Crazy for Love (15 page)

N
OT ONE HINT OF WHITE
capped the dark waves as they cut through the water toward the mainland. It was smooth and safe on the ocean today.

And not one photographer had spotted Jenn and Chloe sneaking out of their cabin that morning. Chloe felt light with relief, and Jenn should be happy, too, so why was she staring out at the water as if they were being chased by ghosts?

Chloe spared a nervous glance at the fluffy white clouds above. Was there an old mariner's rhyme about white clouds? White clouds at night, sailors' delight. White clouds at eight…sailors die a horrible death?

She jogged across the deck to lean against the rail next to Jenn. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Is it a storm? Are we in trouble?”

Her pale eyebrows drew together and she turned her glare on Chloe. “There is something seriously wrong with you. It's a gorgeous day.”

“Yes, it is a gorgeous day, and we escaped the mob, so what the heck is making you so gloomy?”

Jenn's gaze slid to the side and she turned back to the water. “Nothing.”

“Spill it.”

“I…”

“What?”

When Jenn clenched her eyes tightly shut, Chloe thought she was trying to ignore her, but then she spoke. “I had sex with Elliott.”

“Oh my God! Are you kidding me?”

“I wish I was.”

“Oh. Ouch. Was it that bad?” Was it possible that one brother could be awesome in bed and the other could be a fumbling troglodyte? Yeah. Bedroom skills probably weren't passed on in the genes.

“No, it wasn't bad. It was good. Really good.”

“Omigod!” Chloe squealed, grabbing Jenn's arm to jump up and down. Jenn didn't budge. “You did it! So what's wrong? Are you mad that I wanted to leave the island? I'm so sorry. You could've stayed. You can go back! Just don't get off the ferry.”

“The last thing I want to do is go back. I'd rather gouge my eyes out.”

Realizing there was something really wrong, Chloe gave up her grip on Jenn's arm and let her smile fall away. “Jenn?”

“It was perfect. He's so sweet. He saw me walking on the beach and came to find me, and then…”

“Then?”

“We did it. Or we started to. And in the middle of it…I started crying.”

Chloe's jaw dropped. She wanted to say something supportive, something insightful, but she just found herself staring at Jenn's blushing cheek. “Er…”

“I know.”

Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad. “So you got a little choked up?”

“No, I was crying. Sobbing, like I'm sure I got snot all over his chest. He had to stop what he was doing and pat me on the back like a child.”

“Oh. Oh, that's…”

“Yeah.”

Chloe's own throat grew tight at the image, but not with tears. Don't laugh, she ordered herself. Don't laugh.

“Just laugh already,” Jenn said darkly, and Chloe burst into loud guffaws of unladylike, unhelpful laughter. Jenn didn't join her.

“I'm sorry,” she gasped. “I'm really sorry. What happened?”

Jenn set her forehead against her arm so that she was staring down at her shoes instead of the water.
“God, I don't know! I, um, climaxed and then I just started crying.”

Slapping a hand over her mouth, Chloe tried to control her amusement. It didn't work. “So he was still…active?”

“Yes.”

“Christ, Jenn.”

Groaning, Jenn shifted on her feet, her back shaking a little. A tiny sob floated up on the wind, and Chloe sobered immediately. “Sweetie? Are you laughing or crying? Jenn?”

“I'm laughing!” she cried, straightening up with a tortured smile on her face. “Why would I be crying? I save all my crying for when I'm having the hottest sex ever with a guy I really like!”

Cringing, Chloe half groaned and half laughed.

“It was so bad. After I stopped crying, I begged him to put it back in.”

“You did
not!
”

“Okay, I didn't say it exactly like that, but I asked if we could try again, as if he were ever going to get another hard-on within twenty feet of me.”

“That might be the worst story I've ever heard.”

Jenn raised an eyebrow. “Really? Worse than…”

“Oh, Thomas faking his death. Touché. Worst
sex
story I've ever heard, then. But,” she said as Jenn's
face crumpled, “I'm sure it wasn't as bad as you think.”

