Crazy for Love (25 page)

She started to say his name, then changed her mind, intimidated by the official sound of his title. “Um…this is Jenn Castellan.” A statement of
fact that sounded so much like a question that she winced.

He didn't say a word, and she was about to repeat herself when Elliott murmured, “Just a moment.” The sounds around him changed as he moved through his world. Then a door closed and everything went quiet.

“Jenn? Are you okay?”

Oh, God, this was the voice she remembered. Steady and focused and comforting in a way she couldn't explain. She refused to let herself cry, clearing her throat against the urge. “I'm good,” she said.

“Are you sure? Because things seem to have come to a head.”

“Yes. I'm not sure what's going to happen between Chloe and me, but I just… You said I could call if I wanted to talk, but I'm sure you're busy.”

“No, I'm supposed to be at lunch, so talk as long as you want.”

“It wasn't me.” She waited a few breaths, then made herself continue. “I don't want you to think I'm that kind of woman. It wasn't me sleeping with him, it was our friend, Anna. But I knew about it and didn't say anything, so maybe that's just as bad.”

“No,” he said immediately.

“Anna told me it was over, and I thought that
should be the end of it, and that's awful. But I didn't want you to think it was me.”

“Even if it had been… I could tell it was killing you.”

She felt the ghosts of his hands on her back, holding her while she cried. “Elliott?”

“Yes?”

“You live in D.C., so we never have to see each other again. And you probably shouldn't see me again if your brother is involved with Chloe because she might hate me forever. But I'm not sure I'll have the courage to say this any other time—”

“Jenn—”

“No, don't. I'm being honest today, so let me say this.”

He stayed silent in answer, and Jenn nodded, squeezing the key so hard that it hurt. “I like you. That may sound weird considering what a complete disaster I've been. I'm not good with men. They make me nervous. But I like you a lot, and I know I started crying when we were… I know you're probably relieved to be rid of me, but…I like you. And I'd love to see you again.” When she paused, she realized she was breathing into the phone, probably sounding as close to a crazy stalker girl as she possibly could. She squeezed her eyes shut and tipped the phone away from her face.

“You're serious?”

Oh, God. He lives two hours away, she told herself. If he says no, you can pretend this never happened. “Yes.”

“But, the crying? I was under the impression that things didn't, uh, go well.”

“Oh, Elliott. I know they didn't go well with you, but with me… It was just too much to handle. You felt so good, and I was in such a bad place, and…maybe we could just take this more slowly?”

“Yes,” he said, such a simple answer that she didn't understand it. “What?”

“Yes. I'm good with taking it slow. I've been divorced less than a year, and you're the first woman I've dated since then.”

She swiped a tear off her cheek. “Really?”

“Really.”

“What about Chloe and Max?”

“She'll forgive you, Jenn. You're a beautiful person and she loves you.”

Apparently, her tears weren't dried up at all, be cause they began to fall in earnest at his words. She made herself speak past them, even though her throat screamed with pain. “Maybe I could call you tomorrow?”

“Yes. But I'll call you tonight to see how you're doing.”

Jenn said goodbye before she could say anything
embarrassing. She was now officially dating a man who intimidated her. A doctor. A man who treated her like an equal even when she acted like a lost child. And she wasn't going to let her fear screw up the best thing she'd done in years.

T
HEY MADE LOVE.
And took a nap. They played three games of Yahtzee as if they didn't have a worry in the world. Then, because Chloe could now come and go as she pleased, Max took her to the movies.

After only a few hours, she felt as refreshed as if she'd been on vacation for a month. And when she suggested a restaurant in the heart of Shockoe Slip, the trendiest area in Richmond, Max took her there, too. People stared at them, but Chloe didn't care in the least. She held Max's hand and sipped the last of her wine and she felt…happy.

“I went online while you were in the shower,” Max said, signaling that make-believe time was over.

She sighed a little at the loss of it, but didn't really mourn. “Yeah, maybe my next place will have a shower big enough for two.”

“Promises, promises.” But his smile faded quickly. “Are you saying you might be willing to give me another shot? In a few weeks I'll be back at work. I won't be able to see you for two months.”

It seemed crazy even to consider it. Despite having steady jobs and adult responsibilities, each of them was at an utterly unstable point in their lives. “We just started dating. You might go over there and fall in love with the new cook on your boat.”

