Page 19 of Chasing the Sun

Chloe’s face had turned pink. “But I’m not like that.”

“I know, and I’m sure Bryce will loosen up once he gets to know you better.”

On the way home, Chloe had vowed to stop looking at Bryce like a piece of eye candy and remember he was her boss. Then she’d gone inside his house and seen him in his pajamas!

She’d been surprised he was still awake and wondered if he’d been waiting up for her. She’d quickly rid herself of that notion because it was the man’s house, for Pete’s sake! It was his prerogative to sit and read in the living room at ten o’clock at night if he wanted to. Besides, it could have been worse. He could have been in his underwear. Great! Now she was thinking about Bryce in his underwear.

Just then, there was a tentative knock on her bedroom door.

“Miss Chloe? Are you up yet?”

Chloe glanced at the alarm clock—seven twenty-five. Right on time! Chloe swung open the door to see Molly in her pajamas and holding Lucy.

“Good morning ladies,” Chloe sang, eliciting a giggle from Molly. “Ready for breakfast?”

Molly nodded. “Lucy is too.”

“Well, let’s go downstairs and see what we can eat.”

Once they were in the kitchen, Chloe opened the pantry door to peruse the choices.

“I’ll have Cheerios with bananas on top,” Molly said. She set Lucy on the floor and climbed up on the stool at the island.

Just like Bryce had said, Molly would lead the way. This job was going to be a piece of cake!

The rest of the morning went similarly. After breakfast, Molly watched a couple of shows on the Nickelodeon Channel while Chloe cleaned up their dishes and fed Lucy. Then Molly ran upstairs to get dressed, insisting she didn’t need any help.

Ten minutes later, she reappeared in a pair of denim shorts and a tank top with her hair in a haphazard ponytail.

Chloe hesitated for a moment, not wanting to offend her, and then said, “Can I fix your ponytail?”

Molly nodded and sat beside Chloe on the couch while she smoothed her hair down and refastened the ponytail holder.

“All done,” Chloe said, pleased that Molly had let her help. She felt like she needed to do something to earn her keep, after all.

“What would you like to do now?” Chloe asked.

“We could go to the playground.”

Chloe recalled looking at the neighborhood map and seeing a children’s play area. The neighborhood also boasted a clubhouse with a community pool, tennis courts, volleyball nets, and a small cafe.

“Sure. Should we ride bikes there?”

“Okay. You can borrow Daddy’s bike.”

Bryce had made it clear that everything was at her disposal, so Chloe decided he wouldn’t mind if she rode his bike. However, she hadn’t counted on the seat being so high. When she climbed on, she could barely reach the pedals, and Molly giggled.

“Let me see if I can adjust the seat,” Chloe said and got off the bike. She wasn’t mechanically inclined, though, and when she tried to move the seat, it wouldn’t budge.

“I’ll just ride it like this for today,” Chloe said and hopped back on.

She rode close to Molly and made sure they pulled off the road whenever a car went by. She was probably being overly cautious, but she wanted to do everything by the book. If Molly got hurt on her watch, she’d never forgive herself.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the playground. There were a few other kids there, and Molly ran up to one of the little girls right away.

The play equipment looked new and well maintained, and benches and picnic tables ringed the area, presumably so the adults could keep a close watch.

“I’ll be right over there,” Chloe said, pointing to a bench near the swing set.