Divorced, Desperate and Dead (Divorced and Desperate Book 5) (39 page)

“That’s so sweet. Let me help you.” Kelly reached for the bag.

“It’s fine. I’ve got it.” It suddenly felt odd that Kelly hadn’t invited her in.

The sound of a neighbor mowing their lawn echoed in the distance. Awkwardness rained down on the front porch.

She decided to just ask. “Is . . . Cary really not here?”

Kelly’s brow puckered as if the question put her on the spot.

“No. Uh . . . He’s not . . . in . . . here.”  She made a face. “He’s there.” Her eyes shifted from Chloe’s face to over her shoulder.

Chloe’s next intake of air came with a hint of masculine aroma that she recognized as an ex-stripper-cop who possibly was a womanizer. “He’s behind me,” she said.

“Yes, I . . .” Kelly frowned. “He begged me to do it, and I love him, and I couldn’t say no.” She glanced over Chloe’s shoulder again. “I’ll go and let you two . . . talk. But for the record, he’s a good guy.” She reached over and took the bag from Chloe’s hand.

Chloe stood there, aware of him standing behind her, but unsure what to say.

“Don’t be mad at her.”  His deep voice came from behind. He must’ve been standing close, because she could almost feel his breath stir her hair.

Clutching her purse and taking one more deep breath, she turned around and faced him.

• • •

Cary debated what he would do if she took off and ran for her car.  Chase her. Grab her. Fall to his knees and beg.

She didn’t run. Her beautiful blue eyes lifted and damn but he wanted to reach out and touch her so bad he hurt.

“Can we please talk?” he asked and gripped his hands to keep them from shaking.

She nodded.

“How about we go on the back patio?”

She nodded.

He started walking and then waved her forward, almost frightened she’d change her mind and bolt to her car.

“You look beautiful,” he said in a low voice.

She nodded.

Was that all she was planning on doing? Nodding?

They walked through the side gate. His brother-in-law looked over at them, a beer in one hand, while checking the grill.

“Do you mind?” Cary said, hoping he’d get what was implied.

“Mind what?” Okay, he really liked Jeff, but he wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer.

“Can we have a few minutes?” Cary asked.

“Oh yeah.” He started toward the house. “There’s beer. And water.” He pointed to the big ice chest. “Help yourself.” His gaze shifted to Chloe. “He’s a good guy. Give him a chance.”

Cary groaned. Jeff disappeared into the house.

“Sorry.” Cary looked back at Chloe. He motioned for her to sit at the patio table.

She moved toward the chair.

Seeing her was heaven. Not being able to touch her was hell.  Her hair hung loose around her shoulders and he remembered how it had felt brushing across his chest when they’d made love. Her eyes were wide and her unease could be read in the blue depths.

She wore a white sleeveless top that looked soft—made everything underneath it look softer.

The neckline was just low enough to give a hint of cleavage. Her jeans fit her legs perfectly.

“Beer? Water?” he asked.

She shook her head and sat down at the glass-topped patio table.

He sat in the chair closest to her.

They stared at each other. How to start?

“Chloe . . . I . . .” He ran a hand over his face. “I want to say I’m sorry, but I’m not guilty of what I think you believe I did. I wasn’t seeing Paula anymore. I never slept with her after we met. Not even after we met in Room Six.”

She bit down on her lip. “Paula didn’t seem to know that.”

He swallowed. “And that’s where I really screwed up. I hadn’t told her. Yet. I was going to tell her. And I hadn’t not told her because I planned on seeing her.  I was just . . . with you. We were together most of the time. And when I wasn’t with you, I was thinking about you. I didn’t think about her. She was already history.”

Her eyes looked bright, as if she was a second away from crying.

She blinked and looked over at the pool.
Was this a bad sign? Was she about to tell him to go drown himself in the pool?

When she glanced back, the brightness had lessened. “You lied to me.”

It felt as if her voice reached inside him and squeezed the air out of his lungs. “Sort of . . . I mean, what Paula and I had wasn’t a relationship. We didn’t date, like go anywhere. And you asked if there was anyone special in my life and she wasn’t . . . special.”

