“This means I’m willing to consider it. You probably know better than anyone that it’s not so easy to cut a check and call it a day. And regardless of the size of my inheritance, there are still loose ends that have to be tied up before I have access to any of those funds. Give me a dollar amount and a timeline and I’ll see what I can do.”
Travis obviously had a good head on his shoulders. The cut-and-dry personality must have been common to all of the Christensens. Chloe appreciated straightforwardness. “I need three million dollars,” she said on a breath. “And if I can’t secure those funds by Christmas Eve, my foundation will be closing its doors.”
She was answered with silence and Chloe cringed. She wasn’t asking for pocket change, and it wasn’t like she’d given Travis a stellar time frame in which to scrape it together. She’d have been silent, too, in his position.
“I take it you don’t need one lump sum. Just a commitment of funding?”
“Of course.” According to their board, the foundation would be able to honor all of their present commitments and stay afloat for the next year if Chloe secured at least three million dollars in funding. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it, Travis. We need this money. Without it, we’re done.”
“I’m not saying yes or no,” Travis replied. “But if you can give me a few days, I’ll have an answer to you as soon as I can.”
Chloe let out a sigh of relief. It was a stay of execution at least. “That’s more than fair. Thank you.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, who else have you contacted? I might be able to throw a few names your way.”
At his core, a nice guy. Like Nate. Whatever the Christensen brothers felt about their relationship with their father, they were better men because of it. “I’ve contacted everyone in the state who I thought could spare the money,” Chloe replied. “Probably even some who couldn’t.”
“Even my father?” Travis asked.
“Yep. He shot me down before I even gave him a taste of my charming personality.”
Travis snorted. “I’ll be in touch soon, Chloe.”
“Thank you, Travis. Really. Talk to you soon.”
Nate walked through the door just as Chloe disconnected the call. “Talk to who soon?” he asked as he crossed into the kitchen and leaned in for a quick kiss.
“Um, Hailey,” Chloe replied. She set her phone down on the counter and went back to tearing lettuce for the salad. “The wheels keep turning even when I’m not in the office.”
“Everything okay?”
Nate went to the sink to wash his hands and Chloe took a step to the side lest she get any of the guilt that felt like it coated her body with an icky slime all over him.
“Yeah, just lining up a few things that I need to take care of next week when I head back into the office.”
Nate dried his hands and came up behind her. His arms wound around her waist and he hugged her close before planting a slow kiss to her neck. “I was thinking about maybe getting a Christmas tree. This place isn’t exactly overflowing with holiday cheer. Wanna head out to the lot downtown and buy one this evening?”
She needed to talk to him about Travis. She wasn’t doing anything underhanded or sneaky and she didn’t want Nate to think that she was. It was business, plain and simple. “Sure. I want to talk to you about something first, though. It’s about the foundation.”
He kissed her neck again. The wet heat of his mouth soaked right through her until Chloe wondered how her legs could still be holding her upright. Nate’s effect on her was instant and visceral. It didn’t matter how much time they spent together, it never subsided.
“Sure. I’m going to go change and then I’ll start up the barbeque.” He kissed her again and murmured against her skin, “We can talk over dinner. You wouldn’t believe how hungry I am.”
Chloe’s insides clenched at the seductive tenor of his words. With each passing day she fell further under Nate’s spell. The past week had been a dream full of passion, peace, and a domestic bliss that caused her chest to ache with want. As Nate pulled away and headed for the stairs, Chloe wondered if she’d get everything she wanted or if she’d be forced to give up her dreams—the foundation—in order to keep the man she might just love.
TEN
Something niggled at the back of Nate’s mind as he threw on a fresh pair of jeans and a clean T-shirt. He didn’t want anything to cast a shadow on the past several days spent with Chloe but his stupid brain wouldn’t quiet down. The same past doubts that had sparked their earlier argument gnawed at him. Was Chloe truly here for him, or something else? He wished he could tell his damned brain to shut the fuck up once and for all.
Nate didn’t want Chloe there for any other reason but him. He’d only known her for a short while but it was enough to know that he didn’t want whatever this was between them to end. In fact, the thought of her walking out on him after their fight had damned near thrown him into a panic attack. He couldn’t continue to dwell on shit that wasn’t going to do anything but fuck with his head. Instead, he let his stomach do the talking, and headed downstairs to fire up the grill.