Title: I Know How He Feels
Category: TV Shows » Days Of Our Lives
Author: And The Moment's Gone
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T
Chapter: 5, Words: 6,377
Warnings/Spoilers: AU after Chloe's return to Salem after faking her death.
Summary: I know how he feels, how strong his touch can be, when he believes it's real. I've been there. And I know how he feels
Official Disclaimer: All Days of Our Lives characters and plots belong to Corday and the NBC. I do not hold stock either the man or the company. Chloe Lane, Brady Black, and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title, summary, and lyrics come from the Reba McEntire song I Know How He Feels and I don't own that either.
No Day But Today
Walking into Chloe's home to see her wrapped around her happily married ex-boyfriend wasn't that big of a deal for Belle. She looked over at the pseudo-couple, curled around each other on the impossibly small chaise lounge, and smiled to herself. Given the date, it wasn't too hard to understand why it was that Shawn was in the house. Hadn't Chloe taken her out to a concert this time last year to get her mind off it all? As she coughed, Belle decided that next time she showed up when Chloe had obviously forgotten a meeting, she was bringing a camera.
Chloe shot straight up, her hair falling in waves back down onto Shawn's face. They looked like teenagers that had been caught by ones parents.
As her eyes focused, Chloe cursed. "Belle?" She asked carefully, rubbing her eyes and adjusting herself on Shawn's body. She didn't understand why, but she wasn't quite ready to give up the warmth. "What are you doing here?"
"The fundraiser?" She explained to her confused friend, as if that one sentence would make all the sense in the world. She dropped the garment bag onto the couch on the other side of the room and laughed when Shawn bolted to life.
It only served to confuse Chloe more than ever. "Morning." Shawn yawned, sitting up fully and shifting Chloe to her own chair. Belle wasn't too sure if she was jealous or not of how comfortable they were with each other.
All she managed to do was wave.
"That still doesn't explain what you're doing in my living room at…" She looked at the grandfather clock near the fireplace and groaned loudly when her tired eyes refused to read the dial. Giving up she picked her cell phone off the coffee table. "Belle it's eight-thirty."
The petite blonde smiled and tossed her head slightly. "Dad was worried that you were going to show up looking unkempt. We need to get your nails redone and I think your hair could use a trim." Absently she played with the bangles on her arm. "And have you thought of jewelry?"
Chloe ran a hand through her disheveled hair and glared at her friend. "I highly doubt that your father worries about my appearance." She almost barked, and then she stopped and took a deep breath, forcing herself to remember that it wasn't Belle's fault that she had worked late and come home to have a nervous breakdown with Shawn on the couch. "Please don't tell me that you wanted to go shopping?" She rubbed the scar just above her wrist bone and frowned when Belle giggled faintly. "I have accessories of my very own, you know." She said pointedly, stumbling a little on her way to the kitchen where her coffee pot awaited. As she poured herself a mug, Chloe thanked the makers of the auto timer. "Drawers full of them."
From his place on top of the counter, Shawn handed Chloe a slice of the orange he was inhaling. He rubbed his eyes and looked from woman to woman, knowing already who was going to win this argument. "Nothing I would actually refer to as 'jewelry' Chloe Lane Wesley." Belle allowed a smile to cross her face when she remembered that Isabella Tuscano's engagement ring was still somewhere in Chloe's possession. "And absolutely nothing I would allow you to wear with a Bella Black original." She stuck her nose in the air as she perched herself on the butcher block, her name had been a brand for all of two years and she never got tired of hearing it.
Chloe remembered the ring as well, and she couldn't help but to imaging the look on Brady Black's fiancée's face if she showed up at the fundraiser with it on her finger. For kicks she might even include the matching band. "I still have plenty of necklaces and diamonds at my disposal, thank you." She rushed, taking her first sip of heaven. Absently she looked to Shawn for back up, but he just shook his head as he finished off the orange. Shawn didn't get between fashion and Belle. "And besides, what am I supposed to do with Joy while you and I go gallivanting around Salem Place?"
