Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 132657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Sometimes she wondered what would have happened if Chloe had been brave enough to give him a try. If she hadn’t let being burned by some other guy before hold her back.
Like Jensen was holding her back from giving Niall a chance.
Big, gorgeous, sweet Niall, who every sub in The Hideout thought was absolute forever Dom material. Niall, who had let her know any time she wanted to play, he was there.
He had joined the club a few months before, and in all that time she was almost certain he hadn’t slept with a single sub. At least not here. He’d never once signed up for a privacy room, and he definitely hadn’t been having sex on the floor. She would have heard about that.
“I have a boyfriend, thank you,” Chloe announced.
And Ruby was back because this was definitely new material. “What? Who? The last guy you were with was your college boyfriend, and you broke up because you knew you didn’t love him.”
A weird smile came over Chloe’s face. A kind of still, expectant smile. A smile that held zero humor and let Harlow know she was masking some unnamed emotion. If she was interrogating the other woman, she wouldn’t believe anything that came out of her mouth next. Oh, the basics would be true, but Chloe was hiding something.
“Tom,” Chloe said with a brisk nod. “Yes. We actually broke up because our career paths diverged. He went to New York to work for a start-up, and I settled in at Lodge Corp.”
Which was killing her. Oh, she said all the right things, but Chloe wasn’t happy being the heir apparent to her father’s massive conglomerate. All the money in the world wasn’t going to take the place of Chloe shoving down her creative dreams because she felt a responsibility to her family.
Unlike her own deranged dad, who had done his absolute best to ensure Harlow didn’t follow her dreams, she rather thought Uncle Julian would understand.
“So who is the new guy?” Ruby asked.
Harlow put the pieces together. Chloe hesitated because she didn’t want to admit the truth. Because Harlow knew the real story. No wonder she’d been spending so much time in New York. “It’s the old guy. She ran into him while she was working in the New York offices. He felt safe and warm and right in line with her new life plan, which is to stay safe and warm and never go for what she truly wants.”
Chloe’s eyes flashed with a bit of the fire she’d had as a teen. “Oh, really? Is this judgment of yours about Seth? I should follow my lust and forget everything I know about him? Maybe get my heart broken? You want to talk about the new guy and how you make doe eyes at him and never say yes to him?”
She was being too harsh. “I’m sorry. I don’t have a right to judge. But it is Tom, isn’t it?”
Harlow remembered him being a “nice” guy. Said all the right things. Mostly did the right things. Something had felt off to Harlow. He was a bit self-centered, but he could turn on the charm when he needed to. He had definitely liked the idea of being attached to Julian Lodge’s daughter.
Chloe sat up straighter. “As a matter of fact, your detective skills are excellent. We met up at a conference and now I see him when I’m in New York. It’s getting serious.”
She could see so easily what Chloe was doing, but it wouldn’t do anything but start a fight to argue with her. Chloe could be extremely stubborn. “If you’re happy then I’m happy. Are you going to bring him to the club anytime soon? I would love to see him again.”
She would love to take the man’s measure now. She glanced over at Ruby and knew she was already mentally prepping the thorough security review they would be conducting on Chloe’s new/old boyfriend.
Chloe grimaced. “I’m not ready for that. If I bring him to Dallas, then he gets on my dad’s radar. I’d like to be engaged before that happens. If I’ve got a ring on my finger, I think my papa will rein Dad in.”
Like Harlow herself, Chloe had two fathers. The corporate side of the club was heavily invested in the ménage lifestyle. Harlow and her sister, Greer, had a reasonable dad named Ben, a deranged dad who went by Chase or Asshole, depending on who was talking to him, and a ridiculously cool mom named Natalie. Chloe had a scary dad named Julian, a cool dad named Finn, and her supersmart mom, Dani. “You’re that serious?”
Chloe shrugged. “It’s time. I’m not getting any younger, and I don’t want to wait until I’m forty to start a family. I’m well established at Lodge Corp. All I’m missing is a husband. Tom fits the bill.”