’s what you call dinner.”
“I wasn’t really hungry.” She sniffed the air appreciatively. “But what is that delicious smell?”
Miles opened the bag and removed the containers. “Green curry and vegetables with jasmine rice and a prawn pad Thai.”
Chloe gave him a sharp look. “Are you sure you’re not some kind of mind reader?”
“Not the last time I looked. What makes you ask?”
“Those are my favorites. I can never decide between them.”
“Then you can have some of each,” he told her. “But first, I thought we could set up your new phone. I’ve already charged it for you so it’s ready to go as soon as you’ve transferred all your data.”
“Miles, you really are too generous.” She looked rueful. “I’m not sure I can accept all of this from you. After all, we hardly know one another.”
Miles stilled. “Would you rather I leave? Have I come on too strong?”
“Too strong?”
“I’m going to be honest with you, Chloe. I know I never knew you existed before today, and it’s going to sound strange, but I feel like we were meant to meet. I’d like to know you better and I’m not the kind of man who likes to waste time.” He blew out a breath and looked her straight in the eye. “When I see something I want, I go for it. Life is too damn short to spend it wondering what if. But that said, I’ll go if you prefer.”
* * *
Chloe caught her breath at the earnest expression on his face. From anyone else, that could have come across as stalkerish, but for some reason his words sounded just right. And, the little voice in the back of her mind reminded her, it means he’s falling into line with what you have planned without any hard work on your part. You were meant to meet today, after all. He just didn’t know why—yet.
“I...” She blinked rapidly, unsure of what to say. “Please stay. I’m just not used to people like you.”
“Like me?”
“So sure of what you want,” she clarified. “Most folks I know are too afraid to reach for what they dream of.”
“Everyone has their reasons.”
“And yours are?”
He’d been in the process of putting their takeout in the oven to keep warm, and he closed her oven door and straightened.
“My reasons are simple. I never want to be beholden to anyone for anything. I got where I am on a vehicle of my own making and I have dreams I’m still reaching for. Anyone can ride along with me if they want to and if they’re prepared to work hard. I’m not into forcing compliance. I’m not into unreasonable expectations. I lay all my cards on the table and if people don’t like what they see, they’re free to go.”
Chloe weighed Miles’s words carefully. His outlook was basically the antithesis of everything she’d ever known about his father. The senior Wingate had been known for his ruthlessness. It must have been so galling for the senior Wingate to have been stricken by the first debilitating stroke he’d endured five years ago.
For a man so in control of everything in his life to be reduced to relying on others for even his most basic human needs? It would have been torture. And yet when Chloe had heard the news she’d found it difficult to summon even an ounce of sympathy for him. Knowing the man had died in his sleep two years ago had only served to stoke the fire of her anger. Her father had had no such luxury.
And now she had his youngest son in her crappy kitchen, espousing his live and let live policy on life. She’d always thought the apple didn’t fall far from the tree when it came to family dynamics and the way people grew up. But it seemed that Miles was different. For starters, he’d made his success here in Chicago, far from the Wingate empire that was centered in Royal, Texas, and which had arms that reached out internationally through aviation, oil and hotels.
Had she made a mistake in targeting the closest, easiest option for her revenge? No, she decided, she couldn’t think that way. Whatever Miles was like, it was his family she was after. She wanted them all to feel and know pain, like she’d felt and known it. To suffer like her mother had—and still did, locked as she was in her grief for the past.
Chloe forced a smile to her face. “Well,” she said as brightly as she could manage. “That sounds fine to me. I have a small confession to make. I’ve done a little research on you.”
There, it was out in the open. Not a lie, although the implication she made was that the research was recent, whereas in actuality it was of far longer standing. Miles began to grin and Chloe felt a twinge of something entirely feminine deep inside her body. The ma
n was far too attractive for his own good. And probably hers as well.
“Research, huh? And what did you find out?”
