Chapter 6

Chloe pressed the hand holding her phone flat against his chest, her gaze flicking nervously toward the stairwell entrance.

Scott noticed the instinctive little movement immediately, and he leaned in closer, lowering his voice to tease her. "Scared someone might see us?"

Chloe turned her eyes back to Scott's face and met the raw, undisguised heat in his gaze. Try as she might, she honestly couldn't figure out what on earth this man was trying to do.

That Scott desired her body had been proven beyond doubt the night before last.

But there was never any shortage of women throwing themselves at him. He had no earthly reason to be this hung up on her.

"How's the evidence hunt for the divorce coming along?" Just as Chloe sank into her thoughts, Scott's voice sounded again, a joking lilt in his tone.

His gaze skimmed over the phone gripped tight in her hand, and he added, "If there's anything you need help with, you can tell me."

Chloe was naturally not naive enough to believe Scott sincerely wanted to help her.

He only said it to hint that he'd already glimpsed what she'd been looking at on her screen.

Thinking of this, Chloe's expression turned serious.

She looked at Scott and said, with solemn emphasis, "People who don't keep their word pay for it sooner or later."

Scott laughed out loud, as if he'd just heard something tremendously entertaining.

"What are you laughing at?" Chloe asked.

"A woman your age, saying such vicious things—it's actually kind of adorable." Scott gave her cheek a light pat.

Chloe finally hit her limit and swatted his hand away. "If I'm that old, then shouldn't you be packing for the nursing home?"

The words had barely left her mouth when Scott suddenly cupped her face in both hands and planted a firm kiss on her lips.

The kiss lasted only a moment. When their lips parted, Scott buried his face in the hollow of her neck, his warm breath spilling against her ear while his fingers kneaded her earlobe with intimate pressure.

"I love the way you look right now—furious and completely unable to fight back. It makes me want to press you down into a bed."

Chloe drew in a long, deep breath, forcibly suppressing the urge to curse him out.

"I'll text you my apartment address in a bit." Scott's lips were practically touching her ear, his voice pitched low. "Come over tomorrow night. Let's make a deal—you keep me company in my bed, and I'll settle your divorce for you, clean and simple."

"Do you want to sleep with me that badly?" Chloe asked.

"What, are you doubting your own charms?" Scott said.

"I'm nowhere near as confident as you are." Chloe laughed with open mockery.

Scott had plainly been pampered by far too many women; every word out of his mouth carried the smug condescension of a man bestowing a favor.

She couldn't resist firing back. "Like you're really such a big deal."

"That attitude of yours is exactly what I like." Being insulted only made Scott's grin wider and happier.

Chloe was utterly speechless. Did this man have some kind of masochistic streak?

"Tomorrow night Austin will—"

"He flies to San Francisco first thing tomorrow morning. Someone's waiting for him over there." Scott cut her off at an unhurried pace. "You didn't know?"

Chloe fell silent. She truly hadn't known. Austin had never breathed a word of it to her.

"Oh, right, of course." Scott tossed out another light jab. "A man going to see his mistress—why would he ever tell his wife in advance?"

"Send me the address. We'll talk when we meet tomorrow." Chloe pushed him away calmly, her voice and expression equally still.

Once pushed off, Scott retreated half a step and studied her with narrowed eyes.

Tonight she wore a well-tailored, wine-red velvet gown, her hair swept up into an elegant coil, her makeup light and clean. Her whole being gave off a gentle, quietly graceful beauty.

Earlier, standing at Austin's side in front of all those guests, she had worn that same tender, dutiful smile the entire evening.

But now the cold indifference on her face, tinged with real detachment, made her seem like a completely different person from before.

Looking at her, Scott felt a strange, nameless restlessness stirring in his chest.

His lips moved, but before he could get a word out, Chloe had already tidied her hair, turned around, and walked off.

Scott watched her retreating figure, his gaze sliding involuntarily down to her slender waist, when images from that night suddenly flashed through his mind.

He pushed open the window at the end of the hallway, let the cool night wind pour in over him, braced both hands against the windowsill, and drew in a long, slow, deep breath.

