Leasing Love: A #GeekLove Contemporary Ménage Romance (Your Ad Here Book 2) (19 page)

“I’m fine.” Liz’s expression looked more like a grimace than anything.

Was this what he’d seen all week? “Okay.” Chloe tried to keep the disappointment from her voice.

He returned a few minutes later, bowl in hand, and offered it to Liz first. She picked out a few pieces, never pulling her gaze from the TV.

“We’re not rationing it.” His tone was light.

“I’m good,” she assured him.

Chloe didn’t like this but wasn’t sure what to do. Liz ran hot and cold, and Chloe couldn’t figure out why. She grabbed the popcorn bowl from Jordan when he sat, and in a fit of frustration, she tossed a piece at Liz.

That was childish. What was she doing?

Liz glanced over her shoulder, eyebrow raised, and then turned back to the movie.

Damn it.
Chloe sank lower against the cushions. A piece of popcorn bounced off her forehead, and she looked up to see Liz struggling to keep a straight face as she stared forward.

Chloe laughed. “I’ve got more ammo.” She tossed a few kernels back.

Liz twisted her mouth, as if considering the statement, then leapt up and lunged across the room, for the bowl.

“Nope. Mine.” Chloe held it overhead but didn’t make much effort to scoot out of reach. Liz slipped, knocked the popcorn loose, and landed half on Chloe. Food flew everywhere.

Liz stumbled back, face red. “God. I’m sorry.” She picked up individual pieces and then handfuls. “I didn’t mean to make a mess.”

Chloe didn’t know how to reassure her; Liz looked so panicked.

“Liz.” Jordan’s voice was a low whisper. She shot her head in his direction, eyes wide, and he tossed a handful of popcorn at her.

She squealed, before her somber expression rushed back.

“It’ll vacuum up,” Chloe said. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I guess.” Some of the tension was gone from Liz’s tone.

They paused the film to clean up, and when they were done, Jordan lifted Liz’s chin, forcing her to look at him. “Better?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Good.” He grabbed her wrist and pulled her down between himself and Chloe. “Stop sitting all the way over there. It looks lonely.”

Chloe worried she might bolt, but after a couple seconds, Liz settled in. Somewhere between the end of the first and the middle of the next movie, everyone shifted and adjusted so Liz sat with her back resting against Jordan and her feet in Chloe’s lap. Chloe didn’t realize how late it was, until the yawns broke out around the room and spread, one gape leading to another.

“It’s after one,” Chloe managed, eyes watering. She prodded Liz’s back with her shoulder, hating to lose the warm weight and comfort. “You still awake?”

Liz tried to stifle another yawn. “Barely. I’m more tired than I thought.”

“Crash here, in the guest room. You can borrow something of mine, so you don’t have to wear your clothes to bed.” It was probably pushing their luck beyond smart to ask if Liz wanted to join them in bed—just to sleep. Probably.

Liz seemed to hold her breath for a moment, frozen in time. She finally exhaled and stood. “Home’s not that far. Thank you, though. Don’t worry. I’ll be back on Monday.”

They helped her gather her stuff from the office, and wished her goodnight. When she was gone, Jordan pulled Chloe back into his arms. “You okay?” he asked.

“Completely.” No. She wasn’t supposed to hide… whatever this was. “Seems weird having the house to ourselves after the entire week.”

“Yeah. Weird.” He didn’t sound any more convinced than she felt.

Liz couldn’t do this. Every time she knocked on Jordan and Chloe’s door, she told herself she was going to find that middle ground between aloof and flirting, where friendship lay. She managed to keep herself removed for a little while, but one of them always managed to push the right button, to sneak past her defenses.

Last Friday—a perfect week ending with popcorn, movies, and a spark she couldn’t ignore—she almost caved. Was ready to say
fuck it
and spend the night, and probably the weekend if they’d let her. Reason saved her at the last minute, pointing out it would only hurt more to walk away if she gave in.

It was a week later, Saturday morning, and she had yet to impose a single limit on how she interacted with the couple, all the way down to the three of them feeding each other Chinese food last night, and Liz agreeing without hesitation when Jordan said, “Excuses aside, you’re staying tonight, aren’t you? Movies. Fun. Breakfast in the morning?”

It was easier to fall into things with Jordan than Chloe, and Liz couldn’t define why. Maybe it was because he was more open to begin with. She still worried about stepping on Chloe’s toes. Hated the idea of being at odds with her.

