The Tycoon's Tender Triumph Page 0,26

any kind of romantic relationship in her life.

Sam was taboo.

Feeling marginally better, and armed as well as possible, Chloe stepped out of the bedroom once again, heat blasting her in the face. Stunned, she looked around, immediately finding the culprit in the form of the evildoer with broad shoulders and too many muscles standing at the stove cooking eggs and something that smelled absolutely heavenly. “What did you do?”

Sam looked up, pan and spatula in his hands. He didn’t answer immediately but instead, took a long moment to let his eyes roam up and down her figure clad in jeans and the soft turtle neck, her brown hair in a fluffy cloud drifting down around her shoulders. “I like the pink underwear better,” he said, then looked down at his pan. “As for what I’ve done, I’ve made you breakfast, something I’m guessing you don’t often do for yourself if the contents of your refrigerator is anything to go by.”

Chloe ignored the food and rushed over to the thermostat. “You turned up the heat.”

“Of course I turned it up. And I’ll put a lock on it if you put it down again. If you can’t pay for your heat, then you should have told me a long time ago, woman.”

Chloe turned the temperature down another ten degrees, then turned back to him, angry and feeling frustrated that he’d seen right through her weakness; her fear of running out of money.

“Sam, please don’t come in here and assume you know what’s going on.”

Sam put the eggs onto a plate, then grabbed the toast just as it was popping out of the toaster. “You think I don’t understand what you’re going through?”

“I think you’re so tied up in your nice little wealthy world that you couldn’t possibly understand what goes through a person’s mind when they’re trying t pay the rent and utilities on a very small savings, while at the same time, trying to start up a business. It’s all risky and I’m…” She was about to say something that would be too revealing but stopped just in time.

Sam placed one of the plates full of food on the small table in kitchen, then walked over to stand beside her. With a soft voice he shook his head. “Chloe, I know you’re terrified of what might be lurking right around the corner. You’ve been given a great deal of responsibility with your father being hurt and feeling like you need to do it all. And the idea of starting a business, even one that you won’t talk to me about except for connections, it’s more than a little scary. But I’m guessing you’re still trying to pay your rent on that apartment back in New York along with all the utilities there, using that as an escape route just in case you can’t make it here doing something that will make you happier. You’ve calculated the expenses right down to the last dime and, if you’re really lucky, you might just make it work. Then some obnoxious brute comes along and shows you additional expenses that you didn’t know about and you’re scared, wondering if you should high tail it right back to your old life and give up on something you’d love doing for the rest of your life.” He paused for a moment, running a gentle finger down her cool cheek. “How close am I?”

Chloe swallowed, wishing he wasn’t so on target. “Pretty close.”

He laughed softly. “You mean dead on, don’t you?”

“Maybe.”

“What you need to accept is that there are a lot of people out there who are willing to help you out, if you’d just let them. Myself at the front of the line. And if you’d let us in, we’d make sure you don’t fail. If you could give up that apartment, you’d have a lot more money to cushion the issues you’re bound to encounter.”

A lump formed in her throat and she had trouble speaking. His words were wonderful and she desperately wanted to believe him. Unfortunately, she just didn’t know how. She simply didn’t have the same sense of power and control that Sam seemed to contain in spades. “Thank you,” was all she could say at the moment.

His hand dropped and a knowing look came back into his dark eyes. “But you’re still going to do it your way, aren’t you?” he said as he placed the other plate on the table across from the first one.

She shrugged and took one of the chairs.