Belle looked almost shocked. "Isabella Black Kiriakis does not gallivantanywhere." She informed then in a mock haughty tone, as if she were correcting a child. "And I don't see why we can't just take her with us. She still needs to get a few things for her costume."
From his place on the counter, Shawn coughed. "After last night I wouldn't send her anywhere with the two of you." He laughed, knowing that the second he looked down, Chloe was going to throw something. The dishtowel hit him in the head and he sighed. "Let me pick her up from Mom's, Mimi's been complaining that she hasn't had enough Joy time. " When Belle frowned, he began to back track. "Just write down what it is she needs, and I'm sure that Mimi can find it."
That answer seemed to satisfy Belle, and she turned to Chloe. "There it's settled." She decided. "We shop this morning, manicures and pedicures and then I have to have you at The Grille at two for sound check." A groan from Chloe and Belle shook her head. "But you have to be back here no later than five so someone from The Shop can do your hair."
The Shop was the nickname that Phillip had come up with for the eight floors that made up Belle's studio. Brady was in charge of the Black Label Studio. Rex's two floors of the same building had been appropriately titled the Playhouse after an interesting photo shoot had gone awry, and the entire top floor of the Basic Black building where Chloe, John and Kate held their offices managed to hold the name Bull Pen. Besides, Belle's workshop was run very much like an auto shop turned sales floor would be run, with models everywhere and parts of outfits scattered every which way. The only person that could navigate the chaos was Belle.
"When do I get to be in charge of my own day?" Chloe asked the room.
Shawn couldn't help himself. "Well, after you get beautiful and you sing to a room full of strangers, you get to decide whether or not you'll be bringing Patrick back here to screw his brains out." He offered nowhere near helpfully.
Both women glared.
Shawn ran a hand through his hair and retied his shoes. "I see that decision has already been made." He hopped off the counter and moved around to hug Chloe from behind. "I hate to sleep and run, baby." He told her as he kissed the back of her head. "But if I'm going to suck up to the wife for leaving her and then pick up the Monster I have to get going."
Belle laughed as Chloe dramatically turned herself in his arms. "Will I see you later?" She pouted. When Shawn dipped her to kiss her lips, Chloe kicked him. "Get out of here." She laughed. "Apologize to Jan for me?"
His head shook as he looked back at her, just to make sure she really was all right. "Anything for you," He told her sincerely. He was out of the kitchen before anything else could be said.
"If I didn't know any better I would say that your just friends is working better than his marriage." Belle commented slowly, taking a sip of orange juice.
"Are you going to choose my outfit for the day or stand here and criticize my relationship with your ex?"
Belle knew a warning when she heard one. "I can't do both?" The look that crossed her face was sheer confusion as she rinsed the glass and dropped it into the dishwasher. Then she waddled out of the room and turned to ensure Chloe was following her.
By noon, Chloe had decided that the next time the words 'shopping' and 'trip' came out of Belle Kiriakis' mouth in succession, she would duct tape her to a chair. They had been out of the house before ten, pedicures at the Shop before the smaller woman demanded that Chloe's hair get a trim and the dark haired woman realized that her day really wasn't in her own hands. Manicures were next, and afterwards Belle treated them both to frozen yogurt from a vendor between the Basic Black building and where Belle had insisted Chloe leave her car.
Now they were browsing the jewelry stores in Salem Place, or more correctly Belle was browsing the windows and Chloe was just trying to keep up. For a pregnant woman, Belle hustled along quite well.
Chloe stiffened as Belle grasped her hand an almost yanked her across the sidewalk to glance in a window. "I do not need new jewelry." She protested, wishing that just for once her friend actually believed her. There was no doubt in her mind that she could have found something decent in one of the boxes packed away in her closet, behind the hangers of clothes that she had sworn to never wear again. If need be, Chloe was even willing to dip into the bottom drawer of her jewelry box, where all of the things Brady had given to her were kept; anything to get her off the street today. There was a pint of mocha chip and an empty house to clean waiting for her.
"What you need is to shut up and let me shop." Belle snapped playfully, keeping one hand on her belly and the other firmly planted on Chloe's wrist. They had yet to pick anything out that morning.
