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“We’ve known each other since we were kids, attended the same schools and lived within the same social circles for years and there’s still a lot I don’t know about you.”
“You’re right,” Chloe acknowledged.
“We should do something about that.” His desire flew past his lips before he had a chance to filter the thought.
Chloe cleared her throat.
“How about dinner tomorrow night?” Why waste time, Donovan thought. He wanted to learn more about Chloe Chandler and he had no intentions of toying with his interest. “I know a beautiful place on the other side of the island.”
“That should be fine.” Chloe looked at her watch and then looked toward the resort’s entrance. “Let me check with Jewel and make sure—”
“Just you and I,” Donovan interjected.
“Oh...” Chloe’s surprise and coyness made him smile once again.
“I’m sure Jewel wouldn’t mind but do check with her to make sure. I wouldn’t want her to feel left out.” The fact that Jewel had never returned from her “bathroom” run wasn’t lost on him. Jewel was rooting for him and he was sure that she was intentionally giving them space.
“I’ll do that.” Chloe looked at the door again before sitting back.
“It’s been a while. I don’t think she’s coming back,” Donovan responded to Chloe’s constant looking back toward the hotel.
“Maybe I should go check on her. She did have quite a few of those rum cocktails.”
Donovan stood. “Come on.” He held his hand out. “I’ll walk you to your suite.”
Chloe looked at him for a moment before taking his outstretched hand. A quick current shot through him when their palms touched. Donovan liked it. He wondered if she felt it, too, and if she did, had she enjoyed it as much as he had?
Helping Chloe to her feet, he held on until she tamed her billowing dress from the gusty ocean breeze. Donovan deliberately slowed to an unhurried stride as they made their way into the hotel. Remembering his former years, he chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” Chloe asked.
“Did you know I had a crush on you back in high school?”
Chloe’s mouth fell open. “Really?”
“Yeah!”
“I never would have thought that, especially with all those girls that hung around you and your brother all of the time.”
“Those were just friends.” Donovan dismissed her comment with a flick of his hand.
“Yeah, right. Friends with benefits I’m sure.”
Donovan’s reply was a hearty laugh. “Maybe,” he finally said. He couldn’t deny the truth. As a star basketball player, he always had a healthy following of girls vying for his attention. “You always seemed so mature back then.”
“People always said that. I think it’s that oldest-child thing. I had to watch over my siblings and be the responsible one.”
“That’s not always fun,” Donovan said.
They had reached the door to the resort. Chloe paused with a faraway look in her eyes. “Sometimes I resented always being the responsible one.” She shook her head. “I missed out on a lot of fun.”
“It’s never too late,” Donovan said. Chloe shrugged as she walked through the door while Donovan held it open. “There’s no better time than the present.”
“I’m too old for that stuff now.” Chloe waved off his notion, continuing toward the elevator.
“You’ve always played it safe, huh?”
Chloe responded with a nod.
“No wonder I never saw you at the parties.”
“I bet you saw Jewel there.” Donovan nodded, confirming her suspicion, and Chloe tittered. “I remember her sneaking out her bedroom window. She hasn’t changed much, you know.”
“Oh, I know.” Donovan raised a brow and pressed the call button for the elevator.
They continued reminiscing about the years behind them, reaching her hotel suite far too soon. They stood silently for a moment.
“Are we on for dinner tomorrow?” Donovan leaned against the wall.
“I’ll let you know for sure tomorrow. Is that okay?”
“Not a problem.” Donovan leaned forward and kissed her cheek as if it was the most natural thing. “See you soon,” he said after she opened the door. “Good night, Jewel,” he said loud enough for her to hear from the hallway.
“Good night, Don,” Jewel yelled back.
Taking in the surprised look on Chloe’s face, Donovan grinned, winked and headed down the hall back toward the elevator. It was apparent that Chloe was the last to realize that Jewel truly did leave them alone on purpose.
Donovan was thankful for her intuition. He looked forward to spending more time with Chloe the next evening. Jewel’s actions tonight let him know he had an ally and he planned to use her help to satisfy his curiosity about Chloe.