“You were having sex with her, right?” A touch of accusation tightened her tone.

He nodded. “But—”

“For how long? Months?”

He nodded, feeling his chest clutch. “But—”

She held up her hand. “And when I asked if you were dating anyone, it never occurred to you that . . .?” She looked away.

He inhaled. “Okay, let’s go with I lied. And you can be mad, be furious. Just don’t. . .” He almost reached for her, but pulled his hand back and let go of a ton of air lodged in his chest. “I lied. But lying was my only sin. I never intended to see Paula again. I never saw her while I was seeing you. ”

She looked down at her hands resting on the tabletop.

He suddenly remembered a part of his prepared speech. “I’m not the only one who lied.”

She looked up at him with questions in her eyes.

He reached in his pocket and slid the boarding pass over to her.

She pulled it closer. After reading it, she looked up. “You were shot and I saw how upset you were on the news. I didn’t know what to say and then you said something about my grandmother and . . .”

“And you lied,” he said.

She sat up straighter. “I told you not to come.”

“Yeah, but I was worried. I thought your grandmother was in worse condition than you wanted to admit. I wanted to be there for you if you were hurting.”

When Chloe didn’t respond he added, “How is she, by the way?”

“She’s fine,” she said.

“Good.” In the background, he heard Pooch barking, he searched for the right words, not sure what else needed to be said. Then he just spoke from his heart.  “I’ve missed you so much.” He rested his hand beside hers and closed his hand into a tight fist. “I want to touch you so bad right now, it’s killing me.”

She glanced again at the pool as if searching for the right words. But were the words she wanted to say goodbye?

Damn it, he had to make her see his side. “So we both lied. I’m guilty. You’re guilty.”

She faced him again and he suddenly realized he might have gone too far.

“I’ll be happy to admit that your lie was justified because of what you thought. I can understand you believed I was sleeping with her and you at the same time. But I wasn’t. I hadn’t slept with her or even wanted to since I met you. And while I’ll admit my lie was wrong, your lie cost me over a thousand dollars. And a hell of lot of pain. If you’d just told me, I could have set this whole thing straight right away.”

He watched her take a deep breath.

The silence felt heavy. She finally spoke. “I was scared. I felt so deceived by Jerry.” She glanced down at her hands.

“Look at me. Do I look like Jerry? I’m not him any more than you’re my ex. We’ve both been hurt. We’re both scared. We both . . . lied.”

She met his gaze.

“So,” he continued, “I was hoping maybe we could sort of call it even and start over again.”

Voices came from behind the glass door leading to the kitchen. He saw Kelly and Beth inside, along with some other people. It was still early, but it appeared as if the party was about to get going.

Chloe’s gaze shifted to the door as well. He sensed she felt uncomfortable having this conversation here.

“You want to go grab a cup of coffee?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I can’t leave. I promised your sister I’d—”

“The party doesn’t begin until two,” he said.  “We got over an hour.”

“Your sister said one. One of the girls—”

“That was a lie, too. So we’d have a chance to talk. But it seems everyone is showing up early. What do you say? Let me buy you a cup of coffee?”

She nodded. It wasn’t an overly confident nod, but he decided to take it as a good sign.

“Let me . . . just tell them we’ll be back.” He stood up and opened the door and popped his head inside. “Hey . . . Chloe and I are going to grab a cup of coffee.”

“But I haven’t even got to meet her yet,” Bella whined.

“That’s fine,” Kelly spoke up, looking at him as if asking if things were going okay.

He sent her a nod.

She smiled.

“But—” Bella started to whine.

Kelly gave her daughter a warning look. “Young lady.”

Bella frowned. “Don’t be late.”

“We won’t. I promise,” he told Bella.

He turned around and when he did, Chloe was gone.

Shit!
Scared she’d changed her mind, he took off.

He nearly ran right into her standing on the other side of the gate.

“You’re here,” he said.

“I was just giving you some privacy.”

“Sorry,” he said. “I just . . .”

“Thought I left,” she answered.

“Yeah.” Admitting made him feel so vulnerable, but he was.

She started walking out front. He followed.