There was a grumble as Chloe wished there was a nonviolent way to detach herself. "And I thought pregnant women were supposed to be un-energetic and lazy." She deadpanned quietly.
"I've moved past that." She pulled Chloe into the next jeweler and clicked her tongue once she was spotted by one of the sales associates. "Now I'm four months of pure energy ready and willing to charge a horrendous amount of money on my husband's credit cards." She smiled what her brother fondly referred to as her 'Tinkerbelle' smile and Chloe couldn't help but to laugh. "So are you going to help me, or is this going to get ugly?"
"Come on, Tink." The word was out of her mouth before she could think to recall it, and Belle stopped dead in her tracks as Chloe kept walking past her. She tenderly remembered when her best friend had begun to use her brother's nickname for her after high school. After the incident and Brady's decision the nickname disappeared and Chloe was back to calling her what everyone else had. Belle made a mental note that there was something going on with Chloe that definitely needed to be watched. "Belle?" Chloe's voice jarred her out of her reverie, and she snapped back into step.
Belle shook her head and pointed out the window. "I thought I saw a sale." She laughed, moving closer to the glass cases.
At exactly one forty-five, Chloe strolled out of the elevator and into the Penthouse Grille with Belle on her arm. Her hair was neatly pulled out of her eyes and secured with a clip and her other hand played with the hem of her shirt as she looked around to assess further damage to her nerves.
Thomas St. Claire had been one of the soundboard directors for the Black Label ever since the company had been created. He had seen it all and heard it all with the pair of Presidents and in Chloe's opinion any man that could handle watching a full on shouting match between Brady and Chloe at one in the morning while trying to produce a young upstarts album was a man that she needed to keep. It was a shame he was gay. He smiled in her direction as she stood at what was the reservation desk and he was about to call out to her when he heard her curse.
She had thought that Brady would be rehearsing later in the afternoon, to give her time to get her sound levels in order. She also thought that seeing him would only be hard once they were in costume. Apparently Chloe was wrong on both accounts. The second Chloe saw Brady, with his fiancée on his arm, she was almost certain that she wasn't going to make it through this. His sister gave her a push from behind, and Chloe almost tripped on her heels.
"My Lady!" Thomas bowed at the waist like a sixteenth century nobleman and took her hand to kiss the top. "What an honor for you to grace us with your presence this afternoon."
Chloe couldn't help the laugh. "Thank you, kind sir." She joked, pulling her hand back and then latching on to him for a hug. "Where's Skye?" She asked once Thomas wrapped his arm around her. Chloe was determined not to let Brady know that he got to her. Belle followed closely behind, attempting to locate her mother-in-law in the group of decorators.
"She's here somewhere. Running around here like a chicken with her head cut of trying to get your music ready." He scolded.
"And she's set to get a raise next month." Chloe shot back, throwing a smile around the room. Thomas's energy was just plain contagious. "Who's on the line-up?"
He pulled a list from his pocket and handed it over. "It's a toss-up which one of my two Divas will be going first." He told her, biting his lip in mock consternation. When she looked to see the other person qualified to be a Diva, Chloe had to resist the urge to prove how big of a diva she truly was. "I thought it best you two worked it out amongst yourselves." He whispered, smiling. "Last time I made the decision the outer room in Studio Three was as trashed as a Kiss hotel room."
There was a moment when Chloe knew she had to blush. "It was just a lamp." She said defensively. "And it wouldn't have broken if it would have hit him in the head where I had originally aimed."
Thomas laughed and handed Chloe a bottle of water. "The band took a ten minute break. Brady's been working with them all morning."
"Harassing them is more like it."
From across the room, Brady shrugged. "You do what you have to do to get the job done." He told her, moving closer. It didn't amaze Chloe that Nicole was one step behind him.
"You walk the fine line between getting the job done and totalitarian, Black." She shot back, taking a swig of her water and glancing down at the table where Thomas had set up shop. She thumbed through his binder and then bit her lip.
