In Too Deep

He was about to say that Chloe wasn’t his girlfriend, but what else would he call her? “Let me know if you find anything. I don’t know where else to look.”

“We’ll find the next lead. See you later.”

He grabbed the file and his keys and left. Ronan put the leftover pizza in the fridge for Declan. He stuck a note to the door telling Declan to make sure the counter was ordered for the kitchen. Then he went to see Chloe.

They agreed to meet at a bar. It might’ve almost been a date if he hadn’t already told her to date other men. What the hell had he been thinking? That she didn’t want a relationship with him. That was why her family couldn’t know. Why she’d asked him to stay in the bedroom when her mother showed up.

He arrived early, but there were plenty of people around. He went to the bar to order a beer, still bitter about the lack of leads from Jimmy and thinking about Chloe keeping him a secret. So when a pretty blonde sidled up beside him and asked if he would buy her a drink, he obliged.

“I’m Tiffany.”

“Ronan.” He shook her hand as she gave him the once over.

When their beers were set down, he asked, “How about a game of darts?”

“I’m not good, but I’ll play.”

He led the way to the back of the bar.

“I’ve never seen you in here before,” she said.

“I’m meeting a friend.”

“Girlfriend?” she asked coyly.

“She’s female, yes. But not my girlfriend.” He didn’t like the way it sounded, like a lie, but he reminded himself of the rules he and Chloe had chosen. It wasn’t like he was going to take Tiffany home. It was a game of darts.

He pulled the darts from the board and handed her a set. They played a practice round and she was terrible. He tried not to laugh as her last dart landed in the wall beside the board. She giggled.

Chloe was runninga little late getting to the bar, but she saw Ronan’s truck outside, so she knew he was around somewhere. She ordered a couple of beers to apologize for running late, and then she wove her way through the crowd looking for him. When she got to the back room, she found him.

He was playing darts with a woman who was obviously hitting on him. Jealousy and anger bubbled up, but she took a deep breath. She had no claim to him. They were casual, right? He’d told her to go out on the ridiculous dates her mother pushed on her. Oh, damn. Was he getting even with her?

She stood in the back and watched for a few moments. The woman was flirty and quite touchy-feely, but Ronan was just being Ronan. When he finally turned and his eyes met hers, she felt it burn through her, an immediate desire. What the hell was wrong with her?

He said something to the woman, who then patted his chest, and offered a little laugh.

Keep it light, Chloe.

When he neared, she handed him a bottle of beer. “Sorry I’m late. Got hung up at work.”

“No problem.” He pointed to a nearby table.

“Make a new friend?” she asked, with a glance toward the dartboard.

Ronan shook his head. “Not really. She was looking for someone to buy her drinks and take her home. I was biding my time until you got here.”

He sat down and took a drink. “Jealous?”

“No more than you were hearing my mom offer me up for dates.”

He grunted and she didn’t know how to interpret that.

“I went to see Mrs. Byrne and she spilled some tea.”

“Really?” He leaned back in his chair as if he was relaxed, but every ounce of his attention focused on her.