“Better get over yourself, and make your move,” Zyra said and skirted her as the models joined them.
****
Chloe had a chance to talk to the models before the shoot and learned two of them had worked with Darice before. They thought she was professional and likable. She couldn’t agree more as the shoot unfolded.
Darice used humor and patience in pulling off the session. She could see that ad and want to buy the lingerie these women were selling. She didn’t see overweight women, she saw grace and sexiness. She saw beauty.
“Darice I think you’ve done it again,” Veda said with a satisfied grin. “I can’t wait for the ad to go to print.”
“I’ll have the proofs ready in two days,” Darice told her.
“Great. Just send them to me.” Veda stepped closer to Darice and Veda frowned.
She wanted to go over there and break up their little pow-wow but restrained herself. They could be talking about business. Then, Veda touched Darice’s arm and laughed at something Darice said before leaning in a little closer to whisper something to her.
Chloe’s jaw clenched as she tried to remind herself she had no jurisdiction over Darice anymore. She was a free agent. She could flirt with or go out with whoever she wanted, but nausea assailed her. She prayed Veda would just step back from Darice. She could bear this if Veda just took her hands off Darice. She didn’t have the right to touch her, to bask in her attention.
Chloe started forward and stopped herself. Don’t go over there, she ordered herself. She’ll hate you for breaking that up. Her breathing came fast and willed herself to turn around and walk out the door. Instead, her feet marched her over to them as the models voices raised a little. They were changing and talking about having a late lunch.
“Excuse me,” Chloe said and before she knew it she was standing next to Darice sliding her hand through Darice’s arm and pressing against her side. “Veda, it was nice to meet you and thank you so much for allowing me to sit in on the shoot.” She rubbed her hand down Darice’s arm possessively.
Veda frowned, and her gaze lingered on Chloe’s hand where it lightly rested on Darice’s arm before she met Chloe’s gaze. Her smile was slow in coming. “Well, you did say you were a reporter and the more exposure the better. I’ll be contacting your boss about ad space in the magazine.”
“That’s a great idea,” Chloe exclaimed. She chanced a look at Darice’s face, but she couldn’t read her enigmatic expression.
“Yes,” Veda replied quietly. “Well, I better get going. Darice, call when the negatives are ready.”
“I will.” Darice gave her a nod.
“Hey, Veda, are you up for lunch with us?” One of the models emerged from behind the screen right then.
“That’s a wonderful idea,” Veda said with a smile and exited the room with the model.
Chloe withdrew her arm as the other two models followed them out. She held her breath and waited for Darice to say something.
She didn’t. She collected her cameras and went to the door. “After you.” Her tone held a chill, and her jaw was set in an implacable line.
Darice held open the door and Chloe stalked through it growling low in frustration. What had she expected? Gratitude?
She’d just wrecked what had probably been lunch plans between Darice and Veda. Darice had just kept her mouth closed to keep from making her look like a fool and feel even worse. Darice was certainly a lady in that respect, she thought dismally watching Darice head for her office.
And Chloe found herself following.
“I’m sorry, Darice,” she said stepping in behind her. She was sorry getting over Darice was so hard on her she’d nearly started hyperventilating at the sight of Veda touching her.
“No, you’re not,” Darice said quietly.
“You’re right I’m not,” she snapped and then sighed roughly. “I had no right, but I just couldn’t stand seeing her touch you. I didn’t want to be jealous, Darice, but you have no idea how much it hurts knowing you don’t want me back.”
“I do want you back, Chloe,” she said gently and crossed the room to stand in front of Chloe. “I just can’t live with constant suspicion and lack of trust.”
“So, if I’d just stood there and grinned and bore it you’d have considered taking me back?” she demanded incredulously. “I was so proud of you—you did great work. If we were still dating I’d have rushed over to gush about it.”
Darice smiled. “Chloe,” she said softly.
“I would have,” she said. “Zyra said the studio was a mess this morning and she was eager to see what you’d done to it. So, I told her I’d love to see it too. I was hoping I’d see you.” She reached up and cupped Darice’s face. “I know I hurt you, and I’m so sorry.”
Darice frowned and withdrew Chloe’s fingers. “I know.”
“Have lunch with me,” she heard herself saying when she’d only intended to ask if she had time for a few more questions. Darice’s face scrunched into a frown. “Okay, I get it. Strictly business.”
“I just have a lot of work to do, Chloe,” she said. “Dinner would be better.”
Chloe’s eyes widened in surprise, and she started to speak and stopped. “Okay.”
“I’ll come by around six?”
“Yes,” Chloe said quickly. “I—could you bring the wine? I’m all out.”