"I was merely preparing them for the beating you were going to put them through." He commented dryly, matching her tone almost perfectly.
Chloe cinched up the strap of her purse and frowned. "Go to Hell." She snapped, turning on the heel of her boot and striding across the room where a few of the musicians were lounging.
"You first." He shouted after her.
Thomas put a hand to his head and sighed. "You heard the man." He decided, realizing that with Belle there they were on a tight schedule. There was no doubt that Chloe would have to be out of there ridiculously early so she could go home and be primped. "Whenever you're ready," he motioned to the stage and smiled when Chloe dropped her water bottle and her purse on a random half table. "Which song did you want first?"
She stiffened as the drummer hoisted her onto the stage. "Everything Burns." She decided, looking around. "And I'd like the room cleared please?"
Brady shook his head. "Not gonna happen."
"Then I'm not singing." She shot back. Today was going to be a 'my way or no way' kind of day with her. Brady had acknowledged that and he shook his head again.
"You want to try again?" He asked her as he moved closer to the stage. "That's my house band you're playing with, Lane and you're in no position to be giving me ultimatums." The word struck a chord in both of them, but thankfully neither stance wavered. He crossed his arms in front of him and tried to prepare himself for the backlash he knew was coming.
Chloe only laughed. "Then I'll take Never Hold You Again." She turned to the band and watched for an objection. "Can I get it one octave lower and half a beat faster?" When the guitarist nodded, Chloe turned back to Brady, her face screaming 'don't screw with me.'
Brady stood in wonder as he listened to her sing. The song was one that he knew she wasn't going to sing that night. Truth be told, he was almost certain that Chloe would never willingly sing that song again. But she had pulled it out and gracefully swayed to the music. Brady growled as he shook his head. There truly was nothing more intoxicating than the woman on stage performing was.
Something bumped his arm, and Brady instinctively wrapped it around Nicole's slender waist, resting his head slightly on hers. The move seemed to go unnoticed by Chloe, who just patted her hip to the new beat and closed her eyes, her lips turning up slightly as the piano in the solo was replaced with a guitar and Steve, his bassist, took a second to tune.
He took Nicole's hand in his own, his nimble fingers playing with the golden ring on her finger slowly, methodically. He had done that to Chloe time and time again when they used to hold hand. Brady shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, instinctively letting go of Nicole. He could not think about that right now. Not with his new fiancée at his side and Chloe on stage. He couldn't allow himself to go back down that path, not on Halloween, not a week before the anniversary of the date he left her. Brady put two fingers on his temples and turned from the stage. He couldn't picture her sobbing on the floor as he walked out of the door. He noticed his sister's frown and offered her a weak smile. Of all of the days, he couldn't do this today.
Chloe felt the air shift as the song ended. She opened her eyes to find Nicole glaring at her and Brady with his back turned, seeming to try to get over a migraine. She allowed her mind to entertain for a moment that he was mocking her, and that just spurred her on more. She sweetly called out the next song, another that she wasn't planning on performing that night and as the cool strains of Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway filled the air, Chloe smiled bitterly. She wasn't going to let him get to her.
She made it home not one minute before Belle had deemed proper, emotionally exhausted and feeling like she had been beaten.
Shawn was in the kitchen, making sandwiches to tide everyone over until their respective dinners and she could hear her sister in the living room when she slammed the door harder than intended. Once she made it onto the couch, she actually took the time to look at what her sister was doing.
Humming gently to herself, Joy was staring in awe at the make-up she had pulled out of Chloe's drawers. Thankfully for Chloe the girl had yet to actually apply anything. "What do you think you're doing?" She asked carefully, scooting onto the floor next to her charge and inspecting the glitter that Joy was toying with. It hadn't come from Chloe's kit, so Mimi must have bought it for her during their outing.
"Just looking." Joy replied smartly, turning to examine Chloe's face. She knew how she looked to the younger girl. Reddened eyes and puffy cheeks, Chloe knew that she shouldn't have spent the ten minutes she had after dropping Belle off at home crying. She should have saved it until the last possible minute so she could make-up over it and no one would see.