Liz’s mind tried to insist she should stay because Jordan needed to do a live run-through of his demo, Chloe was the perfect audience, and Liz should be on hand to make adjustments as needed. The reality was the only way she could stay away from them was physical distance. When her work with Jordan was done, so was she. At the end of the day, she’d say goodbye, walk away, and learn from this mistake.

She stood on their balcony, looking over the quiet Saturday morning and repeating the resolution until she was sure she could make it stick while looking one or both of them in the eye. She heard the glass door slide open behind her, and her heart plummeted into her stomach. She knew it was Chloe, without looking. Not only from the faint hint of lavender that drifted into the air, but because Chloe was most likely to be up first.

Chloe looked her over, gaze lingering on Liz’s chest. “You wear that better than I do.” Chloe’s words were playful.

Liz didn’t know if she wanted to hug herself to hide the pleasant shiver that ran through her, or bask in the heat of attention. The top Chloe loaned her for the night was about a size too small and stretched over every single lump and curve Liz normally worked to disguise. “I doubt that.” She didn’t know where the line was anymore. It was all playful. She stopped trying. “We can swap and find out.”

“Hmm…” Chloe furrowed her brow. “Tempting. But I say take my word for it.”

Liz wasn’t sure what else to say that wouldn’t get her in trouble, so she turned back to the view. “How’s the new position?”

“I love it.” Chloe stepped up next to her close enough to brush their arms together. “It makes me think. Challenges me.”

“Sounds nice.” Liz could say the same of what she’d spent the last two weeks doing. Not Mercy’s task list. Liz was grateful for the job, but Mercy hated to delegate the big stuff. Working with Jordan … Not because of who he was, though that didn’t hurt. She enjoyed watching him dive into this thing he obviously loved, and helping him find a way to do it professionally.

Chloe leaned against the railing, resting her weight on her forearms. “It is. Can I tell you something? Just between us? Not that I’m keeping secrets from Jordan, but this one is tricky.”

“Sure.” Liz refused to acknowledge her pulse hammering in her veins at the curiosity of what kind of secret this might be.

“Technically, I stole his job, and he says it’s okay, but that doesn’t seem like the kind of thing I should brag about.”

“Right. Of course.”

“The thing is, it’s made me think.” Chloe’s voice dropped in volume, as if she sank into that very thought. “Until the last month or so, I’ve never had to work for anything. Not really.”

The words hit close to home for Liz, gnawing on doubts she usually ignored. “I get that. I grew up with money. My best friend pretty much hand-crafted me a job when I asked for it. There was no challenge.”

“Exactly. I never thought about it before—especially not when I was a kid. We were lower-middle class, so it wasn’t as if we had everything, but we had enough. College would have cost me an armload of debt, but I skipped out on that stress. The Cord job came gift wrapped with my name on it. Jordan and I… It was always easy. Even when Cord crumbled, my sister came along and resurrected it and helped turn it into Rinslet. Which wasn’t for my sake, but it served me. This is the first time in my life I’ve had to push for what I want, and I…”

Chloe pursed her lips, as if considering whether or not to finish her thought. “I don’t like fighting with Jordan, and I’m glad we’re past that. The rest of this, the demand it puts on me to excel—I’m thriving on it.”

“Exactly.” Liz hadn’t managed to put her own thoughts into words, but Chloe had laid them out perfectly.

“So I’m not insane?”

Liz shook her head. “Not at all. Strife makes us grow, and I don’t want the misery my past relationships have caused me, but I like having to think and work for the things I do want. It feels good.”

“I had a feeling you’d get me.” Chloe rested her head on Liz’s shoulder.

“As long as we’re sharing secrets, can I tell you something not even Mercy knows?”

“Of course.”

This was one of those top-secret things she shouldn’t talk about, but she had to tell someone. “I figure you might share with Jordan, and that’s okay, but promise it doesn’t go beyond the two of you.”

“Girl scout’s honor. Cross my heart and hope to die.”

“I have a chance with the same investment firm Jordan is pitching to.”

“Like, another project? One of your own?”

“No.” If Liz said this out loud—if she talked about it with someone besides Jonathan—it made it real. She might as well forward the paperwork to her attorney at this point, because she wanted it to be. “As a partner investor. I’d be a portion of the money.”

“Wow. That sounds awesome. As in
amazing
.” Chloe turned to look at her, eyes wide. “Is it a fair deal?”

“As far as I can tell. I need to vet it first, but probably.”

Chloe studied her. “But you’re hesitating. Why?”

