Page 98 of Brassy Bigwig

“Someone who isn’t going to be in town for very long but wants to meet in person.”

She looks at me as I speak, and I hold my breath, ready for an onslaught of questions.

“D, I…” Shit. Here it comes. “Are you meeting with your guy tonight?”

“My guy?” I’m genuinely confused now.

“I know you’re trying to keep some details from me, and I appreciate the lengths you’re going to in order to protect me. But Shelby told me you mentioned you have a guy tailing Blake to see what he’s up to.”

Oh.

I consider my options here. I haven’t exactly lied about having a meeting with someone. Emilia does want to meet in person, and I’m going to see to it she leaves town immediately when our conversation is over.

However, letting Chloe believe I’m meeting with Travis is a blatant lie. I’d be leaving the gray area I’ve been in since not telling her about Emilia from the start. As much as it kills me, for now, I need to make her believe what she thinks is true.

I will get information from Travis. Emilia will leave town.

Once she’s gone, I’ll sit Chloe down and explain everything. She’s a smart girl. She may not be happy about it, but she will see reason why I did what I did.

“Yes, we haven’t been able to meet in person yet as he lives in another state.”

That’s not a lie.

“Thank you, D. At every turn, you’ve proven how much you care about me, and I can’t tell you how grateful I am for you. The month we went without one another was awful. I kicked myself every single day for walking out without saying goodbye. I’m so glad the universe has given us another chance.”

“Me too, théa.” I pause for a minute, running my thumb over her bottom lip. “Chloe… I—”

I’m feeling so many different things right now, but the one that stands out the most is love. I love her. I love her, and I just lied to her. I want nothing more than to tell her exactly how I feel, take her into our bed, and make love to her all night long. She’s looking straight into my eyes, the window to my soul, and I know she can see what I’m feeling for her.

“What is it, D?”

I can’t tell her yet. I can’t lie to her one second and then profess my love for her the next. The timing isn’t right. It will have to wait until I come clean about Emilia.

“I’m going to go heat up your soup.”

Planting a kiss on the top of her head, I walk around her and out into the hallway.

I love you, théa.

I’ve made a mess of things. One Chloe doesn’t even know about yet. I feel like I’m digging a hole for myself. I just hope Chloe will see I did it because the only other alternative was losing her.

And I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure I never lose her again.

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