Page 63 of Finding Home
“Seriously?”
She laughs, and the corners of my mouth pull up.
“Okay, grizzly bear?”
“Better.”
Silence fills the line for a minute before she asks, “What should I tell her? I know you said I’m yours, but what does that mean?”
“What do you want it to mean?” I ask.
“I want labels, if I’m being honest. I don’t like being in some unknown area. I want exclusivity.”
I growl and lower my voice as I lean forward in my chair. “If you didn’t get from me telling you that you’re mine and that no other man will touch your skin that we’re exclusive, I’m making it very fucking clear right now, North. There will be no one else for you.”
“And you?” she asks, and I hear the small tremor of vulnerability in her voice.
“I haven’t been with anyone else since our first night together, and as long as you’re mine, I won’t be. You want labels, Chloe, conventional labels? You’re my girlfriend.”
“Good.”
One of Grandma’s nurses comes out of the double doors and makes eye contact with me. I nod and tell Chloe I’ve got to go and will call her back as soon as I can before pushing out of the chair and meeting the nurse. The relief that floods through me when she says that surgery went perfectly is palpable. She leads me back to Grandma’s room, and I settle into a chair beside her bed as I wait for her to wake up.
I must have fallen asleep at one point, because I’ve now got an awful kink in my back. There’s no longer light streaming through the window of Grandma’s room.
“Not sleeping well?” Grandma’s voice pulls my attention to her bed.
I sit up straighter and run my hands down my face. “It’s been a week,” I say, not elaborating, but she offers me a knowing smile.
“You did make a stir in town,” she says.
“How are you feeling? You sound like you came out of the anesthesia okay,” I say, wanting to move on from the questions I’m sure she’s bound to ask, and knowing Grandma she’s going to use theI’m in a hospital bedroute to get answers from me, and because she is who she is, I know I’ll cave to an extent.
“I’m okay. I’ve been up for a while.”
I grab my phone and see that it’s already six o’clock.
Before I have a chance to ask her anything else, she says, “So you and Chloe Maxwell. I’m guessing her sunshine worked on your grumpy ass.”
I shake my head and run my hand down half my face, trying to hide my grin at her antics. She’s lying in a hospital bed after major surgery and giving me shit about my behaviour and asking about the girl I’m seeing.
“Chloe’s…” I start, but I’m not sure what to say. Special doesn’t seem to be enough. Chloe has this quality about her that I can’t put into words, and if I’m being honest with myself, it scares the crap out of me. To feel this draw to her so quickly is unusual for me. It took a long time for Renee to finally wear me down enough to actually go on a date. She then made it so she was always around and we fell into a relationship.
With Chloe, she isn’t forcing anything. I’m the one that approached her to move into my place, but I think that even if I hadn’t, I’d be finding ways to see her. I’d be hanging on to her every word, wanting to learn more about her and hoping I get the opportunity to hear her laugh.
“Something you weren’t expecting,” Grandma says, pulling me from my thoughts.
I let out a breath. “Yeah, something I wasn’t expecting,” I agree.
“I like her for you and Lila. I think she’s exactly what the two of you need.”
“Lila’s grown attached.”
She nods and cocks her head. “And have you?”
I run my hand through my hair. I haven’t known Chloe longenough for it to be rational to be attached to her, but I feel it growing. That feeling has rooted itself deep inside me, and I don’t think any amount of digging will ever remove all of the roots she’s planted inside me.
Calling her mine was an instinct I couldn’t fight. It was this primal feeling of wanting to claim her, but I know the thing that made me snap and finally say the words out loud wasn’t just the primal feeling, but the connection I’ve been growing with her. That connection was like a match to the fuel that was the primal possessiveness. It ignited and burned hot and fast, turning into a flaming jealousy I couldn’t ignore.
