“Don’t tell me you hooked up with Mac,” Alison said, her voice tight.
Chloe shot her a crazy look. “Mac? Are you kidding me? He’s like my brother.”
“Oh. Well. I don’t know.” Ali gazed out at the lake, which was already dotted with boats despite the extra early hour and that it was a Sunday. “What happened then?”
“You really thought Mac and I had a thing?” Chloe was surprised. Alison hung out with her and Mac all the time. The three of them were part of a larger group of people who often hung out together socially. “Don’t you think I would’ve told you?”
“I didn’t know.” Ali shrugged, looking…defensive? “He seems to like you a lot.”
“He’s known me since preschool. We’ve grown up together.” Chloe wrinkled her nose. Hmm. Was her friend interested in Mac? And why had she never said anything about it before?
“True, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t develop feelings,” Ali said.
Her friend had a point. After all, she’d grown up with Cameron, too. But he’d always seemed so far out of her realm, elusive. A four-year age difference was a huge one when they were kids.
Now, not so much…
“Forget Mac.” Ali flicked her fingers, waving him away. “Gimme the scoop. And it better be juicy.”
Chloe remained silent, fear paralyzing her vocal chords. She wanted to tell her friend. But she had to know that what she was about to share, Ali couldn’t tell anyone else. Ever. “Promise to keep this a secret?”
“Always. You know I’m closed-lipped.”
And thank goodness for that. Ali was a great friend. She’d confided in her more than once. “This is a big deal for me—huge. I’ve never confessed this to anyone.” No one, not even Jane; though her friend had sometimes hinted at it, Chloe hadn’t really confirmed it. None of her friends knew, nor her sisters. She’d hugged this particular secret close to her chest for what felt like forever.
“Oh my God, just spit it out. You’re killing me here.”
“Fine.” Chloe took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “I was outside on the terrace last night with Cam.”
“Cam.” Ali wrinkled her brows. “As in Cameron McKenzie? Mac’s older brother?”
Chloe nodded. Didn’t say anything.
“Okay, you’re going to make me pull this out of you, huh? What were you and Cameron doing outside on the terrace?” Clearly finally picking up on Chloe’s heated cheeks, Ali dropped her jaw. “Fooling around with him? With Cameron?”
“Shhh.” Chloe whipped her head back and forth, looking for signs of life, but no one was around. “Keep it down. The hills have eyes, you know.”
“Ha, no kidding.” They walked in silence for a moment, Ali absorbing this new bit of information, no doubt. “I’m going to assume fooling around means kissing, because I know you wouldn’t do anything too scandalous out on a terrace during your friend’s wedding reception. Right?” Chloe nodded, rolled her eyes. “So what happened after you kissed him?”
“We sort of argued and I ran out on him. Then I ate too much wedding cake,” Chloe confessed miserably.
Ali started to laugh, then immediately shut up when Chloe shot her a death glare. “Why did you run out on him? Sounds like he was a willing participant if he kissed you.”
What he’d said still hurt. “He apologized. Then blamed it on impulse. Then went on to say he felt sorry for me.” Well, he hadn’t actually said that, but she knew. It had been a sympathy kiss. A hot, delicious, drive-her-out-of-her-mind kiss, but definitely a sympathetic gesture on his part.
And really, it was pointless, kissing Cam. He wasn’t one to stick around for long. She knew this as absolute fact. And maybe he’d been drunk. Maybe he hadn’t realized exactly who he’d been kissing. Not like he’d ever paid much attention to her before.
“He apologized? Oh, Chloe.” Ali frowned, her expression full of all that unwanted sympathy.
“Stop. I’m fine. Really, I am.” She remained quiet for a moment as they trudged up yet another hill. The air grew warmer, the cars driving around the lake headed for the docks moving at a
steady stream. It was going to be a busy one today. Looked like the tourists were out in droves. “It was a mistake.”
“You never know. If it had continued, you two might’ve ended up back at your place, doing the dirty.” Ali waggled her brows.
“Please. Like he’d want to do the dirty with me, as you so eloquently put it.” Chloe shook her head, thankful they were in the homestretch of their walk. “He’s leaving soon anyway.”
“Are you craving something long-term with Cameron? Otherwise, why would it matter if he’s leaving soon?”