Chloe let him lead her to the first of a series of round tables dotting the room. Auction items were artfully displayed atop forest-green tablecloths. Well-dressed patrons were circling the tables, chatting and occasionally pausing to write on the bid sheets. Nathan threw a cursory glance at the first few offerings before his eyes lit up at the sight of Archer’s autographed football. They’d been given a number when they checked into the party, and he scrawled it on the sheet along with his bid.
Chloe’s eyes widened as she read the description of Luke’s donation and realized it included four fifty-yard-line seats to an Empire game. Then she checked Nathan’s bid and nearly choked. “I don’t care how good those seats are, they’re not worth that much.”
“It’s just a way to give money to the charity, darling,” Nathan said. “I might as well get something that we’ll enjoy in the process.”
Chloe narrowed her eyes at him even as she savored being called darling, although he was probably doing that in an attempt to overcome her scruples. “You said you’d never seen Luke play, so you wouldn’t enjoy the game.”
“I’ll enjoy watching you enjoy it.” He towed her past three more tables before stopping in front of a display of jewelry laid in the distinctive blue-green boxes that marked them as Tiffany’s. One box held a bangle bracelet in white gold covered with a random mosaic of small sapphires and diamonds that glittered in the spotlight over them. The other contained a pair of earrings—two long, dangling bars of white gold encrusted with the same pattern of sapphires and diamonds. They were stunning in their dazzling simplicity.
“What do you think of those?” he asked.
“They’re beautiful. Both classic and modern,” Chloe said cautiously.
“Like you.”
She looked up to see him smiling at her. “That’s a very nice thing to say. But do not bid on those. They must be worth a small fortune.”
He glanced at the bid sheet. “Not even a tiny fortune.” He picked up the pen and wrote his number, and a bid that was double the one before it.
Chloe gasped. “Nathan, stop! If you win those, I will not accept them.”
He looked taken aback. “It’s just a dona—”
“A donation. I get it, but you can’t give those to me. It’s bad enough that I took this dress and these shoes.” She waved a hand down at her clothes.
He put down his champagne glass and wrapped his hands around her shoulders so he could lock his gaze on hers. “I want to give you things that will make you happy. What’s wrong with that?”
She couldn’t tell him that they wouldn’t be together long enough to go to the football game or for her to wear the jewelry. “What’s wrong is that I can’t give you equally amazing things in return.”
His eyes went dark with an emotion she couldn’t decipher. “Is that really the problem? Because let me tell you what incredible things you’ve given me.” His grip on her shoulders intensified. “You’ve given me Prometheus. I wouldn’t have gone near it without you. I have a new perspective on my friendship with Ben, thanks to you. You’re even forcing me to deal with my father.” Heat flared in his eyes. “You’ve given me the pleasure of your beautiful body.” He rubbed his fingers against the fabric of her dress, making her breasts ache with the desire to have him touch them the same way.
Then he floored her. “You’ve given me joy. I haven’t had that in my life for a long time.”
That did it. All the barriers and excuses she’d put up around her heart disintegrated into dust and blew away. She loved this overbearing, complicated, brilliant man to the depths of her soul.
Chloe wanted to stop time right then and there. To let herself bathe in this marvelous feeling, to soak in it and let it pour over her. She had been fighting this love for so long. It felt good to relax into the emotion for just a few fleeting moments before she had to deny it.
“What is it, Chloe?”
He was far too attuned to her. She shook her head. “You can’t buy me the jewelry.” And she couldn’t be in love with him. It was impossible.
She saw hurt in his eyes, sending a jab of guilt through her chest. She hated to cause him pain, yet all too soon she was going to do far worse than turning down some auction items.
“I said too much.” He shook his head at himself. “No wonder you looked stunned. Forget about my outburst. Let’s find Archer and Miller.”
He tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and laid his other hand over hers, but she could feel his withdrawal. He’d bared his emotions to her, and she’d rejected his honesty. Misery washed away most of the exultation she’d felt before.
As Chloe walked silently beside him, Nathan berated himself for dumping his issues on her. Her expression of shocked disbelief lingered in his mind’s eye. He had hoped to make her understand how much he owed her, but all he’d succeeded in doing was to show her how screwed up he really was.
Bringing Chloe to this event was a mistake. Miller was watching her like a hungry hawk. Archer was sizing her up as though she were a first-round draft pick. And now he’d revealed things about himself she didn’t want to know.
It wasn’t a mistake. It was a disaster.