Darice nodded. “I’ll see you tonight, and we can finish up the interview if you have any more questions.”
Chloe frowned. “I guess that could work.” Then, she’d only see Darice at Simone and Zyra’s. “I should go. I got a lot of information to work on for the article. I’ll see you tonight.” Chloe bit back a cry of anguish as she hurried from Darice’s office.
Chapter Eight
A quick rap at her bedroom door and then it opened to admit Zyra. Darice glanced at her briefly and then grabbed her wallet and stuffed it into her back pocket.
“Don’t you look hawt,” Zyra drawled and wiggled her brows. “Taking my advice I hope.”
“What advice.” She picked up her car keys and met Zyra’s curious stare.
“Are you going to see her?”
“Who?” She schooled her features to remain serene. Just thinking about Chloe made her heart beat faster, and her body break out in a hot sweat.
Chloe had stolen her heart with a single smile and kept her wrapped tight with a look. Her heart was in her eyes, everything was in her eyes. Chloe wasn’t the kind of woman who could hide her feelings no matter what they were.
After the shoot, when Veda was coming onto her, it had taken only a brief glance to know Chloe wasn’t handling it well. Her heart had clenched so tight, she’d thought it a miracle she had been able to breathe through the pain.
“The Queen of Sheba—Chloe who else,” Zyra demanded.
“She had a few more questions, so I told her I’d have dinner with her.” She knew what kind of questions Chloe had, and she had them too. They both still felt so much for each other, but could they really go on from this? Could Chloe truly trust her again?
Zyra leaned against the dresser door. “You’re not like your father you know,” Zyra murmured. “You’re not what he made you. You’ve forged a new life for yourself. You deserve to be happy.”
Zyra knew a good deal about Darice’s past. They’d traded more than one gruesome story over beers and vodka shooters. They’d been forged in similar crucibles and neither would ever be completely whole.
She ran a hand over her hair. “I just keep thinking she deserves better.” Darice pushed out a rough sigh.
“I thought the same about Simone, but we’re going to a sperm bank. Simone loves me, all of me, and she wants to raise a family with me.”
Darice smiled. “That’s great.”
“And it can be your life too,” Zyra told her. “You’re a good person, Darice. You’re not going to win any Mother Theresa awards, but you’re as good as I am. It’s time to really move on, girl.”
Darice
nodded. She had made her piece with some parts of her past, but others parts still haunted her.
“You’re right,” Darice murmured. But would Chloe think so? “I’ll see you later,” she said. She gave her friend a wave and headed out to her car.
****
After last night, Chloe had decided to stick with a simple dress with skinny straps. She left her hair to trail over her shoulders and headed to the kitchen. She wasn’t going to try to seduce Darice. They’d proven last night that the chemistry was there, hot as ever, and as consuming. The emotion was even still there, she mused.
She’d felt the power of it in the weight of Darice’s anger and hurt. There was hope, a slight chance that Darice might forgive her, she thought as she glanced at the bags of take-out she’d picked up on her counter.
The food was from her and Darice’s favorite restaurant. All she had to do was arrange the meal on the coffee table for their indoor picnic. That would be more intimate.
She was retrieving plates when the bell rang. With a deep breath, Chloe went to answer it. She hadn’t decided if she’d make another play for Darice or not. She’d been hurt so bad last night and the pain had continued to slice through her this morning. As she got ready for work, she understood why Darice had been so hurt.
She’d taken someone else’s word instead of trusting the woman she loved. She should have screamed, threw things, and been accusatory, and she should have listened when Darice tried to explain.
She looked out the peephole and Darice stood there with a bottle in her hand looking hot as usual. Chloe drew in a breath. Getting over Darice just wasn’t going to happen, so she had to make one last play to win her back.
“Hello, Coe,” Darice said when Chloe opened the door.
“Hi, Darice,” she said with a warm smile noting that Darice was checking her out. She never could resist doing that from the first day they met.
“You look pretty.”
Chloe smiled. “Thank you.” She stepped back to give Darice room, but she still brushed against her breasts. Chloe’s nipples firmed and her breath caught.
Darice gave her a knowing look and then said, “I brought your favorite wine.”
“We should have a drink. Dinner is ready. I stopped at that restaurant we both like, Sunflower.”
“That was a good idea,” Darice murmured. “Does that mean we’re having it picnic style like we did last time?”
Chloe laughed. It had stormed the last time they’d gotten food from Sunflower. The electricity had been knocked out, and Darice had suggested they have a picnic by candlelight.
