Then he floored her. “You’ve given me joy. I haven’t had that in my life for a long time.”

That did it. All the barriers and excuses she’d put up around her heart disintegrated into dust and blew away. She loved this overbearing, complicated, brilliant man to the depths of her soul.

Chloe wanted to stop time right then and there. To let herself bathe in this marvelous feeling, to soak in it and let it pour over her. She had been fighting this love for so long. It felt good to relax into the emotion for just a few fleeting moments before she had to deny it.

“What is it, Chloe?”

He was far too attuned to her. She shook her head. “You can’t buy me the jewelry.” And she couldn’t be in love with him. It was impossible.

She saw hurt in his eyes, sending a jab of guilt through her chest. She hated to cause him pain, yet all too soon she was going to do far worse than turning down some auction items.

“I said too much.” He shook his head at himself. “No wonder you looked stunned. Forget about my outburst. Let’s find Archer and Miller.”

He tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and laid his other hand over hers, but she could feel his withdrawal. He’d bared his emotions to her, and she’d rejected his honesty. Misery washed away most of the exultation she’d felt before.

As Chloe walked silently beside him, Nathan berated himself for dumping his issues on her. Her expression of shocked disbelief lingered in his mind’s eye. He had hoped to make her understand how much he owed her, but all he’d succeeded in doing was to show her how screwed up he really was.

Bringing Chloe to this event was a mistake. Miller was watching her like a hungry hawk. Archer was sizing her up as though she were a first-round draft pick. And now he’d revealed things about himself she didn’t want to know.

It wasn’t a mistake. It was a disaster.

He needed to tell Miller and Archer to back off, and then he needed to gain back the ground he’d lost with her.

“I’m sorry,” Chloe said into the silence. “I shouldn’t be so ungrateful. It’s lovely of you to want to buy me pretty things and football tickets. I want you to know I appreciate it.”

Now she was apologizing. Chloe, who never backed down from him. He needed to get things back to normal. “I wasn’t being nice. I was being an arrogant ass who tried to force something on you that you didn’t want. Tell me I’ve forgotten how real people live or something along those lines.”

She started, and turned to look up at him with a question in her eyes. He gave her his best master-of-the-universe look. Her gaze went soft and nearly undermined his determination to provoke her back into her usual tart self.

“Being generous doesn’t make you an arrogant ass,” she said, grazing her hand down his arm to lace her warm, slim fingers with his. He felt her touch right into his core. “You just need to keep it in proportion.”

“I guess I’ve lost my sense of that,” he said, wondering how true it was.

She smiled. “It must be hard not to when you’re you.”

CHAPTER 25

As she touched up her lipstick in the ladies’ room mirror, Chloe tried to regain her balance after the emotional roller-coaster ride she’d just taken. She’d excused herself on the way to the table because she was finding it hard to breathe when she was anywhere near Nathan. His revelations and her reactions kept rolling over her like tidal waves.

On top of that, she had to face his two famous friends and the gorgeous women with them. Yes, she felt intimidated. If this were Nathan’s office, she’d be fine, but the social setting made her feel out of her depth.

She tucked her lipstick back in the shiny clutch and squared her shoulders under the blue lace. At least she looked like she belonged here.

She walked out of the ladies’ room only to be pulled up short by the sound of Nathan’s voice coming from behind her. She spun around, but he wasn’t in the subtly lit hallway. She started toward the sound, the heels of her crystal-studded Jimmy Choo d’Orsay pumps clicking on the marble floor as she tried to figure out where he was. The sign for the men’s room indicated it was around the corner in the opposite direction, so that wasn’t the source. She took a few more steps and spotted a partly open door. She hesitated, wondering if she should interrupt what might be a private conversation since he’d chosen to have it in a private room. Then she heard her name.

“Chloe’s a smart woman,” Nathan was saying. “She’s already asked me what’s going on. So lay off the interrogation, Miller.”

“Will you tell her about the bet, or will that be our little secret?” That was Gavin Miller speaking, amusement coloring his tone.

Chloe froze. They’d made some sort of a bet about her?

“I say keep it to yourself.” Luke Archer was in there too. “It might just make her mad.”

The quarterback was part of it as well. And he thought she’d be mad.

“Why wouldn’t she be flattered to know she won the bet for you?” Miller asked. “By the way, I can see why you chose her. She’s got that certain something. Well done.”

It sounded like Nathan had deliberately picked her for something. Was it about seducing her? Had he told them about that? Anger and humiliation welled up in her chest.

“You’re both getting way ahead of yourselves.” Nathan’s voice sliced sharp. “I’ll take Chloe home right now if you don’t back off.”