“Enough to know that I’m intrigued by you, and I’m wondering what the heck it is about me that’s made you come back tonight.”
He took a step toward her and she felt a flutter in her chest as he stood close enough for her to inhale the fresh, crisp fragrance he wore. It was clean and enticing, like a breeze off the lake on a summer’s day. It made her want to lean in a little, to lift her face, to see whether he’d respond to the cues and do whatever came next. When Miles lifted a hand to push an errant strand of hair off her cheek she felt as if his fingertip had burned a brand of ownership across her cheek.
“Y’know, I’ve been asking myself that same question. But it all comes down to me knowing what I want when I see it. Like I said before—I know its early days, Chloe, but there’s no question that I want you. And I want to get to know you better while you decide if you want me, too.”
His gaze dropped to her lips and she saw the flare of hunger in his green eyes. Her body flooded with heat in response, but then he turned away—leaving her standing there with her lips slightly parted and her brain and body on overload. He’d been about to kiss her; she knew it, and yet he hadn’t. Had he decided it was too soon, or had she been sending the wrong message? Or was he just some kind of tease?
No, she doubted it was the latter and she knew for a fact she’d just about had foot-high neon signs blinking over her head shouting at him to do it. To close the scant distance between them and to take her mouth with his. And he’d been about to. Every feminine instinct in her told her that was so. Then, for some reason, he hadn’t. If anything, it intrigued her even more.
She continued to watch him as he turned his attention to the box containing her new phone and knew she wasn’t mistaken that he was as deeply affected by that short interaction as she’d been when she realized there was the slightest tremor in his hands.
“It’s the latest version of the phone you had already,” he said, looking up at her. “You should be able to transfer the information from your old one easily.”
“That’s great. Thank you. Like most people, I have my life on that device.”
“Do you back up?”
“Yes, religiously.”
“Good. And everything is strongly password protected?”
She nodded. “And changed regularly.”
“Good. You’d be amazed at the number of people who aren’t. They really ought to know better, too.”
She shrugged. “I learned my lesson when I was in college. I had my notes for one of my courses on my phone. I dropped it in a toilet.”
Miles laughed. “Uh-oh. Well, you’ll be relieved to know this version is waterproof, to a certain depth anyway.”
She really liked it when he laughed. The corners of his eyes crinkled and he had a twinkle in his eye that showed he really meant it. She moved across to stand by him as he passed her the phone.
“Here you are,” he said. “Longer battery life on this model, too.”
“It’s great. Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
“It’s the least I could do after what happened. I had them put additional antivirus and antiphishing software on the phone, too.”
They set up her new phone and then had dinner together. Miles was good company and Chloe had to remind herself that she wasn’t supposed to be enjoying him quite so much. One thing that did surprise her, as they kept their talk along very general lines, was that he never once mentioned his family. Then again, neither did she. It was as though, by some unspoken agreement, they’d decided not to discuss anything but the most peripheral of subjects. It was kind of refreshing, in a way.
After their meal, he helped her clean up and then she walked him out. For some reason, though, she felt awkward as she held the door open for him. She could see his car, the dark navy paintwork glinting under the streetlight, parked outside her house and the sheer luxury in every line of the vehicle reminded her of the gulf in their lives. Of him being a “have” and she having grown up a “have not.” It firmed her resolve to see this through. She was scrambling to try to come up with a logical way to thank him for his help today and for his generosity with the phone and dinner, when he started to speak.
“I have tickets to a show in town tomorrow night.” He mentioned the name of an up-and-coming blues musician she’d been hoping to be able to hear perform live. “Would you be interested in coming with me?”
“Tomorrow? Wow, that would be great! Thank you. I’d love to go.”
He grinned. “Awesome. I’ll pick you up about seven. We can have a bite to eat before the show.”
“Oh, it seems silly for you to come all the way out here to get me. I can meet you at the club if you’d rather.”
“It’s no bother. Besides, my mom would whip my butt if I expected my date to meet me at a function. She brought me up far better than that.”
