“How was she?” he asked softly, his breath stirring the hair on top of her head.
Chloe’s breath caught on a swallowed sob. “Much better than I hoped. In fact, she seems fine. It was just at the beginning, when she was lying still with her eyes closed, that she looked so small and frail.” She sniffled, and Nathan fished in his pocket to offer her a small packet of tissues. It startled her to see the mundane little item in the long, elegant fingers of such a powerful man, but she took it gratefully. “I still want to see her as the loving but formidable grandmother of my youth, but she’s not anymore. As I’ve grown up, she’s grown old. I don’t want to face that truth.”
His arm tightened around her. “She’s still pretty tough, you know, at least on me.”
“Her mind and her spirit are,” Chloe said, smiling a little. “But her body is betraying her. She and I both need to deal with that fact.”
“Let’s find out what’s causing her falls before we worry about the long term.” He rubbed his hand up and down her arm over the fabric of his jacket. “When Ben has a better idea of the situation, he’ll refer Mrs. Russell to a top specialist. We’ll have her moved to the appropriate hospital.”
Chloe sat up straight as the implications of what he was saying sank in. It was so tempting to let him use his money and influence to get Grandmillie the best medical care available. She could almost justify it because it was for her grandmother, not herself. But she couldn’t allow it when she needed to break the bonds of their relationship, not add to them. Reluctantly, she shook her head. “That’s generous of both of you, but I can’t accept any more of your help.”
She felt him stiffen. “It’s for your grandmother’s benefit.”
She slid sideways on the cushion, forcing him to drop his arm from around her waist. “She’s my grandmother, not yours or Ben’s.”
He frowned and hesitated for a second, as though choosing his words carefully. “Your grandmother’s well-being is important to me because you are important to me.”
Chloe didn’t want to hear this. She stood up.
“What is it?” he asked. His eyes narrowed as he scanned her face, not liking whatever he saw there.
She took a few strides away before turning to look him in the eye. “I had hoped—” She took a deep breath. “I had hoped to do this in a different place, in a different mood.”
“Do what?” He rose from the sofa and took a step toward her. She halted him with a sharp gesture, but he still towered over her.
She could see suspicion building in the tightness of his jaw and the tense set of his shoulders. He could read her too well. She dropped her hand. “We can’t continue to see each other now that I’m going to work at Trainor Electronics. It’s not a good idea.”
There was a long silence as he simply looked at her. She watched his face, waiting for hurt or anger, but he held whatever he was feeling in check.
“You’re fired.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Problem solved.”
Tears burned in her eyes as she shook her head. “Don’t you see? Our relationship was going to end anyway. You’re so brilliant and rich, and I’m, well, I’m just a temp.”
“You don’t think much of me if you believe that matters.”
“Out in the real world it matters. I haven’t been living in that since I met you. I’ve been hanging out in penthouses, driving in Rolls-Royces, and flying around in jets and helicopters. It’s not who I am.”
“None of that changes who I am, so it shouldn’t impact who you are.”
Now she could hear the pain in his voice, and it tore at her. She wrapped her arms around her waist. “You’ve earned it.”
“I got lucky. People wanted what I created.”
“My father invented lots of things people wanted. He didn’t have a penthouse or a jet.” Chloe said something she never thought she would. “He didn’t have the drive or the discipline you do. He wouldn’t work hard enough to build what you’ve built. You give thousands of people the ability to pay their mortgages and send their children to college. It’s daunting.”
He closed the distance between them and took hold of her shoulders, his eyes scorching. “You’ve seen me hallucinating. You’ve seen me naked. I’m a man like anyone else.”
Chloe lifted her chin in an attempt to appear strong and certain, even as her heart was being slashed by every word. “No, you’re different. You live in the stratosphere, and that’s where you belong. Without me.”
He held her as they stared at each other. His grip was hard but not punishing. She tried to memorize what this last touch felt like.