Chloe gotready in record time because she had a feeling Ronan would come up with some excuse to leave her. It was wrong of her to keep him in the bedroom when her mom showed up, but how was she supposed to explain that? She liked Ronan. But her mother didn’t. She was tired of being a disappointment in her mother’s eyes.
Plus, she wanted to keep what they had as something special. She knew they wouldn’t be a real couple with everyone else they knew, but here, in her apartment, it was real enough for her. Her mother knowing about them would ruin that.
She pulled her hair up into a messy bun and slipped on her gym shoes. “I’m ready.”
He sat on her couch, scrolling through his phone. When he looked up, he didn’t appear as irritated as he had when she’d gotten rid of her mom. He rose and followed her to the door. Before unlocking it, she said, “Look. About before with my mom—”
“It’s fine. I get it.”
She searched his eyes to see if he was lying. Would she know?
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Let’s go. I’m hungry.”
She opened the door and when they stepped through, she reached for his hand. If he was mad, he wouldn’t walk with her hand in hand, right?
“Maybe you should go on one of those dates your mom is pushing for,” he said when they hit the sidewalk.
She pulled up short and dropped his hand. “What?”
She didn’t want to go out with anyone, much less someone her mother deemed worthy.
“Won’t she get suspicious if you never date anyone? If people see you dating, they won’t suspect us.”
“I suppose.” She turned and started walking toward the diner on the next block. The sun was warm and the breeze cool on her face. The end of summer in Chicago was both glorious and bittersweet. “But the guys she picks. Ugh.”
Ronan put an arm around her shoulder. “Can’t all be as hot as me, babe.”
She laughed. “Ain’t that the truth?” They walked for a bit and she liked the feel of his big, warm body brushing against hers. “The real truth is that she keeps hoping I’m going to settle down with one of these guys that she picks out. I have no desire to do that.”
“To settle down? Or settle for one of them?”
She wrinkled her nose as she thought. “Maybe both? I don’t know. For sure, I don’t want one of the nice boys she picks out. But there was a time that I thought I’d be married by now.”
That seemed so long ago.
“Weren’t you engaged to one of those nice boys?”
She licked her lips and nodded. Did she want to talk about Tim with Ronan? She never wanted to talk about Tim at all. “I thought you didn’t pay attention to my life. I’m just a girl from the neighborhood, you know.”
He groaned at her throwing his words back at him. “People in the neighborhood like to talk. I don’t remember anyone talking about why you broke up though.”
That’s because no one knew. She let them all believe she was a flake. It was easier than admitting everything else. Plus, who would believe her? Tim was supposedly the perfect guy. He’d almost had her convinced it was all in her head. “Just didn’t work out. That’s all.”
He huffed. “That’s a bullshit answer. It’s like saying irreconcilable differences. No one’s to blame.”
They arrived at the diner. Ronan slid his arm away from her and held the door for her to enter. They sat in a booth and each picked up a menu from behind the napkin holder.
“So he cheated on you,” Ronan suddenly said.
“What?”
“The ex. Why wouldn’t you want people to know he cheated? He’s the idiot.”
“He didn’t cheat. Not that I know of.” She focused on the plastic-coated menu as if she didn’t know exactly what she wanted.
“You cheated?”
She looked up from the menu. “No. I would never.” No matter how tempting it had been. She’d longed to be with someone who would make her feel good. Like Ronan did.
Ronan stared at her, studying her. Her skin flushed under his scrutiny and she fidgeted. The waitress came to the table. “Do you need some more time?”
“I’m ready,” she answered quickly. “Are you?”