Page 77 of A Lot Like Love
Chapter 20
The room was still dark when Chloe woke. She turned carefully, not wanting to disturb Ryder as she slid out from underneath his arm. Before she’d fallen asleep everything had seemed perfect and now uncertainty was clawing at her mind, all her doubts creeping back in like they’d never left.
She had to go.
Chloe sat on the edge of the bed, glanced back at Ryder one last time. She’d started out being attracted to him because of the way he looked, then everything had changed until it was back to physical attraction again. And now? Now she didn’t know how she felt, but she did know that the only way to walk away from him was to do it now. She needed to do it quick and fast.
She leaned over and kissed his cheek, pulling away as tears welled in her eyes, catching in her lashes as she stood up and gathered her things. Chloe dressed quickly and zipped her suitcase, grabbing her other still-packed bags, too, and walked out of the room, refusing to look back. If she did, she could so easily end up back in his arms, curled up beside him in bed again, when what she needed to do was stay focused on her future. On her plan.
She needed to finish her law degree. She needed to build a future for herself that didn’t involved relying on a man.She needed to walk awaynow matter bad she had it for him.
Chloe put down her luggage and grabbed her purse from the living room, pushing aside a sweater of Ryder’s to get it. She turned, then changed her mind, bending back down and grabbing it, tugging it over her head and wrapping herself in the familiar smell that was him. Just because she had to go didn’t mean she hadn’t loved every second of being with Ryder, the memories of being with him enough to last a lifetime. Chloe checked her purse, divided the cash in half, and left the balance on the table. He’d promised to pay her tuition, then last night told her to take the money she’d won. She’d just take her portion of the cash and call them even—this was more than enough to see her through to graduation.
She walked as quickly as she could down the hall and slipped out the door, shutting it behind her and heading down the drive. Chloe dialed a cab without slowing down, hoping like hell she’d be able to get past the main house lugging all her things without one of Ryder’s brothers seeing her. She couldn’t explain what she was doing to anyone yet, because she still didn’t know herself. All she knew was that she had to leave now, before she lost her nerve.
Tears pricked her eyes again and this time she let them fall.It hurt. It hurt so damn bad walking away, it was like a stake through her heart. Ryder had shown her what it was like to be with a real man, a man who called it like it was, who wasn’t afraid of saying what he wanted and wasn’t intimated by a woman who did the same. He’d treated her with respect and made her feel… Chloe hugged her arms around herself, inhaling the scent of Ryder on his sweater, wishing his arms were still around her. He’d made her feel loved, and no matter how much she told herself it didn’t matter to her, it damn well did.
* * *
The sunlight falling across his face woke Ryder. He reached out, hand feeling around the bed for Chloe, anticipating the warmth of her bare skin. Instead he connected with a cold sheet. Ryder groaned and sat up, the covers falling away as he rubbed his eyes and looked around the room. Chloe was gone, her clothes no longer in a rumpled heap on the floor. Damn it. He’d been looking forward to waking up to her body, warm and soft from sleep.
He waited a couple of minutes, then decided to go looking for her. The house was silent as he walked toward the kitchen, doing up his jeans as he moved.
“Chloe?” he called. “You out here?”
Ryder stopped when he realized she wasn’t in the kitchen or living room. Hmmm. She must have taken his truck and gone on a coffee run. If it meant keeping her in bed for longer in the morning, he was definitely going to have to invest in a coffee machine. He wandered to the side window and cast a glance outside.What the hell?His SUV was still parked where he’d left it. There were no other vehicles at the guest house, and unless she’d gone for a walk…
He scanned the living room, then went back into the bedroom to see if she’d left a note anywhere. Nothing. Then he checked his phone. Ryder’s heart was starting to pound too fast for his liking—this was looking less and less like a coffee run and more like…
She’d gone.
Ryder dialed Chase and got his voice mail. Damn it. He was probably out doing the rounds on the ranch already. He went to throw his phone down, then changed his mind and called Nate. His brother picked up on the second ring.
“Mornin’,” Nate said.
“Hey. Have you seen Chloe?”
Nate made a noncommittal noise.
“Nate. You seen her or not?” Ryder demanded.
“I saw a cab pulling away about an hour ago. I didn’t think anything of it at the time but…”
“Damn.” Ryder threw his phone down on the bed and stormed toward the door, marching outside and then turning on his heel and walking straight back in again. What the hell was he doing? She’d left. Chloe was gone. They’d talked about it being their last night and he’d just presumed he’d be able to talk her around in the morning, that she wouldn’t really go when they were having so much fun together.
He’d been wrong.
Ryder sat down on the bed, head in his hands. Maybe it was karma. He’d finally met a woman he could fall for and she’d up and left him like the time they’d spent together meant nothing.
His phone rang and he reached for it, seeing Chase’s name appear. He wasn’t going to answer, then changed his mind.
“Hey.”
“What’s happening?” Chase asked.
“You need a hand this morning?”
“What about—”
