“It was worth it,” she whispered, knowing full well that it hadn’t been. She snapped off the kitchen light and retreated to the bedroom to sit on her rumpled bed. She thought of calling Jenn. Or Anna. But she felt cut off from them, too. Adrift.
Chloe took off her shoes and her leprechaun T-shirt and her jeans. She curled up beneath the sheets she’d shared with Max Sullivan for just one night. And she cried harder than she ever had for Thomas.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
TWO HOURS WITH HIS HANDS on a steering wheel went a long way toward grounding Max’s soul. He was back in the driver’s seat, in complete control of the rented Ford Explorer, dictating speed, acceleration and position on the freeway. In fact, it was so soothing that by the time he pulled onto his brother’s Alexandria street, Max was confident he’d done the right thing in leaving Chloe. Yes, he’d wanted to see her, but he should never have gone there with the trial still pending.
Chloe was right. He had no business trying to help other people when his own life was so screwed up. She was right, and that’s why he’d been so furious.
When he found his gaze straying to his cell, Max jerked his eyes back to the street with a curse. The phone hadn’t rung, so obviously there was no message from Chloe. She’d made it clear that she wasn’t going to call.
He regretted hurting her, but she’d been okay when he’d left. Pissed, but pissed was better than sad. Anger gave you energy and arrogance and righteousness. Anger would get her through until tomorrow.
And whatever she’d said to him in the heat of the moment, he’d call her tomorrow and make sure she was okay. And he’d call her again after that. And maybe…maybe after his next stint on the water, he’d get in touch and see where they were. There was something good between them, and Max wasn’t ready to let her go for good.
Max parked the truck in front of his brother’s high-rise condo and jogged up to the fourth floor. His phone began to ring the moment Max’s knuckles hit the door.
He dropped his bag to the floor and fumbled for the phone, but just when he got it out of his pocket, the door opened and he found himself facing Elliott with a phone pressed to his ear.
Max looked at his phone with disappointment.
“I was just calling you,” Elliott said.
“Right. What’s up?”
“What the hell’s going on?”
He shrugged, trying to think how he’d explain why he was back. He hadn’t called Elliott on the drive for this very reason.
“Mom called a few minutes ago. Have you seen the video?”
“No, I haven’t. But I know the press found out who I was. That’s why I left. Chloe doesn’t need more attention.”
“Um… Right. I think you’d better see this.”
Max’s heart dropped. For a moment, he had the horrible fear that they’d left the shades open last night in Chloe’s bedroom. “Come on, Elliott. What is it?”
Elliott tilted his head toward his office, and Max followed him in, waiting impatiently as Elliott pulled up one of the more popular gossip sites. “Mom called to say she was seeing all kinds of stuff about you dating some crazy woman…”
The site finally loaded and the headline was hardly subtle. BRIDEZILLA BAD BEHAVIOR FINALLY CAUGHT ON TAPE!
Max lowered himself slowly to the chair and scrolled down. The freeze-frame of the video showed Chloe’s carriage house, the camera zeroed in on a blurry image of Chloe at the top of the stairs. His chest tightened at the sight of her, exactly as he’d left her. Her cute shirt glowing green and her hair pulled back in a clip.
After hesitating for a few seconds, he called up his courage and hit Play, expecting to see him and Chloe racing up the stairs. But the bad behavior wasn’t about their affair at all.
He watched as Chloe slammed the door shut and glared down at the alley below her. Her face was tight with rage, teeth bared in fury. Max winced. “Stop it!” she yelled. And that was when she began her attack.
“Holy shit,” Max breathed as Chloe rained vengeance down on her foes. A few pieces of rice splattered the screen, but they failed to block the sight of her rampage. The last few seconds of the video zoomed in on Chloe’s flushed face, then pulled back to show her giving the finger to the world. “Oh, no.”
“Did something happen?” Elliott asked.
“I don’t know. This must have been after I left.”
“And she was fine when you left?”
Max almost managed to bite back his moan, but Elliott must have caught the start of it.
“Don’t tell me Max Sullivan has finally lost his touch?”