“Chloe, come up and meet Harley and her son, Daniel. And this is my aunt, Piper Holloway.”
Chloe proffered her hand and smiled at each of the women as she drew up in front of them. “Hi, I’m Chloe Fitzgerald. A friend of Miles’s. Lovely to meet you.”
“Does Mom know you’re back?” Beth asked her little sister.
“Not yet, and I’m not in a hurry to cross paths with her, so our visit here is short. Piper picked me up in Dallas and brought me down, but I’ll be staying with an old friend back in Royal.”
Beth wore a small frown on her face. “It would have been wonderful to have you here.”
“I know, but you know what things are like between Mom and me. I don’t want to expose Daniel to that any more than necessary. But I hope to see a lot of you, though. I’m going to need your help.”
“Anything,” Beth said quickly. “I’m just so thrilled to see you. You’ve heard about the mess that’s going on.”
“Yes, I gathered things were bad when Mom called me in Thailand to tell me the income stream from WinJet to Zest had been frozen. It’s why I came straight back. I need to find alternative donors and quickly before it starts to impact on the work Zest does. But we had a good flight back to the States and then on to Dallas, didn’t we, Daniel?”
The little boy shyly nodded, then turned his face back into his mother’s neck.
“He’s a little jet-lagged,” Harley explained. “Or he’d be talking all our ears off.”
“And I was overdue a visit so I offered to drive them from Dallas. It made for a good opportunity to catch up.” Piper said. “Besides, there’s a new artist just outside of Royal I’m hoping to persuade to give me an exclusive showing at my gallery.”
Beth turned to Chloe with a laugh. “Piper has an art gallery in Dallas. We like to tell everyone it’s her substitute husband.”
Piper chuckled. “Hey, with my gallery I have everything just the way I like it. No crumbs on the breakfast bar in the morning and no socks on the bedroom floor. I’m quite satisfied with my life just the way it is, thank you.”
Chloe could see the genuine affection that wove these women together and felt a pang of envy. Even though she wasn’t estranged from her mom, they’d never had the kind of relationship the Wingate sisters appeared to have with their aunt. While none of the Wingate children appeared to be emotionally close to their mother, it looked as though they had a strong surrogate in Piper Holloway.
They all went inside and gathered in the family room. There were a few toys already scattered on the floor, as well as a couple of children’s books on the coffee table that hadn’t been there before. Chloe could see the other women were itching to catch up together, so she suggested she mind Daniel for a bit so they could spend some time alone. At first, Harley looked a little dubious.
“Chloe is an elementary school teacher,” Beth filled in for Harley. “Daniel will be quite safe with her, I’m sure.”
“Honestly, I miss my class kids so it would be a delight to spend some time with him,” Chloe said.
Once Harley had explained she’d just be in another room nearby with his aunts, Daniel accepted that he was being left with Chloe. She kicked off her shoes and joined him on the carpet, helping him put together a wooden track on which he could roll the toy cars he’d brought home with him. She lost track of time and was startled to hear the front door slam closed and the sound of footsteps coming toward them. Chloe looked up to see Miles with a quizzical expression on his face.
“Uncle Miles!” Daniel shouted.
The little boy scrambled to his feet and launched himself at his uncle from about six feet away. To his credit, Miles dropped the briefcase he’d been carrying and caught his nephew in his arms and whirled the giggling child in a circle. Chloe watched him with the boy and felt something shift inside her. What would it be like, she wondered, if the scenario was different and it was her child running to his or her daddy. And just like that, Chloe knew she had fallen even harder in love with Miles Wingate.
Thirteen
Miles looked over his nephew’s head at the woman sprawled on the floor amongst the toys. She looked just as comfortable there as she had at his side at the engagement party last weekend. More so, in fact. Seeing her like this made him appreciate that there were so many more facets to Chloe than he realized. He’d never gone out with anyone before who didn’t think twice about getting down to a child’s level and simply having fun with them.
“Miles!” Harley squealed from the side door and came rushing through the room to give her brother a big hug.
Miles flung an arm around his younger sibling and squeezed tight. He’d seen Harley six months ago when he’d been on a business trip to Bangkok.
“Hey, I didn’t expect to see you back home, too,” he said.
“Piper brought me through from Dallas. She’s here, also.”
“You didn’t mention anything about coming home this year when I saw you last. Is everything okay?”
“Just this wretched business with WinJet. You know they’re the primary donor to my charity, Zest. With the freeze, Zest’s funding has been locked up, too. I need to drum up new funding to tide us over until this whole mess is cleared up. Is that what you’re here for, too? To help with the WinJet crisis?”
Harley looked up at Miles in adoration, and he felt the old familiar twang of pride she’d always managed to imbue in him. His other three siblings were all older, and the twins had always been tight-knit as they all grew up. But Harley had always seen Miles as her knight in shining armor. Cute most of the time. A little less so when he’d started dating and she’d taken it upon herself to start vetting his girlfriends.
“Something like that,” he acknowledged. “Although my hands have been tied with the freeze, much like yours back in Thailand, I imagine.”