“My car’s in the garage.” He patted his pockets, realizing he’d probably set his keys down on the table. “My keys. I need to get . . .”

“I can drive,” she offered.

They walked across the lawn without talking. She was so close, it was physically painful not to be able to hold her against him.

She almost got to her car and stopped. Then she looked up him.

Don’t change your mind. Please don’t . . .

“That wasn’t the only lie I told you.”

Her words rang with guilt. He didn’t have a clue what to say. Or what she might have lied about. But then he realized that it didn’t matter. “I’ll forgive you.”

“I told you I didn’t want promises. But . . . I do.”

“Chloe—”

“No, let me finish,” she said. She touched his chest and then pulled her hands away. “If you aren’t the kind of guy who can give promises, then maybe I should just go inside, see your niece, give her my shirts, and be on my way.”

He couldn’t stop himself anymore. He moved in, placing his hands on each of her shoulders. “Chloe, do you really think I’ve been texting you, calling you, buying a ticket to go to Florida, and getting my sister to lie, just because I want a short fling? You’ve had me since Room Six. Until you walked into that room, I wasn’t all that upset thinking I was dead.”

Damn if touching her didn’t hurt, like electrical currents shooting from his palms all the way to his heart. Even with the pain, it felt so damn right. “It scares the hell out of me, but I’m already in love with you.”

Tears filled her eyes and one slipped from her lashes. He moved his hand to catch it. “I love you.” When she still didn’t say anything, he did. “This is where you can tell me that you feel the same. Or almost the same. I’ll take almost,” he said.

She smiled and leaned in, pressing her hands on his chest. She looked up at him. “You’ve had me since Room Six, too.”

He laughed, pure joy swelling inside him as he leaned against her car and pulled her against him. She fit against him perfectly. That feeling hit again, the one of just happiness.

She brushed her hands over his shoulders. “I love you, Cary Stevens.”

“I know,” he said.

She chuckled. “You do.”

“Yeah,” he said. “I feel it.” His leaned in to kiss her. He hadn’t meant to get carried away, but damn if he didn’t. She tasted so damn good. Their tongues touched. She eased closer. Her soft breasts against his chest felt like heaven. His body tightened. And he wished like hell he had time to take her back to his place, take her clothes off, and make slow love to her.

“Get a room,” a voice called out and they pulled apart.

He looked up at a pink Cadillac inching down the street. The driver’s side window was open and a gray-haired, elderly woman had her head leaning out.

Chloe glanced over her shoulder.

He heard her gasp then she swung her head back around. “She looks like . . . like . . . ?”

He laughed. “Do you believe in fate?”

“Yeah,” she said.

“Me, too.”

Another car parked up the street. It was Beth. She walked across the front lawn, giving them a quick glance and wave, as if unsure if she should say anything.

“We should probably just go on inside,” Chloe said.

He pulled her against him again. “Give me just a few more minutes before I have to share you.”

As Beth walked inside his sister’s house, a tiny, hairy, pint-sized dog ran out, its pink bows stirring in the wind.

His sister called the animal back.

Afraid his new-found, crossing-dressing mutt might dart into the street, he picked Pooch up. The animal lifted his head and tried to lick his chin. When Cary pulled back, the animal stretched his neck and tried to lick Chloe.

He eyed the animal and then Chloe. “I agreed to keep him.”

She laughed. “I knew you would.”

“You don’t hate him or anything, do you?”

“No.”

“Good.” He leaned a little closer and stared into her blue eyes. “Because I’m keeping you, too.”

“Really?” She lifted a brow and studied him. “And how do you plan on doing that?”

With Pooch in one hand, he used his other to run his finger over her cheek. “I had to die to find you, Chloe Sanders, and now I plan to spend the rest of my life making you happy.”

She stepped up on her tips toes and kissed him softly on the cheek. “Consider me a kept woman.”

Books by Christie Craig

Divorced and Desperate Series

Divorced, Desperate and Delicious

Divorced, Desperate and Dating

Divorced, Desperate and Deceived

Divorced, Desperate and Dangerous

Divorced, Desperate and Dead