Playing For Her Heart - Megan Erickson Page 0,41

to look away.

And then their time was up. Sydney gathered her book bag and kissed her father on the cheek, then hugged Chloe, and before Chloe realized what she was going on, the girl was out the door of the coffee shop. On the sidewalk in front, she greeted another girl, and the two walked off together.

“She’s meeting a friend to go shopping at the nearby strip mall. Sarah’s mom is taking them home.” Grant’s voice was behind her, and she turned to look at him.

Chloe sipped her latte and thought about what to say. She should get up and leave, but her legs were trembling. She wasn’t sure she could walk without making a fool of herself. “So you knew I’d be here.”

“I did.”

Chloe met his gaze.

He sighed and leaned forward. “I was worried you’d refuse to come, and Sydney would have been crushed.”

Chloe narrowed her eyes. “I would never have stood up Sydney because of you. That girl is the sweetest teenager I think I’ve ever met. I would have braved a blizzard to get here for her.” The vehemence in her voice surprised her, and it surprised Grant, too, if his widened eyes were any indication. She cleared her throat. “I didn’t know you had a daughter.”

Grant cocked his head. “Ethan never mentioned it?”

Chloe shrugged. “Maybe at one time he had, but I didn’t remember. You didn’t mention it either.”

Grant’s jaw ticked. “You set a lot of ground rules about what we were allowed to talk about.”

She looked away. Because he had a point.

“Chloe—”

“I should go.”

“Dammit.” His voice was a harsh whisper. “I’ve thought of nothing but you for a week. Ethan told me you weren’t answering his calls and I was worried. And then you show up here, looking more beautiful than I’ve ever seen you, and you spent an hour of your time making my daughter’s entire year. So if you can sit there and tell me that I mean nothing to you except for what we did physically, then tell me. And I’ll leave you alone.”

The tears were threatening and no way would she cry in a coffee shop. “I think you know perfectly well that I can’t say that.”

He leaned closer, his hand on her thigh, his face tilted into hers. “Then why won’t you give us a try? Let’s start over. I’ll take you out on a date, and I’ll treat you like a princess. We’ll come clean to Ethan and hopefully he won’t rip my nuts off.”

She looked at him through her lashes. “You don’t understand,” she whispered, the knot in her throat threatening to choke her.

“Then make me understand,” he pleaded. “Give me that much, Chloe.”

“That’s just it.” He had to see. Why couldn’t he see? “You don’t want Chloe.”

His face darkened. “You can’t tell me that I don’t want you.”

“You don’t know me.” Her voice was pleading.

He cocked his head. “No? I know you’re smart, one of the best at what you do. When you talk about your job, your whole face lights up. You cook like a fucking dream. I stole a whole container of that soup you made out of Ethan’s refrigerator.” He leaned closer, so his lips were right at her ear. “I know you get wet at the sound of my voice, that you love my tongue, that you crave how I fuck you. I know you think I’m funny even when you try to act like I’m not. And that’s all you, Chloe, that’s not whatever act you think you’re putting on. I see right through all that bullshit. And despite this conversation, I like what I see.”

She shook her head, desperate to get out of here, desperate to end this conversation, but Grant wasn’t done. He cupped her cheek, rubbing gently with his thumb as he met her eyes. “As much as I love fucking you any way I can get you, I want the chance to make love to Chloe. Think about how good that would be, sweetheart. I’d take my time, licking you, working your clit with my tongue. There’d be no rush. Just you and me. And then I’d wrap your legs around my hips and I’d enter that wet pussy slowly, so fucking slowly, it’d be torture for both of us.”

This was torture right now. His words. Because how badly did she want that? She imagined cooking with Grant, wearing nothing but his shirt. He’d walk up behind her, place his hand on her ass possessively while she let