Page 72 of A Lot Like Love
Chapter 18
Ryder poured Chloe a glass of wine and carried it over to the sofa. She’d kicked off her shoes and had her feet curled up, leaning into a cushion and chatting with his brothers like it was completely normal for her to be holding court with the pair of them. He chuckled as he joined her—trust Chloe to be able to charm his brothers so quickly.
“I take it you’ve given them the blow-by-blow account?” he asked.
Chloe shook her head, her long blond hair falling over her shoulders and resting on her breasts. Ryder shot Nate a dirty look—his brother’s eyes had dropped instantly to her chest. The smile he received in return made him scowl, but it was over fast, with Nate focused on Chloe again, only this time it was her eyes he was looking at.
“I was waiting for you before we gave them the lowdown.”
Ryder had to give his brothers credit—they had every right to still want to throttle him, but they’d treated Chloe like a long-lost friend and they’d given him a break, too. He went to scratch his face, then cringed. Maybe it was the bruise around his eye that was reminding them to go easy on him.
“I hope it was me you were waiting on?”
Ryder and his brothers all turned at the deep voice and saw their grandfather standing in the open doorway that led from the living room to the hall. He was dressed in a wool sweater and slacks, despite being told to stay in his pajamas in bed, his silver hair brushed and his eyes bright. They were hoping he’d stay at home longer this time, but Ryder guessed it would be a few weeks at best before he ended up back in the hospital.
“Granddad, what are you doing out of bed?” Chase asked, the first of them to jump up and go over to him.
Clay shrugged off Chase’s hand and slapped his grandson on the back instead. “I heard a lady’s voice and I thought, what in god’s name am I doing stuck in here when there’s a woman to meet.” His chuckle made them all smile. “If I don’t have long then what’s the point wasting it on my back?”
Ryder smiled when Chloe uncurled her feet and stood up, holding out her hand when Clay came near. She stepped forward and clasped his hand, laughing as he pulled her in to plant a kiss on her cheek.
“You must be Clay. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Clay let go of her hand and sat down in the armchair Chase had vacated. “It’s nice to meet you, Chloe,” he said. “Now tell me if you had a successful night? Are you celebrating already or have you not played this Parker fellow yet?”
Chloe sat back down, closer to Ryder this time, their thighs pressed together. “I won the ranch back and I fleeced him out of his cash, too.”
Clay laughed like Ryder hadn’t heard in a long time, his shoulders shaking first from laughter and then when his cough took over. They all waited, knowing he wouldn’t want a fuss. Ryder glanced up and saw Clay’s live-in nurse hovering in the hallway—help was on hand if they needed it.
“Your lovely grandsons invited me back for a few drinks to celebrate,” she continued, ignoring the fact that Clay was so obviously sick, her smile and eye contact with Ryder’s grandfather unwavering. “I was just about to tell them how I did it.”
“Did you have a winning hand?” Clay asked. “Or did you bluff and make him sweat?”
Chloe grinned. “Sounds like I’m talking to a poker aficionado.”
“Takes one to know one,” he replied.
Ryder raised his eyebrows when he realized Chase was staring at him, his brother as surprised as he was that Clay was up to chatting with Chloe so late at night. It was like having her around had brought the old man back to life.
They were all watching Chloe, all eyes fixed on her. And then it hit him—how the hell was this his last night with her? All this time, hanging out with her and having fun, knowing that it was only short term, and now…no. He wasn’t letting her walk away without a goddamn fight, that was for sure.
“He probably had a better hand than me,” she confessed, taking a sip of her wine and glancing up under hooded lashes. “But I kept my cards, made him think I already had the winning hand from the start, and he fell for it hook, line, and sinker. I bluffed and he folded.”
“Bullshit,” Nate said good-naturedly. “Parker’s legendary at the card table.”
Chloe’s low laugh made Ryder smile straight back at her. “Is it about now that I confess to playing poker since I was big enough to walk?”
They all laughed and Ryder jumped up to get Clay a drink when he started coughing. “Water?” he asked.
Clay frowned. “Whiskey, son. How many times do I have to tell you boys that I drink whiskey, not goddamn water?”
They all exchanged glances, but it was Chloe who spoke.
“Well, get the man a whiskey, someone,” she drawled, making them all laugh all over again.
“My grandson tells me you’re hoping to go back to law school soon.”
“She’ll be back there soon, Granddad. Now that her bet paid off.”
