He stopped several feet away from her. “Two.” She could see his face now, but it was unreadable.
“I’m glad.” She’d wanted that for Nathan and his father. She decided to ask one daring question. “So you believe in second chances?”
“For some people.”
Chloe could barely breathe. “Which ones?”
His gray eyes were focused on her face. “The ones I love.”
She swallowed her pride because she couldn’t help herself. “Am I one of those people?”
Nathan closed the distance between them, coming so close that she could see shadows under his eyes and a dusting of stubble that showed he hadn’t shaved. He looked down at her and uttered one word. “Yes.”
And then she was locked in his arms, her mouth against his as she wrapped her fists around his lapels to pull them closer together. He kissed her with a desperation that echoed her own, his embrace so intense it made her struggle to breathe.
He lifted his head a fraction of an inch away from hers. “Tell me I’m one of those people for you, Chloe.”
“I love you, Nathan. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t want to. Everyone told me not to, but I couldn’t stop it.”
He smiled in a way that made her knees go weak. “I’m irresistible.”
“To me.” She pulled his head down to give him her kind of kiss, one that held an apology and a promise.
When she ended the kiss, he shifted his hands to her shoulders, holding her away from him. “You’ve brought so many good things back into my life, darling. I have so little to offer in return.”
That last statement struck Chloe as funny. “I don’t mean to be materialistic, but you’ve offered me a lot of things. Jewelry from Tiffany’s, clothes from Saks Fifth Avenue, airplane rides, dinners at gourmet restaurants.”
“And you’ve thrown most of them back in my face,” he pointed out.
“You still don’t get it. All I want you to offer is yourself.”
He released her and held his arms out from his sides. “That’s what I’m doing. All I am is yours.”
“That’s a heck of a lot,” Chloe said, her heart squeezing with overwhelming joy as she threw herself against him so he closed his open arms around her. She stood on tiptoe to kiss him again.
“I need to explain the bet,” he said, his voice serious.
A tremor of apprehension shook her. “Do I want to hear this?”
“I’m not sure, but you deserve to know.” He led her to the couch and sat her down beside him in an echo of their scene in the hospital lounge. Not the image she wanted right now.
He swiveled to look at her. “Remember Teresa?”
Chloe nodded. “She had great shoes.”
Nathan smiled briefly. “The night before you came to work for me, I found out she lied to me about our first meeting. I’d thought she might be different from the other women who just wanted something from me, but—” He shrugged. “I met Gavin and Luke that night. We got drunk together and made the wager you heard us talking about.”
Nathan took both her hands in his warm, strong grip before he continued. “We each had one year to find a woman who chose us for ourselves and not our money or power or fame. If we failed, we had to forfeit something very important to us. But if we won, we won a lot more than just the bet.”
“So you think you’ve won?” Happiness raced through Chloe.
“Darling, I’m sure of it. But I don’t care about the wager. Knowing you love me is all I need to be a rich man.”
EPILOGUE
A few months later
Even though the interior of the Rolls was toasty, Chloe snuggled up to Nathan, stroking her hand down the satin of his tuxedo lapel. “I still can’t believe I get to walk into these fancy parties holding hands with the best-looking man there,” she said.
Nathan threaded his arm around her waist under the velvet cape she wore. The warmth of his palm on her hip seeped through the thin blue silk of her evening gown. “I used to hate those parties. Now I spend them thinking about how I’m going to make love to you once we leave. It’s a significant improvement.” His hand slid lower.
Chloe trapped his wandering fingers under hers. “You said we have one stop to make before we go home, so no wrinkling the dress.” She tilted her head up to give him a hot look. “Yet.”
He gave her thigh a quick squeeze before moving his hand to a less dangerous spot. “Do you think Grandmillie will have fired her new companion by the time we arrive?”
Chloe chuckled. “No, she likes Taleesha. She says she’s a woman of good sense. I’m so relieved.”
“Hank at Jersey Caregivers must be even more relieved.”
“Grandmillie is particular about who she spends her time with.” Chloe sighed. “I knew she would be.”