Their Joke Ended With One Word: Ex Chapter 05

Their Joke Ended With One Word: Ex Chapter 05

The next morning, Ian opened his eyes with a blanket over him.

He’d spent the night bent over the side of Chloe’s bed in case she got sick.

His neck was too stiff to turn.

Chloe saw that he was awake and smiled, embarrassed.

“Ian, I’m sorry about last night. Was I completely humiliating?”

He pushed himself up on an elbow and rubbed the back of his neck.

“It’s fine. You’ve never been able to hold your liquor and you drink anyway.”

“You still take care of people the way you always did.”

That stopped him.

He remembered taking care of her the same way back in school when she’d had too much.

But all of that was a long time ago.

Bringing it up now only left the feeling that youth goes fast.

Chloe sat down at the other end of the couch. “When Faye’s out drinking for work, do you take care of her like this?”

Ian blinked, his fingers still on his neck.

Take care of her?

He thought about it.

When she’d first started her company, she’d come home drunk plenty of times.

But he’d always thought she pushed herself too hard.

He could have given her a comfortable life, and she hadn’t needed to put herself through any of it.

So every time, he’d frowned and said the same thing.

“That’s what you get for drinking that much.”

Then he’d gone back to the study and kept working.

One night, she’d been sprawled on the couch, saying the room was spinning, and he’d poured a glass of warm water, set it on the coffee table, taken a shower, and gone to bed.

The next morning, she’d gone into the kitchen and made herself something for the hangover.

He’d never once sat up with her all night.

It had never even occurred to him that he needed to.

She’d always handled it herself.

The next morning, she went to work, ran her meetings, and never said a word about it.

“No.”

He said it quietly.

He didn’t know whether he was answering Chloe or confirming something to himself.

Chloe’s lashes lowered, and then she said softly, “Some people are just stronger. Not like me. I can never take care of myself.”

Ian smiled. “Don’t sell yourself short.”

Chloe nodded, then offered a thoughtful reminder.

“Oh, should you call the wedding planner and give her a heads-up? She probably doesn’t know it’s been postponed.”

He’d just remembered that when Lindsey, the wedding planner, called him.

“Mr. Cole, I wanted to confirm something with you. Ms. Hart called about the wedding…”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Right, do whatever she says. Push it a week.”

“Got it. I’ll keep things moving on my end.”

When the call ended, the corner of his mouth twitched.

“She still called the planner herself about the delay, so she does want to get married after all.”

Chloe didn’t ask anything else, and she stood up.

“I’ll go clean up. You do what you need to do.”

Only after she went into the bathroom did Ian open his message thread with Faye Hart.

He thought about it, then typed a line.

Ian: [Send me your parents’ address again. I’ll come get you.]

But Faye didn’t seen the message.

He stared at the screen for two seconds and let out a short laugh.

“Go ahead and pout.”

“They were right. If she’s like this before the wedding, what happens after?”

A week of the cold shoulder would teach her.