“It’s so darn frustrating, isn’t it? We’re just trying to do good things, make a living, help others to make theirs. I don’t know why anyone would be working so hard to discredit us.”
“Well, hopefully that will become clearer soon.” Miles set Daniel down onto his feet and ruffled the little boy’s hair. “He’s grown since I saw him last. But you haven’t. Have you lost weight? Are you looking after yourself okay?”
“Don’t you start,” Harley said with a laugh. “I’m doing just fine. C’mon Daniel, let’s go to the kitchen to find something to eat. Are you hungry?”
“Yes, please!” the little boy answered and put his hand in his mother’s. As he passed Chloe, he gave her a shy smile and a wave with his free hand. “Thank you for playing with me.”
“Anytime, Daniel. I enjoyed it,” Chloe answered with a warm smile.
There was definitely something about her that made everything in Miles ease and relax. He flopped down next to her on the carpet.
“Nice job on the racetrack,” he said, gesturing to the convoluted road Chloe and Daniel had obviously built together around the furniture in the room. “I had no idea you were so adept at playing with boys’ toys.”
Chloe arched a brow at him. “Toys are toys. Gender doesn’t enter into it.”
“I consider myself duly chastened,” Miles answered playfully.
“As your punishment, you can help me tidy this away. I’m sure when Ava gets back, she’d prefer to see her family room looking its usual pristine self.”
Chloe went on all fours and began to disassemble the train track and stack it into the box it came from. Distracted momentarily by her pert derriere, Miles was slow to join her.
“Well, come on!” she said in exasperation.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Once the room was back to its regular condition, they went up to their bedroom. Miles flopped down backward on the bed and heaved a big sigh.
“Bad day?” Chloe asked.
“Not a great one. I’m still parsing through the data I put
on a hard drive prior to the freeze, but it hasn’t revealed much, so far. I feel like I’m this close.” He held his thumb and forefinger close together in the air. “But something is eluding me. Whoever did this knows the Wingate business systems inside and out. I’ve got my team in Chicago working on improving overall security for the entire corporation. It just frustrates me because this all could have been avoided if they’d listened to me earlier about their IT security.”
Chloe sat down next to him on the bed. “I’m sorry this is proving so tough for you.”
“Hey, it’s not your fault. How about you? Did you have a good day?”
She smiled down at him. “Yeah, I did. I got to know Gracie a little better. She’s quite a woman. I’m glad Beth has her support. And your aunt Piper seems lovely, too. And she’s so close to Beth and Harley.”
“Yeah, Piper is the mother figure we never had growing up. We all love her to bits. And Beth is brilliant at what she does and even better at choosing people to help her who are equally as strong. Hopefully she can pull some magic out of a hat for Harley, too.”
“Harley seems nice,” Chloe commented as she lay partway down beside him and started stroking his chest with one hand.
“Harley is one of life’s truly good people. I think that by the time she was born, all the snark had been bred out of us, leaving her only what was sweetness and light.”
“That’s such a cute way to portray her. You do know she’s a grown woman with a child,” she teased him.
“Yeah, I know. We were all shocked when she announced she was pregnant with Daniel. She was only nineteen when he was born, and she refused to tell any of us who his father is. I think Sebastian and Sutton were on the verge of organizing a lynch mob. But she’s done an amazing job of raising him on her own, and she’s taught him a lot about compassion and sharing, too.”
“He’s a darling kid. I really liked being with him.”
Miles rolled onto his side and looked Chloe in the eye. “Have you ever thought about having kids?”
“Of course. I love kids. I always hoped I’d have two or three of my own one day. When I was with the right man, of course. I know a lot of strong women, like your sister, tackle raising a child on their own, but having spent most of my life without a father figure, I would prefer to have an involved and present father there for my children.”
Miles knew it was still early days in their relationship but it gave him a deep sense of satisfaction to hear that Chloe’s views on parenting were so similar to his own. Wanting a family and raising that family with a woman he considered his equal and enjoyed having by his side was part of the reason he’d bought the three-story town house he had back in Chicago. There was a yard out back; they’d be close to the Park for bike rides and walks. And for everything else they could always come back to Texas.
This business with WinJet and his family was a temporary thing, he was sure. While it looked bad right now, he had no doubt that eventually they’d be cleared of the charges that had been laid against them. Until that happened, though, he was bound to support his family. And, while his own personal wealth and his business wasn’t affected by this, yet, he couldn’t honestly think of or plan for a future until the present was more secure. But when it was, he was looking forward to exploring that concept of the future with the woman lying here with him on the bed.
And speaking of the woman lying on the bed, her hand, which had been massaging the muscles of his chest had begun a slow, but determined, trajectory to the waistband of his trousers. Instantly his flesh leaped to attention. It seemed that no matter the external stressors in his life, one thing remained constant. His powerful attraction to Chloe Fitzgerald.
“Is that linen you’re wearing?” he asked her.
A puzzled frown appeared between her eyes. “Yes, why?”