She nodded. “He probably thought it was cute that he gave me an orgasm and then, instead of getting his
own
orgasm, he got to comfort a hysterically crying naked girl.”

“Better than a hysterically crying girl who's fully dressed.”

“Yeah, I guess that's true.” A deep breath expanded her slender chest. “But I never want to talk about this again, all right? Ever.”

“All right.”

“Thank you.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Chloe managed to hold her tongue for a full thirty seconds. She tried to distract herself by watching the approaching coastline as it got larger on the horizon. A heron burst from the water ahead of them, white feathers flashing like angel wings. “So… Anyway… Do big penises run in families? Because…”

The genuine laugh that burst from Jenn's mouth made Chloe grin. The strain had vanished from her voice, thank God. “I think they do.” She giggled. “It was dark, but it certainly felt… I can't believe I'm talking about this!”

“Aw, welcome to the twenty-first century, sweetheart. I think it's cute that before you knew the boys, you were talking about a threesome, and now you
can't even mention the word
penis
without turning bright red.”

Jenn swung her hip into Chloe's, knocking her off balance. “Shut up.”

Once she'd found her sea legs again, Chloe slung her arm around Jenn's shoulders and they faced the dock together. “So what's wrong? Why were you crying?”

“I don't know. I've been feeling stressed and I'm having trouble sleeping. And I hadn't been with a man in a long time. I don't know. It was all too much.”

Chloe gave her shoulders a squeeze. Like Jenn, she had no idea what she was feeling.

She'd stepped onto the ferry feeling equal parts relief, dread and heartache. And still, the heartache had nothing to do with Thomas. Her heart ached for Max, a man she'd known only a few days.

They'd said their goodbyes that morning. He'd held her tight, and kissed her hard, but in the end, Max had let her go. Of course he had. He had no obligation to her and no say over what she did. It had been a quick fling, nothing more.

Yet her heart hurt around the edges every time it beat.

He'd let her go. Or she'd run away.

Still, she could've sworn she'd seen weary relief in his eyes. But how could she begrudge him that?
Given even the briefest opportunity, Chloe would happily wave goodbye to the mess of her life. Heck, she was relieved just to get away from the photographers on the island for a few hours. They'd be back soon enough.

Maybe sooner than she'd expected. As the ferry drew closer to the dock, Jenn stiffened beside her at the exact moment that Chloe spotted the four men standing on the dock sporting cameras and bored expressions. “Oh, shit.”

“The guys on the island must have put out the word you'd gotten away.”

“Damn it.” Her throat burned with hot tears of frustration and fear.

“Come stay with me,” Jenn urged, glaring toward the men as they perked up and walked farther out onto the dock.

“No, they'll just follow me there and ruin your life, too.”

“I don't care.”

The ferry engine roared as it slowed, easing up against the bumpers. “Come on,” Chloe said softly. “Let's get this over with.”

Walking through a crowd of paparazzi—and Chloe would argue that even four photographers was a crowd—was a strange experience. She'd been raised in Virginia, where men opened doors for you and carried your bags, even if you told them you
didn't need help. But the paparazzi were like a scrum of hungry animals. They didn't want to ease her way. They didn't want to step aside or open doors or take her bags. They wanted to hold her back so they could get a few more pictures. They wanted to block doors so she couldn't escape. And if they pushed her into losing her temper, all the better. Cruel bastards.

Chloe carried her bags and kept her head down as she stepped off the ramp.

“Chloe!” they shouted, their voices climbing over one another, trying to get her attention. “Chloe, over here!”

She pushed on, ignoring the jostling of their bodies against hers. Her skin crawled with the need to run, to flee the danger of men crowding around her, shouting, bumping into her. It was worse at the DA's office, when there were dozens of them. It was suffocation and horror. But this was enough.

“Chloe! Chloe! Tell us about your new boyfriend!”

“Chloe, does Mr. Sullivan know what you are?”

She frowned at her feet and pushed on.

“How long have you been sleeping with him? Did you know him before the plane crash?”

