It Must Be Christmas Read online

  “I’m saying that I won’t sign my inheritance over to Miranda. If I have to, I’ll live with it. If that’s what you want me to do.”

  “This isn’t about what I want you to do.” Chloe set her fork down on her plate and fiddled with the stem of her wineglass. Her eyes met his, luminous gems that sparkled. “Nate, I just want you to be happy.”

  Nate swallowed down the emotion that threatened to cut off his airway. “You make me happy.”

  A slow, sweet smile spread across her face. “You make me happy, too. And you’d make me happy whether you had ten or ten million dollars.”

  He made her happy. Nate felt as though his chest might burst. She wanted him and it wasn’t because of the money.

  “You were right earlier when you said that I didn’t know anything about your relationship with your dad,” Chloe continued. “It’s not my decision to make for you. The only reason I wanted you to keep it in the first place was because of the good it could do for you. Your life could be easy if you wanted it to be. And I truly do believe that your inheritance is your father’s apology to you and your brothers. I think it was his way of telling you that he cared about you. Loved you. I just don’t want you to throw that away.”

  Maybe Chloe was right. Nate couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been so insistent that he off-load his inheritance because he didn’t want the headache, or because he wanted to spite his father. Sort of one last middle-finger to the old man for the way he’d betrayed him. The more Nate thought about it, the more childish it seemed. He wasn’t spiting his father. He was spiting himself. Nate would be the only one hurt by giving it all away.

  “I think I want to keep it. Maybe you can help me figure out what to do with it.”

  Chloe gave him a blinding smile. “I could probably do that.”

  “Now that that’s settled, what did you want to talk to me about? The foundation, right?”

  From the counter, Chloe’s phone rang. Nate leaned back in his chair, reaching to the counter to retrieve it for her. He caught the number on the caller ID from the corner of his eye, and the chair came back down on its front legs with a snap as he lent his full attention to the screen. “Why is my brother calling you?”

  Chloe’s expression fell and her cheeks bloomed with color. “I can explain.”

  What in the hell was there to explain? Nate swiped his finger across the screen and brought the phone up to his ear. “Travis?”

  “Nate?” A pregnant pause filled the space between Nate and his brother. “Did I dial the wrong number?”

  “Depends,” he said. “Who are you trying to call?”

  “Chloe Benson from the Youth Sports Foundation of Dallas.”

  Nate’s heart sunk like a stone to the bottoms of his feet. “You dialed the right number.”

  Travis gave a nervous laugh. “She must’ve changed her mind about hitting you up for a big fat donation, huh? But dude, why are you answering her phone? Does a cool three million get you access to her iPhone or some shit?”

  The hand clutching the phone went numb as Nate’s grip tightened. His eyes met Chloe’s and he knew everything he needed to by the guilt that pinched her usually soft expression. “Travis, can I call you back?”

  Travis gave a nervous laugh. “Sure, but uh, could you have Chloe give me a call? My financial manager has a few questions that I need answered before I can green light this donation. She needs a commitment by Christmas, and it’s going to be tough to finalize everything in time.”

  “Sure. Talk to you later.” Nate ended the call and set the phone down on the table. Hurt and suspicion sliced through him and he tried to swallow it down, but his throat was already so goddamned clogged with betrayal that he couldn’t get the knot in his throat to budge.

  “Nate, before you jump to conclusions, you need to let me explain.” Chloe’s voice quavered. Her green eyes glistened with an emotion pretty damned close to fear and she pushed her chair slowly away from the table.

  “Did you fuck my brother, too?” The words spilled out in an angry rush. Chloe’s jaw dropped and Nate shot out of the chair. He braced his hands on the table and leaned over it, his entire body quaking with rage. “Answer me, Chloe! Is this some sort of fucking scam?”

  * * *

  Nate’s words knocked the air from Chloe’s lungs. She’d planned to tell him that she’d contacted Travis. In fact, they’d been about to cover that very subject when her phone rang.

  “Of course it’s not a scam. And I didn’t sleep with your brother! How could you even suggest that?” Nate cocked a brow and it was all Chloe could do not to throw her fork at him.

  “You got me to keep the money and it didn’t even take a full two weeks. When were you going to spring it on me? Tonight? Tomorrow? Were you going to use the foundation excuse on me, too? Beg for a donation and then take the money and run?”

  Nate’s eyes blazed with an angry fire that threw off enough heat to make Chloe sweat. “My foundation isn’t an excuse!” Chloe railed. The weeks of stress and worry finally caught up to her and she cracked under the emotional strain. “Do you want to know the truth, Nate? I’m closing my doors if I can’t come up with the operating funds by close of business Christmas Eve. And I’d do anything to save my foundation and the kids it helps. I went to your father’s memorial service absolutely prepared to get down on my knees and beg you for that money.”

  Nate snorted. “You got down on your knees all right. You just forgot to ask for a check afterward.”

  Tears sprung to Chloe’s eyes and she couldn’t stop their ceaseless flow. “How could you say that?” Her voice was nothing more than a pained whisper.

  “You know, at least Miranda was up-front about picking my pocket. She never pretended to be something she wasn’t and didn’t make up bullshit excuses for why she wanted the money.”

  “Piss off, Nate!”

  “What about the kid? You pay him off, too? Pick him up on a playground somewhere and offer him twenty bucks if he could play his part and make you look good?”

  “You’re an asshole!” A sob lodged in Chloe’s throat. “I never once asked you for money. After that first night together I decided that I was more interested in you than what you could do to help me.”

  “I’m supposed to believe that? You’ve spent the past ten days doing everything in your power to convince me to keep my inheritance. And you’ve already gone behind my back to wheel and deal with my brother. What else are you hiding, Chloe?”

  “Not a damned thing. You know, Nate, for a second there I thought I was actually falling in love with you. But that could never happen. I could never love a man who’d suggest I’d give him a blowjob and expect a fucking paycheck in return! I don’t care what you decide to do with your money. Have a nice life, Nate.”

  Tears streamed down Chloe’s cheeks as she snatched her phone from the table and rushed past Nate. She paused only long enough to snatch her purse from the hook before she hurried out the back door. It slammed behind her as she fled across the old deck and down the rotting stairs toward the driveway where her car was parked. She didn’t even care that she was leaving with only the clothes on her back. He could keep her suitcase and clothes for all she cared. It was worth replacing all of her makeup and toiletries if it meant she never had to look at his face ever again.

  “Son of a bitch!” Chloe’s fists came down on the steering wheel. She reached down and turned the key, slamming the car into reverse the second the engine roared to life. Tears blurred her vision, but she didn’t care as she sped down the narrow dirt lane that led away from Nate’s house. No one had ever hurt her so badly. Cut her so deep. It was a wound that she feared might never heal.

  And the worst part? She’d given him the weapon that he’d wielded against her.

  The two-hour drive back to Dallas was torture. One hundred and twenty minutes of time alone with her thoughts. Chloe went over, and over, and over the events of the past several days. Wishing she’d done or said something differently. It