“That stuff creases badly—you should probably take it off.”
“Is that right?” she purred.
Chloe withdrew her hand and sat up on the bed, reaching for the tab of her zipper.
“Here, let me,” he said, also rising to a sitting position.
He brushed her hand away and reached for the tab, then ever so slowly lowered it, inch by inch exposing smooth honey-colored skin. Then he bent forward, and with his other hand, brushed her hair off her neck and placed his lips at her nape. He felt the tremor that rippled through her body in response to his touch. Emboldened, he lowered the zipper farther, placing kisses on each vertebra of her back as he did so.
It only took a moment to push the garment off her shoulders and down to her waist. Miles stood and pulled her to her feet, letting the dress slip to the floor in a heap and leaving her standing there in pristine white lingerie that was anything but innocent. Behind the sheer lace of the cups of her bra he saw her sweet pink nipples tighten, and he reached for her, thumbing those taut peaks through the fabric.
“Stay there,” he directed as he swiftly undid the buttons of his shirt and tugged it free of his waistband before shedding it and throwing it down beside him.
He stepped forward and wrapped her in his arms, bending his head to hers. She lifted her lips in response and he kissed her, his tongue gently probing past her lips to dance against her tongue before withdrawing. The taste of her, hell, everything about her, intoxicated him on every level. And he couldn’t get enough.
He reached for the clasp of her bra and, with the deft fingers of one hand, unsnapped the hooks. The confection of fabric fell free and he gingerly tugged it off her, exposing her small perfect breasts to his gaze. He didn’t waste another second. He bent his head to her breast, taking one nipple in his mouth and rolling the tight bud with his tongue. Chloe moaned and clutched at his head, holding him there as he kissed and licked and sucked her. He could spend an eternity with Chloe and still never have enough of her.
He carefully walked her backward to the bed and guided her down on the covers before tugging her panties off and tossing them on the growing pile of attire on the floor. Then, he shucked off the rest of his clothes and joined her on the bed. He lay beside her, propped up on one arm while he traced the glorious feminine lines of her body with his other hand.
“You know, these past couple of weeks have really opened my eyes.”
She writhed beneath his touch and her eyes met his. “They have?”
“Yeah. I can see that being with the right person can make anything bearable. I think you could be my right person, Chloe.”
For the briefest moment she looked conflicted and she briefly averted her gaze. When she looked back at him, her eyes shone with unshed tears. “Oh, Miles. That’s a beautiful thing to say. Thank you. I feel honored that you feel that way about me, and I have to be completely honest with you and admit I never expected to want to make your world right or to need you as much as I do. But I do.”
He didn’t know how to tell her what her words meant to him. Instead, he showed her with his body just how much she meant to him. He moved over her and settled between her legs and relished the feel of her hands as they stroked his back and clutched at his buttocks, urging him to take her and drive them both to the pinnacle of their need for one another. So he did, and as he entered her body he knew he’d found the place he needed to be—not just now, but forever—and it was with her.
* * *
It was a couple of days later, and Chloe had gone riding with Harley and Daniel, when his mother asked him if he could meet with her and Keith Cooper for lunch at the club. Ava, it seemed, was determined for everyone around them to see that things within the family were strictly business as usual and even though the news had not yet broken about the asset freeze at WinJet, Miles knew it wouldn’t be long before it was front page news.
The family had spent many hours in meetings discussing the best ways to manage the impending fallout. To that end, Zeke had been working overtime with a trusted handful of staff in the marketing department
. Miles could only hope his cousin’s preemptive damage control would do its job.
He’d been catching up on Steel Security business from the estate today, and as he drove out to the club, he decided there was little he could still do from here that was any concrete help to his family, other than showing a united front. He’d discuss it with Chloe, but he felt it was definitely time for them to head home. He knew she had classroom prep and shopping to do for the rapidly approaching start of the school year, too.
Miles smiled a little to himself as he parked his car and sauntered to the club’s main entrance. In the last two days he’d felt closer to Chloe than ever. Admitting to his feelings for her—it was something he’d never done before with another woman. In fact, he’d begun to wonder if he’d ever find the right gal for him, but there she was and all because of an accidental meeting in the park.
He spied his mom and Uncle Keith at their usual table in the restaurant and walked toward them. They were talking earnestly, heads bent together. Miles didn’t quite know how he felt about the development of his mom’s relationship with the man who used to be his father’s best friend. He knew Beth wasn’t completely happy about it, either. But his mom wasn’t easily fooled, and if she found comfort in Keith Cooper’s almost constant presence by her side, then so be it. Goodness only knew she’d been faithful and loyal to her husband for all the years of their marriage. Maybe it was his own newfound joy in love that was coloring his way of thinking, but if Uncle Keith made his mom happy, then Miles could accept it, even if he’d never been particularly fond of the man. Besides, if anyone could keep a rein on the man’s temper, it was Ava.
His mom looked up and gave him a brief wave, beckoning him over to join them. At the table, he shook hands with Cooper and bent to place a kiss on his mother’s cheek before sitting down.
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