Page 21 of Untouchable

He was trying to lighten things up, because no doubt he felt the tension and awkwardness as well.

“I’d love that,” she said and smiled, getting off the counter slowly so she didn’t add pressure to her foot.

He moved toward her and helped her into the living room, and Chloe would be lying if she didn’t admit she loved having him close like this, even if it was innocent. The feel of him next to her, his hardness to her softness, made her close her eyes momentarily and had her praying for strength.

Even after all these years, she still loved him.

He settled her on the couch and sat in the chair across from her. It would be a lie if she didn’t admit she felt a little deflated that he didn’t sit beside her. Either he didn’t know what to talk about either or he was waiting for her to say something.

She licked her lips and looked around the room. “You changed things.” Good. She watched as he shifted his large body in the almost too small chair.

“Yeah, changed it years ago, as soon as I could. Never liked the décor, truthfully.” More silence passed. “Have you talked to your aunt?”

She looked over at him with what she knew was a surprised expression. This had just gone to downright weird as fuck. Chloe nodded once.

“I talked to her briefly before I came up here. I wanted to make sure it was okay. I was feeling nostalgic.” She rambled off those sentences. “But I honestly don’t talk to her. I don’t talk to a lot of my family if I’m being honest.”

His brows knitted. “Really? If you don’t mind me asking, why not?”

“Well. For one, she travels so much I find it hard to keep in contact with her. That and with everything that happened…” God, she was going there. “Yeah, we just don’t talk. Same scenario with my family.” She bit her tongue and gauged Dominic’s reaction.

“Well, I’m glad she found what makes her happy.”

How could he say that after what she’d done to him? She wasn’t about to ask him that flat out, but the fact that he seemed so good natured about it, that he actually wanted her to be happy, told her how he’d moved on with his life, how he wasn’t going to let the past dictate who and what he was.

Maybe it was wrong of her to come here when she knew she had no business visiting, but she’d thought it harmless enough.But now she regretted it because it was going to be nothing but awkward.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why are you here?”

He laughed deeply. “I live here, Chloe. Remember?”

Her face heated in embarrassment. “I-I didn’t mean to imply differently. It’s just, well, Clara is the one who gave me permission to come up here, so I just assumed…”

His face became hard-set. “Clara has a hard time letting go of things, materialistic things, that is. And this house is right up there with the things she refuses to get rid of.” He smiled again, but it was tight.

She wasn’t about to delve into that.

“Oh.” What else could she say?

A moment of silence stretched, and she could see his mind working.

“I got the cabin in the divorce, but she seems to think it's a mutual ownership. I just don’t have the energy to argue with her anymore.” He leaned back. “But she probably thought I wasn’t here, and that’s why she gave you the all clear to come down.”

She did not want to talk about Clara. Thinking it best to change the subject, Chloe said, “I’m really sorry about just showing up. I know I have no right just coming here, not how everything turned out with … everything.”

“You are always welcome here, no matter what. It doesn’t matter that your aunt and I are no longer married. This is as much your home as it is mine.”

She heard the catch in his voice.

Chloe didn’t know what else to do or say, so she started to worry her bottom lip.

“Congratulations on finally getting over that last hurdle, by the way. Your graduation is next month, right? I heard you’ll be valedictorian. I'm so proud of you.” He changed the subject seamlessly.

Sitting up straighter, she was surprised he knew that. It wasn’t as if he spoke to the family any longer, so that meant he was keeping up with her. The fact that he was proud of her made her feel good.

“Yeah, but how did you know?”

He smirked and shrugged. “You know what they say about knowing someone who knows someone.”

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