So many reasons.
“I don’t know.” It meant setting out on her own. Walking away from the familiar. Using the excuse to move to L.A. and put some distance between herself and this couple she couldn’t walk away from if she stayed within reach. “Challenge is all well and good, but this terrifies me.”

“Sounds like a perfect reason to say
yes
.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Liz couldn’t quite find her smile.

* * * *

A couple hours later, the three returned from a drawn-out breakfast, and Chloe wasn’t sure when she’d last had so much coffee. Or maybe it wasn’t caffeine buzzing through her veins. The company seemed to come with its own contact high.

“Okay, so what do I have to do?” she asked.

“Sit.” Jordan pointed at the couch. “Watch. Pretend you’re interested.”

Chloe perched on the edge of the couch. “Ooh, are you stripping?”

“Not the right audience.” Liz blushed. “Or rather, his target audience isn’t going to appreciate that. I promise.” Quickly, before Chloe could argue, she added, “Jordan needs to do this until he’s comfortable with the whole live-talking thing, but that’s not a big deal, because it’s awesome and you’ll love it.”

Chloe wasn’t worried about that. “Have you seen Jordan on stage?”

“Yes.” Liz’s cheeks darkened another shade of red—something Chloe would have said wasn’t possible until she witnessed it.

“Where?” Jordan paused in the middle of plugging in his laptop, and looked at Liz.

“Research.” Liz turned her attention to the stack of paperwork in her hands.

Jordan straightened up. “That’s a bit vague. You can’t say that and not offer details.”

“I… uh… Everyone kept talking about
those Rinslet kids
, and what they said never matched up with what I know about the two of you. So before I called Jordan with the offer, I looked you up online. All your old E3 presentations are on YouTube, starting with the fake marriage proposal.”

Chloe expected the reminder of that first show to tug at regret inside. The reaction wasn’t there like it always had been in the past. Not because she felt any different about wanting Jordan in her life—she still couldn’t picture a future without him—but the symbolism of the ring didn’t have the same pull to her as in the past. She was comfortable he meant what he said, with or without a ring.

“What did you think?” Jordan’s question interrupted Chloe’s spiraling memories.

Liz’s papers seemed to grab her attention again. “You were adorable together that day.” The rustle of pages muffled her words. “You still are. More important to this though, you started strong as showmen and grew. That’s why I know Jordan can do this. Both of you really truly work an audience in ways I’ve never seen.”

Chloe liked the awe in Liz’s words. It sank deep under her skin and buoyed her. “In that case, I’m your captive audience until you’re done.”

Jordan stepped back from the laptop and pointed at the screen. “Imagine that’s projected on the far wall. I will have a projector, won’t I?” he asked Liz.

“Already reserved,” Liz confirmed.

Chloe listened for the next several hours, as Jordan spun through multiple iterations of his demo. The practice wasn’t new for her, but the details of his plan were. She watched in awe, as he rolled out numbers, images, plans, and concepts she never would have dreamed of. Sometimes Liz stopped him, made tweaks, and asked him to start over. Every time Chloe had a question about feasibility, he either had an answer ready or learned from Liz as she spun a reply. Morning turned into afternoon, and Chloe lost track of time until Liz’s phone chimed.

“Crap. I didn’t realize it was already five. Hang on.” Liz grabbed her phone. “It’s going to be Mercy”—she seemed to be speaking to herself—“to ask if I’m on for my weekly dinner with her and Ian.”

Skip out. Spend the evening with us.
The request died in Chloe’s throat. That wasn’t fair to ask.

Liz looked from the phone to Jordan and then Chloe, while she fiddled with the device, rolling it over in her hand. She twisted her mouth, as if considering something.

Would she stay after all? Flutters of hope danced inside Chloe.

Liz stood, no longer making eye contact with either of them. “You’ll be amazing on Tuesday.” Her gaze was directed at Jordan’s feet as she spoke. “Thanks for letting me invade your private space for a few weeks. Let me know how things go. The three of us will hang out again sometime. If we have time. Bye.” She all but scampered out the door.

“Did I miss something?” Jordan asked.

“If you did, so did I.” Chloe spun the last thirty seconds or so of rambling through her head. It felt as though Liz finished with a different conversation than the one they were having before her phone went off.

Jordan settled next to Chloe on the couch. “I guess that means we have our quiet home life back. Now what?”

“I don’t know.” Chloe wasn’t sure she was prepared to think about life without Liz, and she couldn’t figure out how that made sense.