"You want to wear my make-up tonight?" She asked softly.
Joy finally allowed a smile to grace her features. "Yes, please." She said expertly, knowing that Chloe was a softy when it came to her. "Could you make me up?"
Shawn walked into the living room five minutes later, a tray of turkey sandwiches in one hand and sodas in the other and paused. His smiled widened when he realized that this was the kind of family he had wanted. Chloe sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the coffee table, eye shadow in one hand and the brush in the other as she worked diligently on Joy's face. The younger Wesley sat atop the soft wood, a look of concentration mirroring her sister's perfectly, Chloe's from trying to blend the colors in and Joy desperate not to move. Neither noticed him, even when he set the tray down on the table next to him.
Regardless of birth, they were mother and daughter, and Shawn thanked God every day that he was lucky enough to be able to witness this. Then he cursed Brady Black for doing this to Chloe. She shouldn't have had to think about taking care of Joy and herself alone. There was no reason for her to have to pretend to be the hardened executive twenty-three hours a day to get over the pain. Her walls would come up the second that she realized anyone was watching her, and for that Shawn cursed his cousin again.
He coughed, and Chloe's head shot up, the softness in her eyes focusing harshly before she relaxed at the sight of him. "How was sound check?" He asked her quickly, popping the top off the only beer bottle and handing it to her when she sighed. She needed it more than he did apparently.
"Brady's an ass." She said decidedly, taking a healthy swig before shaking her head.
Shawn laughed and handed Joy a sandwich, watching the child inhale it before handing Chloe the mascara. She was scheduled to be over at Hope's before six so she and Zack could be taken to the Deveraux house together. Chloe took a final sip of the bottle and opened the mascara, holding it up to her sister's eyes and commanding the younger to blink.
"Are we elaborating?" Shawn asked as he took a bite of his own sandwich.
Chloe shook her head. "Not without more expletives." She explained, dropping the cylinder tube into the case and reaching for the lipstick. She applied it carefully, making Joy blot on a napkin before sliding on the holding coat of clear gloss and then turned to her food while the glass dried on Joy's lips. "Let's just say that if tonight goes like today, I'm going to drown my sorrows and most likely do something stupid."
"How stupid?" Shawn's eyes narrowed and his gaze fixed on her wrist.
"Sleeping with a man I had no desire to see socially stupid." She told him, pulling the sleeve of her shirt down to cover the faint marks that had never tanned. "I'll save the razor trip for next week." With a tired smile, she watched Shawn's jaw set.
There were certain things that not many people knew about, and certain things that Shawn and Chloe kept to themselves. "That's not funny." He told her gently, taking a sip of his soda and offering Chloe the one Joy had left untouched.
Chloe sighed. "Yes it is." She answered briefly. "It has to be or I'll start crying." She reminded him, picking up the body glue and the glitter from where Joy had left them on the table. She dabbed the glue on her fingers before brushing it across Joy's face, around the eyes and down one side of her cheek. Then she took the opened glitter container and, after wiping her hand of the glue, she managed to get the glitter to settle in the right spots. "Go wash your hands and get into the costume." She instructed. "Step into it from the bottom and one of us will zip you up." The little girl raced from the room, and up the stairs. "Do you realize how much time you really spend over here?" She asked after a moment.
There was a snort and Shawn held the bridge of his nose to try to alleviate the burn. "Excuse me?"
"Your wife must hate me." Chloe commented dryly, cleaning up the makeup. Shawn just held his breath and waited for what was really bothering Chloe to surface. "I mean you spend more time here than at home, you come over in the middle of the night anytime I have a bad dream, and I honestly think you've slept with me more times in the past two months than you have with her."
"I love you Chloe." He told her carefully, sitting in the vacant spot left by Joy. "Ever since that night I found you on the floor, I realized there are more important things in life than watching Jan spend all of her inheritance or listen to her complain about the fact that she still doesn't have a real job." He picked her hands up and looked her in the eyes. "Jan is my wife, and don't get me wrong I love her dearly, but you need a friend more than she needs a husband."