Chapter 5 (#u31e36d9c-0fb0-5d42-99a7-1ae874060ddc)
“Jewel!” Chloe shrieked when she had closed the hotel room door behind her. Jewel tucked her head into her shoulders and giggled. “You just left me out there by myself?”
“You weren’t by yourself. Donovan was there,” Jewel said matter-of-factly. She closed her laptop, got up from the desk and lay across the couch.
“You know what I mean.” Chloe rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth. She wasn’t really mad at Jewel, she just wished she’d given her a heads-up about leaving her alone with Donovan. “You could have said you weren’t coming back out.”
Jewel flopped on the couch, hit the mute button on the remote and faced Chloe. “Then you would have tried to come with me. Did you have a nice conversation?”
Chloe sat on the sofa, fixing a narrowed gaze on Jewel. “What made you think I wanted to be alone with him?”
“I knew that he wanted to be alone with you. You should have seen the way he stared when you started singing. That man was mesmerized. I thought he had fallen in love right then and there.” Jewel sat up suddenly. “Did you know he had a crush on you when we were in high school?”
“He told me tonight. How’d you know?” Chloe parked one hand on her hip. Everyone seemed to know what was going on except her.
“He asked me to hook the two of you up back then. I told him not to waste his time because you wouldn’t be interested.”
“Why’d you say that?”
“You weren’t rebellious enough to go against mom’s orders. I knew there was no way you were going to date him. You hardly push back against her now and you’re almost thirty.”
“None of that’s true. Mom doesn’t run my life, nor am I that close to thirty!”
Jewel threw her head back and laughed. “You’re on the other side of twenty-five. That’s close enough!”
Chloe tossed a pillow at Jewel. She caught the pillow, twisted her lips and looked at Chloe sideways before laughing.
“Whatever.” Chloe paused a moment and then went on to explain herself. “I tried to be an example for you all,” she said, referring to her siblings. “I always felt like I needed to protect the three of you.”
Jewel sat up, looked at Chloe and sighed. “And we appreciated it, but, sis, we’re all grown now. I just want you to be bold enough to live on your own terms for once in your life.”
Chloe huffed. “I do live on my own terms.” She didn’t sound convincing even to herself.
“You never answered my question,” Jewel reminded her.
“What question?” Chloe was puzzled.
“Did you have a nice conversation?”
Chloe shrugged. “He asked me to dinner.”
Jewel’s eyes widened and so did her smile. “You said yes, right?”
“I told him that I’d let him know. I don’t want to leave you hanging.”
“Oh. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Tell him you’ll go.”
“It would be nice. We had a great time tonight, but part of me wants to go because he’s a cool guy and the other part feels like I shouldn’t bother.”
Jewel whipped her head in Chloe’s direction. “Why not?”
“Why start something that won’t go anywhere?”
“Who said it won’t go anywhere? Who even cares if it goes anywhere? Just have a good time.” Jewel waved away Chloe’s concerned look. Jewel held her hand up. “And please do not say it’s because our mothers wouldn’t approve because I don’t want to hear that!”
“Then I won’t say it.” Chloe shrugged, pulled pajamas from her suitcase and started toward the bathroom. She didn’t realize that Jewel had tossed the pillow back at her until she felt it against her back.
“You better go to dinner with that man,” Jewel yelled after Chloe as she entered the bathroom.
Squeezing a swirl of face wash in her hands, Chloe thought about what taking Donovan up on his offer for dinner meant.
She enjoyed his company and couldn’t deny that she was curious about who Donovan really was. If it weren’t for their problematic family history, would she consider seriously dating Donovan? Her answer was an unwavering yes. Who wouldn’t? Donovan was handsome, successful and seemed to have a great personality. The only questionable issue was the fact that the Rivers brothers were known to be ladies’ men and Chloe had never been into players.
Chloe continued to ponder scenarios pertaining to Donovan as she showered. After all that careful consideration, she wondered why she bothered thinking so hard. He had only asked her to dinner, not for her hand in marriage. How harmful could dinner be?
Chloe stepped out the shower, wrapped a large plush towel around her body and went to tell Jewel that she’d decided to go to dinner.
