Evan

I’m grateful that Chloe decided we needed to take my confessional to a more private place.

She was shaking when we got in a cab near Central Park to go back to her apartment. I didn’t expect that the first time I’d see her home would be the day I was dragging her heart through the dirt, but life doesn’t always match up to my wants and needs and today is a prime example of that.

She didn’t say one word on the ride here and I didn’t either because what the fuck can a man say when he’s just told the woman he loves that he was one of the doctors who attempted to save her mother’s life and failed.

I step into the apartment after her. It’s mid-afternoon and light is filling the space. The walls are painted light blue, the furnishings are white, the accessories mostly pieces of art and above the fireplace mantle is a framed picture of her family.

It had to have been taken years ago, since Chloe is wearing braces, but it perfectly captures the joy in the faces of all six people in the photograph.

I stare at her mother’s face a moment longer than the rest. The regret of the day she died still haunting me.

Chloe drops her purse on the coffee table before she turns to face me. “How do you know Chris?”

“I don’t.” I shove my hands into the front pockets of my pants to resist the urge to hold her. “I met him the night your mother died. I went to the hospital chapel and he was there.”

“So that’s where he was?” She scoffs. “I looked everywhere for him after we got the news. I couldn’t find him. I needed him and he was nowhere to be found.”

I hate the bastard for not being next to her when Jordan delivered the news about her mother. I wish to fuck I would have been there for her. We were strangers then, but I would have felt compelled to take her in my arms. I know it. I feel it. The draw to be with her was strong from the first moment I saw her outside the hotel.

“I was reeling from the loss of your mother so I went to the chapel,” I confess. “I always go there when a patient dies. I need the solace to collect my thoughts.”

“We should sit.” She moves toward a sofa and I follow. Once she’s seated, I lower into the spot next to her. I want to wrap my arms around her but she’s made no move to touch me. I’m trying to respect her needs even though I want nothing but to forget I ever talked to Christopher Newell that night.

My chest expands as I go on even though I feel like there’s not enough air in my lungs. “Chris started talking about life and death and I listened. I needed to hear someone else’s pain to help soothe my own.”
I glance at her face and the look on it almost breaks my heart. I wait a beat for her to say anything but she’s silent.

I clear my throat, desperate for a drink of anything to chase away what I’m feeling. “He talked about his marriage and how there was something missing. He said he needed more and his wife couldn’t give it to him.”

“So you told him to leave me?” Her voice is quiet. “Did you tell him that’s what he should do?”

I can’t bear that I’m the guy who made the worst day of her life that much harder. The end of her marriage to Chris was inevitable. He didn’t want to be with her anymore and my words may have spurred him to cut all ties that night but even if I hadn’t crossed his path, I have every belief that Chloe and I would be together now. Their marriage was inching toward its death.

“I told him that life is short and if he wasn’t getting what he needed that he should move on.” I exhale roughly. “I’m sorry, Chloe. I’m sorry that I pushed him to leave you that night but I’m damn sure not sorry that he did.”

“He left the hospital before I did.” Her hands knead together in her lap. “By the time I made it back to the apartment, most of my things were boxed up and sitting in the foyer.”

“What a fucking bastard. I didn’t know that he’d take my advice and end things that night. It’s a heartless move to dump someone the night their mother dies.”

“I was in shock.” She slides closer to me. “I took what I needed and went to be with my dad. He needed me that night and even though I loved Chris at the time, I was too numb to care that he had thrown me out.”

Her words bite through me. I don’t want to know that she loved him at one time, although it’s obvious given the fact that they were together for ten years.

“After my mom’s funeral, I arranged to have all of my things brought to my dad’s place and then eventually I started building a life of my own.” Her voice quivers. “It hasn’t been easy but I’ve done it without a cent from Chris. I used my inheritance to start my own firm and I put a down payment on this place with the rest of the money my mom left me.”

“You’re a strong person.” I turn to look into her face. “You went through hell that night and you came out the other side in one piece.”

“I did it because I had to.” Our eyes meet and she smiles. “I knew that there was happiness waiting for me at some point. I just kept trying to find it.”

“Tell me that you don’t hate me, Chloe.” I move a piece of hair from her cheek. “Tell me that I didn’t fuck up everything before we even met.”

She reaches to grab my hand so she can press it against her cheek. “You tried to save my mom’s life and you saved me from a marriage that wasn’t right for me. How could I hate you?”

Relief washes over me like a wave. I feel the tension in my shoulders instantly release. “I haven’t slept since I realized I changed your life that night.”

Her arms move to circle my neck as she gazes into my eyes. “If my marriage wouldn’t have ended, we wouldn’t be having a baby.”

“And I wouldn’t be crazy in love with you.”

Her eyes drop to my mouth. “Did you just say you love me, Evan?”

I kiss her softy, dipping my tongue between her soft pink lips for a taste. “I love you, Chloe.”

“I love you, too,” she whispers back before she kisses me back with a tenderness that tells me the three of us are going to be just fine.