“No, I never sleep with crew members. It causes too much distraction when I need to be focused on my job.”

“Jeez, Max. No declaration of ever-faithful love?”

He offered an easy grin. “Oh, I'll be faithful. You can't trust condoms in a shipboard environment. Too much heat and humidity.”

“Wow, that's like poetry. Maybe you should write a book.”

“Oh, yeah? What about you? You'll be the one hanging out on land with unlimited access to the whole male population of Virginia.”

“And climate-controlled drugstores.”

He tilted his beer in her direction. “Exactly.”

“I'll wait for you. If you want me to.”

He opened his hand to look down at her fingers, touching each knuckle with his thumb as if he were biding his time. “You can forgive me? For walking away when you needed me?”

She cocked her head and studied him. His tan face and the laugh lines around his eyes, which might be
from smiling or from worrying too much. “That did hurt.”

“I know. I swear I'll learn. If we decide to do this… I promise I won't be the guy who runs off when things get tough. Even if I have no idea what I'm doing, I won't run.”

She let her smile fade and met his gaze with somber eyes. “If we're being serious… I've spent some time thinking about this, Max. The truth is that I like you. Too much. Or just the right amount, maybe. But you're living a lie, and I've already done that with one guy.”

“Shit,” he muttered, dropping her fingers so he could run both hands through his hair.

“You said it was killing you.”

“It is.”

“I don't want to wake up one day and find that you've left everything behind and faked a plane crash because you can't take it anymore.”

“Even if I'm running to a house in the suburbs and the nine-to-five grind?”

“Yeah. I want you walking right up to those things, out in the open. Like a man.”

“Jesus, Chloe. I didn't see that blade coming.”

Pressing her lips together, she refused to offer an apology.

After a few sips of his beer, Max rolled his shoul
ders. “I've been living this way for thirty years. It's going to take me a little while to untangle myself.”

“I understand. I can give you time. And the reason it's easy to forgive you? Because you were actually trying to do the right thing when you walked away from me.”

“For myself,” he clarified.

“Well, I was trying to keep you there for myself, so I don't begrudge you that. Much. And you know what? I think long-distance dating might be just the speed of dating we both need right now. For a little while.”

“Can't handle all of Max Sullivan at once, Chloe?” He laughed along with her at first, but when she kept laughing, his expression turned to insulted. “Hey.”

“Sorry. So now that we're going steady—”

“Oh!” a woman gasped from close by. “It's really you!”

Chloe jerked upright as a young blonde leaned into her personal space.

“You're Chloe Turner!”

“Um…” The woman didn't look like a reporter. She looked like a college student.

“Oh, my God, I love you so much. Can I take a picture of us together?”

Chloe met Max's eyes, but he looked just as confused as she was.

“I can't believe how much of an ass that Thomas turned out to be. Stealing from his own mama! What a loser. I'll bet you're glad he jumped out of that plane now, huh? Say cheese!”

Chloe smiled weakly as the girl held her camera at arm's length and pressed her cheek to Chloe's.

“Thank you! Y'all have a great night. Max, you're so cute!”

“Er, thanks,” he said as she walked off.

“You are cute,” Chloe offered.

“Wait a minute, what was that about Thomas stealing from his mom?”

“The D.A.'s office must've sprung a leak.”

“That's the embezzlement charge? Jenn wasn't—”

“No.” Chloe watched the blonde slide back into her chair and show her phone to her squealing friends. “Jenn,” she murmured. “None of it's really sunk in yet. I'm relieved it wasn't Jenn. Anna is a friend, but she's not like a sister.”

“Still.”

“Yeah, still. And Jenn…”

“She knew?”

Chloe started to nod, then shook her head. “How did you figure that out?”

Max shifted, glancing around the room as if he were hoping for another interruption. None seemed imminent and he was clearly disappointed as he
faced her again. “Look, Jenn was a little upset that last night on the island. She and Elliott…talked.”

Chloe gasped. “He told you about that?”

He winced. “Yeah.”

“Oh, God. Poor Jenn!”

“‘Poor Jenn'? What about my poor brother?”

She waved a dismissive hand, confident that the Sullivan brothers could handle a good battering to their self-esteem. “So how did you know?”

“Elliott said she was pretty torn up about being a bad friend to you. About being a liar. That's why she was crying.”