Now he realized that his earlier assessment of Chloe might have been completely wrong. Maybe everyone else had her wrong too—Austin most of all.

Scott remembered it clearly. Back then, Austin had decided to marry Chloe because she was gentle-natured and easy to get along with, and because she wasn't a New York native. She would need to depend on him to put down roots here, which, in Austin's eyes, made her that much easier to control.

After the wedding, Chloe had likewise been the virtuous wife everyone praised—not only obedient to Austin in absolutely everything, but also endlessly considerate and filial toward his parents.

Scott had originally assumed that a woman like Chloe, even if she found out what Austin was doing behind her back, probably wouldn't ask for a divorce easily.

That night, he'd figured she was simply shaken, that she'd done those outrageous things on a reckless impulse, and that all her talk of divorce was nothing more than words.

He hadn't expected her to be this decisive.

She was actually already looking into Austin's financial dealings.

What's more, just now, hearing that Austin was flying to San Francisco to meet another woman, she hadn't reacted at all—as if she were listening to something that had absolutely nothing to do with her.

Did she genuinely no longer care, or was this indifference all an act?

For the moment, it was honestly impossible to tell.

Scott rarely found himself unable to read a woman's mind.

Come to think of it, he'd met every kind of person under the sun, but someone like Chloe was a genuine first.

Interesting.

Sure enough, just as Scott had said, Chloe received a message from Austin during her lunch break the next day.

[Honey, a client's project in San Francisco hit a last-minute snag. I need to go over there for a few days.]

Chloe replied without a flicker of expression: [Okay, stay safe on the road. Take care of yourself, and don't forget to eat. How many days will you be gone?]

Austin: [Not sure yet. Once I've sorted out my return schedule, I'll let you know.]

Chloe: [Mhm, I'll be waiting. Go get busy. Once you land, remember to text me so I know you're safe.]

Austin: [Okay. Love you, honey.]

Chloe stared at the screen, the corner of her mouth curling into a smile without an ounce of warmth. What a perfect little marriage of appearances they were putting on.

The thought had barely formed when her phone buzzed. She glanced at it—a new message from Scott.

He had sent over an address.

Looking at the screen, Chloe laughed again. So much for that legendary brotherhood. It wasn't all that solid after all.

But since Scott himself didn't care about blowing the whole thing up, she had even less to worry about. She had nothing left to lose anyway.

Even if this whole affair blew wide open one day, she wouldn't be the only one disgraced. She might be condemned for cheating, but Austin wouldn't escape becoming a laughingstock either.

She herself didn't care one bit. But Austin—that man valued his precious face more than anything in the world.

Chloe looked up the address on the map. It was a high-end apartment in Midtown Manhattan, not far from her office, about a twenty-minute drive.

She had just mapped the route and was about to put her phone away when Scott sent another message—this time, the online menu of some Michelin-starred restaurant.

[Anything you feel like eating?]

Chloe didn't stand on ceremony with him. She picked several dishes she normally wouldn't bring herself to splurge on, then set down the phone and went back to the work in front of her.

Coming back from the business trip, she'd found a mountain of work waiting. For lunch, Chloe had only grabbed a quick sandwich at her desk, racing against the clock, and finally wrapped up the day's tasks just before six.

Only while packing up her things to leave did the hunger come crashing in.

Remembering the dishes she had ordered with Scott at noon, she went straight downstairs, got in her car, and set off.

The drive went smoothly enough, with barely any traffic. At six-thirty, she was already standing outside the door of Scott's apartment.

She had barely pressed the doorbell when the door swung open.

Scott stood in the doorway bare-chested, a towel slung around his neck, his hair still wet and dripping.

His body was in excellent shape. Chloe had personally confirmed that fact that night.

Scott noticed Chloe's gaze roaming over him, and the corner of his mouth curled up. "If you want to touch—"

"I'm starving." Chloe cut him off, looking past him into the apartment beyond.

Scott's smile deepened. He bent down toward her. "How hungry, exactly? Want to prove it to me?"

Chloe pushed him aside without ceremony, slipped off her high heels, and walked in barefoot. "Has the food I ordered at noon been delivered?"

Scott's expression froze on the spot.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

So she really was just hungry.