Whendhie

"I really don't want your apology, Tim," Chloe said. "I would prefer you didn’t treat me like some unwanted stranger you can’t wait to be rid of." There was a throb of irritation in her voice.

"I don't treat you like a stranger. Things are just different now." Timothy replied.

"Oh please" replied Chloe. "All you did in there was frown whenever my name was mentioned. And let's not even talk about the cold manner in which you have spoken to me since I arrived. You look like this is the last place you want to be just because I'm here. Am I really that vile?" 

Timothy said nothing. Instead he gritted his teeth and shoved his hands into his pocket.

Even in her anger, Chloe noticed him... Every inch of him... And his smell. She could pick out his unique scent. Rough. Masculine and mouthwateringly sexy. It made no sense to her, but she was attuned to his every nuance. 

The man she had called her best friend until a dizzying series of events dissolved the title like sugar in hot water stared at her dispassionately. It was a good thing they were outside and she hoped that he couldn't see the hurt and disappointment on her face. The look wasn't just in his eyes. It seeped through every shrug, every curl of lips she had once thought were the most perfectly created set of lips on earth.

She looked deeper, pathetically desperate to find something else. Something more. A reminder of those times when they would talk to each other for hours, and resume conversations the moment they saw one another again.

But clearly the Tim she knew had been replaced by a harder, edgier version of a Timothy Kavell - Packard. He was hard and edgy and cynical to start off with. If she had known that he hated her this much, she wouldn't have agreed to his parents' offer to have dinner with them. 

She had agreed because a stupid part of her had hoped that somehow, they would fix things and be friends again... And she was just beginning to see how wrong she had been....

PLAY WITH ME

Evan Reese opened the front door of his house and headed straight to the kitchen. His wife, Christina stood at a table, frosting a cake. She looked up in surprise to see her husband and dropped the piping bag. 


"You are back, " she said. "Is something wrong? Did you forget something?" 


Evan shook his head. "No… I mean… yes." He scratched his head and then buried his face in his hands and sighed deeply, which made Christina even more concerned. She immediately washed her hands in the sink and came towards him, but when she reached out to touch him, he pulled away. 


Chapter Seventy Three