Chloe watched a beautiful old mansion slide by her window. Dark brown waterways cut the estate into a green island of manicured lawn. A sign ahead said “No Fishing from the Bridge,” but three men stood next to it, poles cutting lazy lines through the air.
“It’s weird. When Mrs. DeLorn called and left messages, I thought she was going to apologize for her son. I thought she and I were close. I mean, if what we’re saying is true, she may have been the whole reason for the marriage in the first place.
“At first I expected her to try to patch things up, try to explain, maybe even try to get us back together. But she was calling to remind me of all the times she’d helped Thomas financially. I didn’t know what she was talking about. What the hell does that have to do with anything?”
“That is weird. Maybe she feels guilty and she had no idea what to say.”
“Oh, Jesus, it doesn’t matter. Whatever the hell is going on, he was right. We shouldn’t have been getting married.”
In her peripheral vision, she saw the flash of Jenn’s blond hair as Jenn snapped her head around to look at Chloe. “You think that’s true?”
“Yeah. Look at me. I don’t even miss him, do I? I miss the house, and I miss my old, normal life. But I just had a fling with a big, hot treasure hunter, and damned if I didn’t love it.”
“Well, sure, but—”
“If I’d really loved Thomas, wouldn’t I be a little more devastated?”
“You’re still in shock.”
“I don’t feel like I’m in shock. I feel like I’m alive.” Her cell phone rang, cutting through her introspective mood. Chloe dug it out of her purse and looked at the display. “Reporter. Shit, I guess I’ve got more than one bar again.” A push of a button silenced the ringer, and she flipped idly through the missed calls. There were a lot of them. “Anna called last week.”
Jenn coughed loudly, then patted herself on the chest to clear her throat. “She was probably calling to check on you.”
“I’ll call her soon. Let’s do something fun when this is over. We’ll all go out to dinner and flirt with guys.”
“Oh, yeah. But I don’t know. She’s been so busy…”
“Then we’ll go to D.C. and stay at her hotel! She offered to get us a day at the spa one time, right? Let’s plan it. I’ll call her and set it up for two weeks from now. It’ll be just what we all need.”
“No! I mean… I’ll call her. Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m not going to let you pay for anything else.”
“Okay, I’ll just… Damn it, Chloe. You’ve got enough on your hands. Don’t call Anna. I’ll talk to her, all right?”
Chloe looked over at Jenn’s white knuckles and nodded. “Okay, okay. Calm down. You’re such a mother hen sometimes.”
Jenn’s laugh held as much tension as her hands, so Chloe dropped the subject and huddled down in her seat. It was going to be a long drive.
THE AFTERNOON FISHING TRIP had been a complete disaster. Oh, he and Elliott had caught lots of fish. Apparently, depressed silence was an excellent tool in luring fish close to a boat. And the weather had been great. Sunny and still. Perfect for women who liked to lounge in the sun in bikinis.
Max looked up as Elliott walked out of his room, toweling off his wet hair. No bikinis here, just a couple of moping, pitiful men.
“You think I should’ve gone with her,” Max grumbled.
“What?” Elliott asked, slinging the towel over the shoulder of his gray T-shirt, about as depressing a color as you could wear.
“You think I should’ve tried to help instead of letting her go.”
“Who, Chloe?”
“Yes, Chloe!”
Elliott shrugged and fell onto the couch, propping his feet up on the arm as he lay down. “I have no idea.”
“So why are you avoiding me?”
“I’m not avoiding you. We’ve been on a boat together all day.”