It was the first time he’d mentioned family. Interesting, she thought, that it had been his mom and not his dad who’d come up so casually in conversation.
“Well, then, I’d best let you make your mom proud.”
He smiled. “Thank you. And thank you for tonight.”
“Me? You brought dinner.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t have to share it with me.”
“Oh? I didn’t know that was an option. My mom always lived by the mantra that if you had more than you needed it was your obligation to share.”
He winked at her. “She sounds like a wise woman.”
“She can be.”
She could also be bitter and trapped by circumstances. Circumstances created by the father of the man standing right there in front of her.
“Hey, we’re all human, right?” Miles said. “I really enjoyed tonight.”
“Me too,” she murmured with genuine pleasure.
“I’m also glad you’re happy to see me again.”
And then he leaned in. Chloe’s body, already wildly attuned to Miles, responded automatically,—closing the distance between them until his lips were on hers. In that instant, she lost all sense of where she was. All she could think about was the warm, firm pressure of his mouth on hers and how she’d been longing for it ever since that moment in the kitchen. Miles reached up with one hand and slid it under her hair to gently cup the back of her head. His fingertips against her scalp sent tiny zaps of electricity through her and she wondered what they would feel like on other, more sensitive, parts of her body.
She parted her lips slightly in invitation and Miles deepened the kiss. Her mind went into overload. The taste of him, the scent of his cologne, the gentle caress of his fingers, all of it combined to make her want to sink into him and lose herself completely.
And then, just like that, the kiss was over and he was pulling back. Releasing her. Giving her space.
“Wow,” she said on a rush of air. “Do you kiss all the girls you knock over like that?”
“Only the ones I really, really like,” he replied. This time his face was serious. Not even an ounce of humor colored his eyes, which had deepened to the bottomless green of a lake at twilight. “See you tomorrow.”
He turned and walked down her front path and she saw the interior light come on in his car as he unlocked it. He raised a hand briefly in farewell before getting in and driving away. Chloe closed and locked her front door and leaned against it, her fingertips on her lips, reliving the kiss they’d just shared.
She was playing with fire. She only hoped she wouldn’t get burned.
Four
As he drove along the interstate toward the city, Miles couldn’t help but savor the anticipation of seeing Chloe again. That kiss last night had knocked him sideways. He hadn’t meant to kiss her just yet. In fact, he’d planned to make their first embrace something special,
to be remembered for location and timing as well as for content. But need had overcome rationality and he wasn’t a bit sorry about it.
He wanted to repeat the experience and this time he was going to ensure that it would be a moment to savor and that they wouldn’t be framed in a well-lit doorway open to the street and any passersby. Miles pulled up outside Chloe’s place and was halfway down the path when she came out the front door to greet him. He stopped in his tracks and let his eyes roam the loveliness that greeted him.
She’d gathered her fine blond hair up into a knot at the nape of her slender neck and delicate gold chain earrings hung from her earlobes. The dress she wore was black and beaded with fine black crystals and had a deep V-neck that exposed a great deal of lightly tanned skin. His eyes were drawn to the gentle swell of her breasts and the slight flush of color at her chest. Nerves, perhaps? Whatever it was, she was a vision and he felt a pulse of feral need beat in his veins at the sight of her.
“You look stunning,” he said as he continued up the walk to meet her.
She ducked her head slightly before angling her neck and looking up at him.
“Thank you. Not too much? You didn’t say where we were going and I’ve always been taught it’s better to overdress than turn up looking like a slob.”
He laughed. “You are nothing like a slob. This is perfect.”
He looked at her again, noting the way the cocktail dress skimmed her hips and ended a few inches above her knees. Not so short as to cheapen the outfit, and not so long as to dampen desire. The dress looked as though it had been made for her. She wore heels that made her at least three inches taller, but he still topped her by inches. They’d make a very distinctive couple tonight, he thought as he offered her his arm.
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