“She knew he was sleeping with Anna, and she was going to let me
marry
him. That's what happened.”

“She knew before the crash?”

“Yes. She knew three months ago. How am I supposed to get over that?”

“I have no idea, but you have to, because she's your best friend and she loves you, Chloe. This has been killing her. Even I can see that.”

He was right about that, at least. Angry as she was, she could see how miserable Jenn had been for the past month, and jumpy and pale for weeks. She felt a surge of sympathy and shook her head against it. “How can I forgive her? She betrayed me.”

Max's warm hands close over hers. “You know she didn't mean to hurt you.”

“I guess.”

“So you'll do it. You'll forgive her. Maybe a little long-distance dating will work for you and Jenn, too. Time to get yourself together. A few late-night phone calls.”

“Just a few?”

His smile was like a balm on her wounded heart. “I was talking about Jenn,
not
me.”

“We'll see. Maybe. Right now, I just… Well, I don't know what to do now.”

“I've got two weeks free for a shore-leave affair. You know any promising candidates?”

“Depends. How do you feel about a crazy girl who'll likely be called as a witness in an upcoming criminal trial?”

“You had me at ‘crazy girl.'”

This was not a promising start. Her life was complicated enough without adding a long-distance relationship with a man who had serious issues of his own. So why in the world did Chloe feel so damn happy?

J
ENN BIT HER LIP NERVOUSLY
as she pulled into the alley behind Chloe's apartment. She'd passed the point of worrying that she'd scrape all her lipstick off. Now she was worried about the state of her actual lips. But she couldn't bite her nails while she was driving, so her options were limited.

She hadn't seen Chloe since the day of the hearing, but they'd talked twice in the month since then. The first call had been tearful and halting. The second call had been a bit easier. Now they were going out to dinner. A real date, as Chloe had put it, and Jenn definitely had that level of jitters.

She'd changed her life in the past thirty days. Oh, she wasn't loud and wild and bold, but she'd shored up some of her self-confidence. And she was being brave. Things with Elliott had progressed, and she was actually…hopeful. Hopeful that the relationship with him might progress, and hopeful that he might actually be a man who would live up to her expectations. Her
new
expectations.

That thought gave her a little boost of confidence,
enough to get her out of the car and through the tall wooden gate.

A ball of fur and teeth and claws barreled toward her, snapping and snarling. “Oh, God!” she shrieked, scrambling backward so quickly that she hit the gate and shut it before she could escape. “Help!”

“Brutus!” an ancient female voice called, and the dog stopped in its tracks.

Jenn kept one hand out and pressed the other to her pounding heart.

“You'd better get on outta here, if you know what's good for you,” the woman snapped.

Jenn tore her eyes from the beast for a split second to locate Mrs. Schlessing in the backyard. She was lounging in the shade of a tree, wearing gardening gloves and holding a cocktail glass.

“Mrs. Schlessing,” she panted. “It's me. I'm Chloe's friend, Jenn.”

The old woman tipped down the sunglasses that were half the size of her head. “You sure? That Jenn hasn't been around in a while.”

Chloe's door squeaked open somewhere above her. “Is everything okay?” she asked as she jogged down the stairs.

Mrs. Schlessing frowned at Jenn. “There's an intruder.”

“Jenn!” Chloe gasped when she finally caught sight of her. “Brutus, you leave her alone. You should
be ashamed of yourself!” Brutus slunk away, but Chloe aimed a glare at Mrs. Schlessing, as well. “How can you not remember Jenn?”

The woman shrugged, nudged her glasses back up, and sipped her drink.

“Are you ready?” Chloe asked. Jenn nodded, hoping her legs would hold her when she pushed away from the gate. They both slipped through, and then, miracle of miracles, Chloe put her arms around Jenn and hugged her tight.

“I've missed you,” she said.

Jenn hugged her back, too choked up to respond.

“Come on. Let's go to dinner.”

“Chloe… I'm so sorry. I hope—”

“You've already apologized a hundred times, Jenn. Let's not go there. We're going to be okay, all right? I know you were trying to protect me.”

Jenn swallowed back the sob that wanted to escape and nodded.

“Even if you went about it in a completely screwed-up way.”