Chloe smiled and then when Shawn wiggled his eyebrows she laughed. "That is either the sweetest thing I've ever heard," Chloe watched the smug smile spread on Shawn's face. "Or you're planning on filing for divorce and you're trying to move in here."
Both laughed, and Shawn was the first to stand when Joy shouted for upstairs.
"Your costume is on the bed, and Belle's stylist is on her way. Is there anything else you need before Cinderella and I take off?" Shawn's voice echoed through her room before he even got to the door, and once he did, he almost wished that he could have talked Mimi and Patrick into letting him drive Chloe to the Grille.
"Courage," the younger woman said from her seat on the floor in front of the bed. "And a fast acting twenty-four hour bug."
"You're on your own with the flu. But I think I have some courage to spare." He pulled a Twinkie out of his pocket and handed it to her before he crouched in front of her. "You are one of the most successfully amazing women I have ever had the pleasure of meeting." He told her simply, not mixing words or hiding the admiration he held for her in his eyes. "You are going to go to this fundraiser tonight, and you are going to dazzle everyone. It doesn't matter what tonight was." With a kiss to the forehead, Shawn pulled himself to his feet. "I love you."
"Love you too, Deputy Douglas." Chloe pulled him into a hug and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Thank you." She whispered into his ear, turning to smile brightly at her sister. "And I love you Monster." She dropped to the floor so she was more at Joy's level.
Joy didn't think twice about the custom made costume she was wearing as she grappled Chloe into a hug. She understood that Chloe was hurting, although her seven-year-old brain couldn't quite comprehend why. "I love you Mommy." She whispered into Chloe's ear. "Have fun at the grown-up party."
"Have fun trick-or-treating with Abby." Chloe almost commanded, knowing too well that before they even arrived at the Deveraux house, Joy would have forgotten Chloe's tears. "Bye Baby." As Shawn lifted Joy off of the floor, he shot her a look. "See you in a few."
They made it to the front door, and when Chloe shut it behind them, she turned and leaned herself against it. "Okay…courage." She sucked in a breath and ignored the Twinkie that was still in her hand. "And a shower." Forcing the date to the back of her mind, Chloe headed in the direction of her room once again.
There was a soft knock on the door less than half an hour later, and Chloe clad in a pair of sweat pants and one of Shawn's button down shirts padded down the hall to the foyer. She pulled the heavy oak open and smiled. "Hey Ana," the girl on the other side looked startled, but smiled all the same. "Come on in."
Chloe didn't offer the young hairstylist anything to eat, then again if she had, Ana wouldn't have accepted it. She had been coming over to the house and following Chloe around the country for two years now, and they had seemed to develop a pattern. "Mrs. Kiriakis left this in the workshop for you." Ana handed over a beautiful floor length cloak. Chloe fingered the fabric, loving the feel of the rich sanguine velvet. "She said you would want it." A box changed hands and Ana nodded. "And here's your mask."
"Thank you." Chloe didn't open the box. She wasn't even certain that she would be wearing the mask long. Taking a step back Chloe waved to the foyer. "All of my stuff is in the bathroom."
As they moved back to the bedroom, Ana tried her best to bring up conversation. Belle had warned her that this night wasn't the night to expect much from Chloe. "I saw your costume last night." She smiled. "Did you help draw it?"
"Your boss came up with it from scratch." They moved past the living room, and Chloe picked her heels off the coffee table. "All I did was the posing so she could readjust her model. I haven't even looked at it yet." Chloe admitted softly. She didn't want to say she was a little scared to. The way Belle had sounded over the phone before she had shown up with the gown made her think.
"How do you want your hair?"
"Belle's already decided and you know it." Chloe laughed, following the woman into the large bathroom and pulled her hair out of the clip she had it up in. "Just go with whatever it is she came up with and I'll not have to fight with her later."
As she sat herself down into the chair that she almost had to force Shawn to carry down from her office upstairs, Chloe pulled out the music editorials for the next edition of the Basic Black magazine that she had to revise and concentrated on that instead of whatever Ana was doing to her hair behind her.
