Hot Westmoreland Nights - Brenda Jackson [58]
“You might have disappointed me for not doing that magazine cover, but you’ve more than made up for it with Chloe, Ram. I like her,” Bailey said.
Ramsey turned and met his baby sister’s gaze. “And just what do you like about her?” he asked, curious to hear what she had to say.
“She fits you.”
Because he’d been expecting a long, drawn out discourse, he was surprised by those three words. This was definitely a night for surprises, but then he thought he would not let Bailey get off that easily. “She fits me in what way?”
Bailey shrugged. “She’s pretty. You’re handsome. She can cook. You can’t. She’s an extrovert. You’re an introvert.” She lifted her brow. “Need I go on?”
“No.”
“Because we all know you have a tendency to stretch things out, Ram. If you are interested in her, you probably want to step up your game a notch.”
Now it was his time to raise a brow. “What makes you think I’m interested in her?” he asked, glancing across the room to where Chloe sat talking to Pamela. The two women were getting along like they were old friends.
“She’s here isn’t she? That in itself says a lot.” And without saying anything else, Bailey strolled off.
He was tempted to follow Bailey and tell her that no, nothing said it all. They were seeing things that weren’t there. Seeing what they wanted to see. But when he glanced back over at Chloe, he was beginning to wonder if perhaps everything that Bailey had said just now made sense. If so, that was real scary only because it was Bailey and she never thought logically.
Not for the first time tonight Chloe quickly glanced over at Ramsey before turning her full attention back to the conversation going on around her. The topic of conversation had shifted from just how good the First Lady had looked at a nationally televised event last evening to what was happening overseas.
More than once he had caught her gaze and the smile he’d sent her way was enough to send heat escalating through every part of her body. And memories of his touch would wash over her, make her wish they were someplace else. Someplace private.
“So you’re an only child, Chloe?”
Chloe glanced up at Gemma and smiled. The Westmorelands had been asking her questions about herself. Getting to know her. She had been wording her answers so they wouldn’t be outright lies. “Yes, I’m an only child but not for long. My father is getting married in a few months and the person he’s marrying has a son and daughter.”
“And you don’t have a problem with that?” Bailey asked.
Chloe chuckled. “Not at all. Dad’s been single long enough. My mother died when I was two, so it’s about time he tied the knot again.”
The conversation shifted to Megan as she told them how her day went as an anesthesiologist. Chloe glanced back across the room at Ramsey. He was talking to Dillon. There was no mistaking the two men were related. Dillon Westmoreland was also a good-looking man.
Ramsey caught her eye and like before, the look he gave her made her heart thump erratically in her chest. And as she continued to look at him she could actually feel his heat, reaching out across the perimeters of the room and actually touch her. And then he whispered something to Dillon before walking across the room toward her.
When he reached her side he tucked her hand in his, something that wasn’t missed by his sisters. “Thanks, Pamela, for a lovely dinner. It’s time Chloe and I left.”
Chloe glanced up at him, not surprised by what he said. It was either leave so they could go somewhere private or put on a real show for his family.
Pamela glanced at her watch. “It’s early yet. Are you sure you have to go?”
Ramsey smiled. “Yes,