When Chloe smiled, Jenn finally let out her tears in a half sob, half laugh mess. Chloe pulled her into another hug. “We're okay. But for the record, I want to know if my man is cheating on me. In fact, there's a whole list of things I expect you to report—seeing him at dinner with another woman, catching him in
my underwear dancing around my apartment…the list goes on.”

“Okay. I promise.”

Jenn hopped into the driver's seat, feeling lighter than she had in months. Maybe even her whole life.

She had her best friend back, and she was never going to put that friendship at risk again.

 

C
HLOE SNAPPED HER SEAT BELT
into place, and gave Jenn's hand one last squeeze. Max had been right. She'd needed to forgive Jenn, and it had been surprisingly easy. Not that she wasn't going to keep an eye out for any signs of strange nervousness in the future, but it wasn't as if Jenn had protested that she'd done nothing wrong. Regret was clear in everything she'd said or done.

“So,” Chloe said after a deep breath. “I'm sorry I didn't run out to rescue you earlier. I was on the phone.”

“With Max?”

“No…with Thomas.”

The car jerked a little when Jenn's foot banged against the brake pedal.
“What?”

“He called me.”

“To try to get you to lie?”

“No, his mom kept leaving me these saccharine-
sweet messages, but she's stopped calling. There's rumors of a deal with the prosecution.”

Jenn glanced over, her eyes wide. “What did he call about then?”

“He wanted to apologize. Finally. Actually, he said he was going to send a letter, but with the charges…”

“Seriously? He didn't want to leave
evidence?
”

“Well, he needn't have worried. It's not like he said much at all. He just said he was sorry. That he'd panicked, and it wasn't my fault, and he didn't expect me to forgive him. Then he paused like he wanted me to forgive him.”

“Oh, God.”

“I know. Anyway, I asked him if it had all been a lie from the very start, and he said…” Chloe frowned at the dashboard. “He said, ‘I think we both wanted it to be more than it was.'”

“What an asshole!”

“No, I'm pretty sure he's right. I
know
he's right. It wouldn't have worked. Maybe in a few years, I would've been the one jumping out of a plane. But I'd have done it with more flair. I'd have gone to Europe. If I were on the run, I'd want Interpol after me, because I'm just awesome like that.” Chloe laughed, but when Jenn took her hand, she squeezed it hard, then held on for the rest of the drive.

As soon as they slid into the booth at their favorite
brunch restaurant, Chloe leaned forward and put her chin on her hands. “So, how's it going with the other Sullivan brother?”

“Good. Really good. We see each other every weekend. And when he comes here, he doesn't even bring his laptop.”

“Really? That's not very nerd-sexy.”

“I know. He's making a big effort to try to leave work at the office, but honestly… I like watching him work. Last weekend I was at his place, and I woke up to see him sitting at his desk in the glow of his laptop. And it was so sexy. Like I was watching him save the world with no shirt on.”

“Wow, that's really interesting…”

Jenn nodded.

“…because the last time I talked to you, you said were taking it slow, and there was no sex going on.”

“Oh.” Her cheeks blazed red. “Um…”

“You're doing it with Elliott Sullivan!” Chloe crowed.

“Shush,” Jenn scolded past a smile. “We got carried away.”

“So did you cry?”

Jenn clenched her eyes shut. “That story is never going to die, is it?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“No, I did
not
cry.” She opened her eyes, and
they sparkled with joy. “Unless you count my cries of wild passion and crazed need.”

“Oh, my God!” Chloe squealed, reaching across the table to slap her arm. “You're a dirty girl!”

“Maybe,” Jenn answered with a cheeky smile.

Chloe grinned at her so hard it hurt. “I'm so glad to see you. But I don't want to talk about this anymore. Not while
my
Sullivan brother is four thousand miles away.”

“Are you sure? I was going to tell you about Elliott's amazing—”

“Stop it!” Chloe covered her ears. “I am a lonely wretch of a woman.”

“Aw. When's Max coming back?”

“Six more weeks.”

“And then what?”

She should've felt uncertain as she pondered the question. But Chloe felt nothing but anticipation. Even if Max spent the next year going back and forth, working out his issues, Chloe Turner was going to be just fine. She looked down at her Lucky Charms T-shirt with a little smile. “I have no idea. Things are good between us, and I think they'll only get better. Right now, we're taking it slow. Some of us know how to be patient.”

“Liar,” Jenn said.

And she was right.