Jewel was sprawled across the bed asleep with the TV blaring and all the lights on. Chloe shook her head, turned off the lights in Jewel’s room and prepared for bed herself. They had another long day ahead of them.
An hour passed and Chloe lay in the bed still awake. Sleep evaded her while her mind churned with thoughts of how this dinner with Donovan would turn out.
He’d kissed her on the cheek but she thought nothing of it, considering it a friendly gesture. By the time she finally fell asleep, she’d fully convinced herself that there was nothing wrong with having a friendly dinner. In fact, she looked forward to it. She was on a beautiful tropical island and even though she was there for business, she was determined to play as much as she worked for a change.
Her sister’s comment taunted her as well. Chloe had to agree, it was time for her to be rebellious enough to live aloud. She no longer had to set examples for her younger siblings. They were all adults. It was time for her to have some fun.
Despite little sleep, Chloe woke energized and more excited about having dinner with Donovan than she was willing to admit. Feeling giddy, she hummed as she dressed, took extra care with her hair as she delicately brushed it.
“You sound chipper this morning.” Chloe was so caught up in her own elation that Jewel’s comment startled her.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Jewel fluttered her hand. “Since when do you hum and sing while you’re getting dressed?” She chuckled. “You’re excited about your date tonight, aren’t you?”
“No!” Chloe shook her head as she dismissed Jewel’s observation. “And it’s not a date. We’re just having dinner.” She spread another coat of lip gloss across her lips and through the reflection in the mirror, she caught Jewel cutting her eyes toward the ceiling. After a moment she confessed. “Okay, maybe I’m a little excited.”
Jewel ran over and hugged her. “Yay! Chloe’s gonna have some fun tonight.” She swayed her hips, dancing out her own excitement. “Enjoy yourself.” She straightened her back and pointed her finger as if it were a command. “Don’t think about anything or anyone back home. You hear me? And let him kiss you at the end of the night if he wants to. Who’s going to know?”
“You will, Ms. Big Mouth.”
“I’ll only tell Jade. She has to know.”
“Jewel!”
“What?” Jewel unsuccessfully tried to refrain from snickering. She fluffed Chloe’s shoulder-length hair with her fingers. “Let me do your makeup tonight. Oh! Let’s go shopping around lunchtime and find a nice dress for later.”
“Jewel. Slow down. It’s not that serious.” Chloe looked back at her.
“Oh, but it’s fun! Besides, who needs a serious reason to shop?”
Chloe closed her eyes and exhaled.
“Now get out of the bathroom so I can take my shower.” Jewel turned on the shower water.
Chloe gathered her comb and cosmetics that lay sprawled across the vanity top and stuffed them in her travel bag. “It’s all yours,” she said, exiting the bathroom.
Chloe couldn’t remember the last time she’d been on a date. Placing her toiletry bag inside her carry-on, she imagined how tonight would go.
Envisioning a moonlit light dinner accompanied by a tropical soundtrack of waves crashing against the shore made her smile. A shiver crawled up her hand where she imagined him touching her. Then she chided herself for acting like a lovesick teenager.
She thought about her sister’s comment. If Donovan tried to kiss her tonight, would she let him?
Chapter 6 (#u31e36d9c-0fb0-5d42-99a7-1ae874060ddc)
Excitement surged through Donovan. The conference was going well for him but that’s not what caused him to feel so elated. He looked forward to his date with Chloe. Looking down at his watch made him smile. He had several hours to go before meeting up with Chloe.
Donovan thought about his crush on Chloe. High school was a long time ago. Since then, he’d been the target of many women’s desire. He couldn’t pinpoint what it was about Chloe that intrigued him then or now but he intended to enjoy the process of finding out. Hearing her beautiful voice during karaoke caused his sense of curiosity to leap off the meter. He’d felt her soul when she sang.
Thankfully, the rest of the afternoon sailed by quickly. Donovan hurried to his room, showered and returned to the bar in the hotel’s lobby dressed in a blue lightweight sports jacket, white linen shirt and slacks. He topped his look with a straw fedora in the same tan hue of his pants.