Chloe had learned a long time ago how to sit still and tune everything out when she sitting in the hair and make-up chairs during her tour with Marin. Once or twice she would look up uninterested at the way the woman was blow drying her hair down straight before separating it, or pulling the front into a perfect classic Dutch crown braid and securing it before moving on to the curling iron.
She had just about forgotten the fact that she was sitting in the chair when the box that she had been told contained her mask suddenly appeared on the vanity. Ana plucked off the top, and with expert care she withdrew a handmade tiara that any royalty would have murdered for. Chloe's full attention was on the simple piece in Ana's hands as she laid it onto the perfect ring her hair had created. It wasn't very elaborate, made out six different sizes of silver wire embellished lightly with natural stone beads, hand dyed pearls and glass beads to create a lightweight masterpiece that made Chloe look and feel almost like a princess. She even laughed when she realized that the silver had been treated with a chemical to tarnish it. Truly Belle thought of everything.
"All done." Ana announced as she secured the crown with tiny bobby pins. She handed Chloe a mirror and lifted her from the chair to spin her around and show the back. "What do you think?"
"That there's a reason that Belle sends you with me to award shows." Chloe laughed when she laid the handheld mirror on the counter. "How much do I owe you for this?"
Ana took the checkbook out of Chloe's hand. "Already taken care of Ms. Lane." She smiled, trying not to tip off the woman in front of her who had footed the bill for the design. "I'm going to get out of here so you can get dressed." Everything fit easily back into her bag and she lifted it onto her shoulder with a smile. "Remember to use earth tones on your face, and you can only pull your hair up with a butterfly clip hair stick if you must. Happy Halloween."
She was fine until Ana whispered the last two words. "Have a good night." Chloe responded mechanically, smiling back the best she could until the stylist was out of the room. Ana had come over too many times not to know her way out. "Happy Halloween." She choked, allowing herself one final cry before wiping her face with a wet nap and forcing herself back into her bedroom to where Shawn had left the bag from Belle.
Chloe hung the bag on the back of the door, and unzipped it carefully. Chiffon peaked out from the opening, and Chloe smiled when she remembered Shawn's words.
With an expert hand, Chloe finished her mascara right as the doorbell rang, and she slid her shoes on to her feet before grabbing the dark sanguine cloak that Belle had sent over from the workshop. It slid over her shoulders easily and the clasp hooked at the neck to conceal everything below her chin.
With her back straight she moved through the house, picking her clutch off of the side table and checking it for her compact, lip-gloss and cell phone, before taking a step up to the door.
"You look amazing." The words were out of Patrick's mouth before he had time to think, and the way she smiled up at him was more than enough of a 'thank you' for the compliment.
Chloe rolled her eyes. "You can't even see what I'm wearing." She scolded lightly, trying to keep the smile expertly stamped on her face. Truth was she didn't rightly know what to do with the man in front of her. She was more or less in shock about the whole dating experience. What man in his right mind would want to date a single woman with a seven year old child that hadn't even tried to go out since she had broken up with the proclaimed love of her life five years prior?
He just smiled and took off his sunglasses. The tux had been Belle's idea. Such short notice she had sent him something off the rack at the Shop and loaned him one of her husband's watches. It wasn't a stretch of the imagination to guess what he was going as. "If it's half as beautiful as your smile," he started, watching her eyes widen and her smile set a little higher. "I can guarantee amazing."
"Thank you." Her voice was softer now, not too sure if she were deserving of a compliment such as that one.
A hand came out from behind his back and his smile just got bigger. "These are for you."
Chloe brought the flowers up to her nose and took a large sniff. "Orchids?" She asked to clarify that they were pure grown.
Rather sheepishly, Patrick allowed himself a short smile. "Belle told me you liked them."
Another deep breath, and suddenly the night seemed to get harder. "Remind me to murder Belle." Chloe asked semi-seriously.
"Another night." Patrick agreed, moving to take her hand. "Shall we?"
Another check to make sure she had everything and Chloe followed Patrick to the limo in the driveway, locking the front door behind her.