“Is it true that you hate your cousin?”

“Chloe, why wouldn't you let her be in the wedding?”

She was almost to the car. Almost there. During the occasional silence between camera clicks, she could hear the wheels of Jenn's rolling bag just behind her.

“Chloe, who's Thomas's other woman?”

What? She almost paused. Almost stopped and turned around, but she managed to override that impulse and rush the last few yards to Jenn's car.

The sharp clang of car keys hitting the ground made her groan, but then she heard Jenn scoop them up and the car beeped a friendly welcome. Chloe reached for the trunk Jenn had popped open, threw her bags inside and leaped into the passenger's seat just as another question hit her ears. “Is it true that he was cheating? Were you both cheating?”

Jenn slammed her door and started the car with what would've been a roar if not for the tiny four-cylinder engine.

“What was that about?” Chloe asked.

Her friend shrugged.

“Are there rumors that Thomas was cheating?”

“You know the cops are trying to figure out if someone helped him pull it off. That's all.”

“Yeah…”

“It's that same old story. They assume there must have been a woman.”

“Maybe there was.” It made sense. Max had theorized that Thomas wasn't running away from Chloe, he was running from his mother. But maybe he was running
to
someone instead. Her heart beat harder. “You know what? I think they're right. I think he was cheating.”

“You can't listen to them. Think of all the ridiculous things they've said about you.”

“But it doesn't make sense otherwise. I wasn't really that bad. I wasn't! So if he wasn't running
from
me, he must've been running
to
something. Someone.”

Jenn's hands clutched the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles showed like bones with no skin drawn over them.

“Is this what you didn't want to tell me?”

Jenn's head jerked up half an inch, but she didn't look at Chloe. “What?”

“That there are rumors he was cheating?”

“These people will say anything, print anything!”

Chloe crossed her arms and slipped down in her seat to spoil any photographs the paparazzi would try to take from behind. “It feels right, though. I wonder how long he was cheating. That fucking asshole.”

“Chloe, don't. The simplest explanation is usually the truth, right? Thomas spent his whole life under
his mother's thumb. He started dating you because he liked you, but then I think he took you to meet his mother and it exploded in his face. You said you were the first girlfriend of his that she ever liked, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, he was stuck then, wasn't he? She liked you. She wanted him to marry you. Hell, I'll bet she even helped him pick out the ring.”

Chloe squirmed. “She may have mentioned something about that.”

“Thomas got swept up. Maybe he kind of wanted to marry you, but he felt like he was being pushed along by an unstoppable force.”

That hurt a little, but hadn't she felt that herself? Not so much because of his mother, though her enthusiastic approval of the match had been a kind of pressure. Mostly Chloe had felt swept along by her own plans for life. She'd wanted to get married and have kids. She'd wanted to get away from her cramped, quiet apartment and move into a nice house with a nice man. Thomas had seemed good enough. So she'd moved in with him, and then it had been time to get married, hadn't it?

Jesus. She'd thought he was
good enough.
What kind of love was that?

“Thomas panicked,” Jenn said. “He freaked out and did something stupid.”

“How could I have been so blind? It couldn't have been spur of the moment. It took some planning. Our life was a lie. Did I ever know anything about him? Was he even a decent guy?”

Jenn sighed, her shoulders slumping a bit. “He was funny. And thoughtful. He wasn't a monster and you weren't blind.”

“I was a little blind.”

“Okay, a little. But he didn't kill anyone.”

“Wow,” Chloe huffed. “Your standards for my love life are pretty low, Jenn.”

“I just mean… He was desperate to get away, but all the flight experts agree that he deliberately crashed the plane into a completely unpopulated area. He didn't want to hurt anyone. Not even you, really. He just wanted to disappear.”

Chloe nodded. There were holes in that theory, but it felt true. He'd thought he was sparing her some sort of shame. Boy, had that backfired.

Jenn flashed an anxious look in the rearview mirror. No doubt they were leading a caravan down the narrow road that led out of the swampy coast and into the heart of Virginia Beach.