Page 95 of Chasing the Sun

“Chloe, you’re not the only one who fell in love.”

“I’m not?”

He shook his head. “I’m in love with you too.”

“You are?”

“Yes.”

He was rewarded with her beautiful smile, but he wasn’t finished.

“I’m sorry I kept pushing you away. I had so many rules in place that it was hard to let you in. But once I did…well, I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”

She looked visibly relieved, but then her expression changed to concern. “How do we do this? I can’t stay on as Molly’s nanny once school starts.”

“True.”

“I don’t have a place to live or a job, and I don’t want to mooch off you, so don’t even suggest it!”

He chuckled and was about to respond when the waiter showed up with their food. He reluctantly let go of her hands and waited for the man to set down their plates and leave again.

The food looked delicious, and he was suddenly ravenous, especially now that he’d gotten the important things off his chest.

“Why don’t we enjoy our dinner and then continue this discussion upstairs?”

She nodded, and they immediately dug in.

After she’d taken a bite of her grilled fish, she licked her lips, and his desire shot up again. His steak was cooked to perfection, but he couldn’t wait to finish it.

“Wanna try a bite?” she asked with a flirty gleam in her eye.

“Sure.”

She speared a bite of fish and leaned forward to feed it to him. He locked eyes with her as he sucked the morsel off her fork and then licked his lips in kind. He swore her eyes turned a deeper shade of brown, and she nibbled her lower lip, a move that always drove him crazy—in a good way.

“Good?” she asked.

“Amazing.” He wondered if she knew that he was referring to her and not just the fish.

Anxious to finish dinner so they could leave, he tore his eyes away and resumed eating. He’d just placed a broccoli spear in his mouth when suddenly her bare foot slid underneath his pant leg.

“Are you trying to distract me?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“It’s working.”

“I know.”

Somehow, he managed to finish eating while she continued to caress his leg with her foot.

Soon the waiter came back by. “How about dessert?”

Bryce exchanged an amused look with Chloe and said, “I think we’ve already got that covered.”

She stifled a laugh, and the waiter left to prepare their bill.

They gazed at each other across the table as the candle flame flickered and the sun began its descent. He reached for her hands again, and this time, she didn’t hesitate to place them in his.