“Glad I could help,” Theo said through stiff lips.
“I’ll be in the office for another half hour if you need me.” He smiled, rubbed his hands together, and did a little bounce on his heels. “After that, I’ll be meeting Chloe.”
“Have a great night,” Blake said as Owen headed out of the office.
Theo didn’t say a word.
Blake swung around in his chair to face Theo. “He looked excited for the date. I see you took my advice and set him up with Chloe. I think they’d be great together.”
Theo’s fists clenched by his sides. “Yeah, great.”
Blake stared at him for a beat. “You’re pissed.”
“No, I’m not,” he lied and picked up plans for Andrew Vandersluis’ building they’d been looking at earlier in the day. He rolled them up, imagining that the plans were Owen’s neck. Dammit! He needed to get control of himself.
Blake pointed a finger at Theo. “You like Chloe.”
“We’re friends.” But he knew that it wasn’t the answer his brother was looking for.
True to form, Blake didn’t let it go. “No, youreallylike Chloe in the ‘more than just friends’ way.”
“It doesn’t matter.” He couldn’t do anything about his feelings for her anyway. Theo collected the plans and rose from the chair to leave.
Blake put a hand on his arm, stopping him. “Hey, don’t set her up with guys if you want her for yourself. If you like her, go for it.”
“I can’t.” She wanted more than he could ever give her, but he couldn’t say that part out loud. Not to his brother. He hoped Blake would drop it, even as he knew he wouldn’t.
“If you think Ethan will be pissed you’re with his sister, he’ll get over it.”
Theo sighed. “It’s not that.”
“You’re not serious about not getting into another relationship, are you?” Blake asked, still pushing because, of course, he was. “People divorce all the time, and they often find love again.”
“I’m not looking for love.”
“Well, from the way you werelookingat Owen, I’d say you were ready to kill him. You must feel something pretty strong for Chloe if you can’t stand the thought of him dating her.” His brother’s eyes were intent.
Theo slapped the plans back on the table. “Nothing is going to happen between me and Chloe. I’m not right for her.”
“Why the hell not? Just because things didn’t work out with Layla doesn’t mean you’re not right for Chloe.”
His brother wasn’t going to let this go; he had to tell Blake the truth he’d kept hidden for so long. He wasn’t looking forward to this. With a sigh, he said, “Chloe wants kids.”
Blake shrugged. “So? Most women do.”
“I can’t give them to her.”
Blake shook his head. “Why not?”
Theo paced the room. “Because I’m… I’m… infertile.” There, he’d said it. Now to wait for the fallout.
It wasn’t long in coming “What?” Blake stood in front of him slack-jawed. “What the hell do you mean ‘infertile’?”
“I’m not repeating myself.” He’d never said the words out loud, and they tasted like acid on his tongue. Layla had loved throwing the word in his face because it had been his fault she couldn’t get pregnant. But ifhesaid it, then it became real. Like his failures couldn’t be hidden away and forgotten about. Receiving the finalized divorced papers had reopened the wound, reminding him he was the reason their marriage had failed.
Blake stared at him like he’d transformed into a goat. “You can’t have kids? Since when?”
Theo clutched the back of a chair. “We’d been trying to conceive for about a year with no results, so we went to a fertility specialist. Layla had tests done, and she was all clear. My results were a different story.” God, this was hard.