21
Perhaps because he agreed so readily, I thought I should give him a kind reminder.
“You should go find Chloe. She and her boyfriend just broke up over money. You won’t even need nine thousand roses this time.
She’ll come running.”
At the sound of her name, his body went rigid.
“Why would I go find her?” he said, his voice low and raspy. “My wife is right here.”
Right. He was used to the stand–in by now.
>
Seeing the look in my eyes, he looked defeated. He bit my shoulder gently, then cupped my face in his hands, a mixture of anger
and helplessness in his expression.
“Let me explain. When I was pursuing her, it was a case of mistaken identity.”
The shrewd Nicolai Payne would never normally admit to such a ridiculous mistake, but if it was something that bothered his wife,
he didn’t mind revealing his own foolishness.
“At the university’s anniversary celebration, I was walking past the music room. I saw you playing the piano for a cat. That one
glance… I never forgot it.”
“Unfortunately, I was called away before I could introduce myself.”
“I thought, it’s okay, I’ll definitely see you again.”
A faint blush colored his cheeks.
“Later, I saw Chloe, wearing the same clothes as you, styled the same way. I thought she was you, so I started pursuing her.”
“It was the first time I’d ever liked someone. As for how to woo a girl, it was your current assistant who gave me the playbook.”
“Roses, handbags, lipstick.”
“The first time I met her, I asked: ‘Hello, my name is Nicolai Payne. I saw you in the music room yesterday. The way you played the
planb for that stray cat was captivating. May I have the honor of pursuing you…”