“I’m glad you don’t mind,” Chloe answered. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to wait until I’ve gone over everything I have before I ask you some more questions.”
“Okay. “
Chloe led the way to the kitchen where she grabbed two glasses and set them on the counter. “Will you pour?”
“Sure. So did you talk to any of my employees?”
“Yes. Zyra introduced me to a few. Everybody likes you. They say you’re a good boss.”
Darice shrugged and washed her hands in the kitchen sink. Chloe smiled. Darice didn’t have many hard and fast rules for living but clean hands before a meal was one of them.
Darice poured the wine. Chloe took the silverware into the living area along with napkins and Darice joined her. Chloe set the items down and began tossing pillows onto the floor. They were oversized and complemented the color of the room.
They sat down and Darice picked up her glass of wine while Chloe began to fill her plate. Darice took a sip of her wine and filled her own plate.
“So how is the article coming?”
“Good,” Chloe said. “Darice, I apologize for not letting you explain that night I broke up with you. I just didn’t want to go through the same thing with you I went through with Nina. I knew she was cheating on me even though she denied it left and right. I wanted to believe her instead of what I’d seen and overheard.”
“You didn’t throw her out?” Darice asked bitterly.
“No, I just believed her when she said it was nothing,” Chloe answered softly. “I ignored all the signs even the fact that she’d had someone in our bed.” She lowered her head and tucked strands of hair behind her ear. “I was stupid and I realized it wasn’t wall about love. It was about not wanting to be alone.”
“The bed was messed up because I lost the earrings I’d bought for you,” Darice told her quietly. “I was going to put them in your jewelry box and surprise you.”
Chloe’s eyes widened. “Those gold hearts I wore the other day?”
Darice nodded.
“They were in my box. I wracked my brain for days trying to figure out when I’d bought them.”
“I wanted to let you know that I knew I was working too much, but you were still always on my mind. I was going to take you out to dinner that’s why I was home early,” Darice told her.
“And the woman I heard you talking to?” Chloe asked rubbing her arms as tears swelled in her eyes.
“Chloe, don’t cry again,” Darice said and set her plate aside and leaned forward to brush a tear that coursed down Chloe’s cheek away. “It almost killed me hearing you cry this morning.”
“Oh my god,” Chloe said and her hand flew to her lips. “I thought you’d left.”
Darice scooted closer. “No, I was making the coffee. I know you liked having the coffee ready when you got up.”
Chloe sniffed. “Darice. You weren’t supposed to hear that. You weren’t supposed to know you’d broken my heart.”
“Coe, don’t you think I’m hurting too? I love you, and I thought we’d be together forever.”
“Then, I went and screwed up,” Chloe said anguish in her tone as she got to her feet. She sat on the couch and drew her legs up to rest her chin on her knees. “I never meant to. I’ve been so alone without you.”
“Coe, listen to me,” Darice turned to face her but didn’t go to her. “That woman was an asshole who came onto me. I was so mad I—” Darice shook her head, lips tightening. “I kicked her out. We were negotiating a contract, but last night I told her to forget it. She’s not the kind of woman that takes no for an answer easily.”
“So, you aren’t going to see her again?” she asked wiping at another tear.
“No, baby girl,” she said softly. “I had lunch with Veda a few times, but she knew I was seeing you. She probably heard we’d broken up that’s why she asked me out today.”
She sniffed. “She did look a little put out when I joined you.” Chloe looked away. She hadn’t any intentions of acting possessive but once she’d gotten to Darice’s side she’d just acted without thought. She sighed. “I didn’t intend to mess that up for you. I just couldn’t stop myself.”
Darice took a sip of her wine. “I’m not interested in Veda, Coe,” she said patiently. “You’re the only woman I see. I mean I notice women, but none of them are you.”
“I ruined that,” Chloe said shaking her head. She reached for her own wine and swallowed some. “Why don’t you ever talk about your family? You know everything about me and mine, but I don’t know a thing about yours.”
“I told you I didn’t have a family,” Darice answered tightly.
“Everyone has a family,” Chloe pressed.
“My mother had a sister who overdosed when I was ten. Her brother was killed in Iraq,” she said softly and Chloe watched her eyes glaze over.
“What about your grandparents?”
“My father’s parents were killed in a boating accident when I was eleven, and my mother’s parents—her father died in jail. Her mother overdosed when my mother was eighteen.”
Chloe rubbed at arms as a chill licked at them. She had a feeling Darice’s parents had died the same way as Darice’s mother’s mother. “Your parents.” She held her breath as she waited. The silence stretched out and Chloe decided to change the subject. She wouldn’t push Darice to talk about something that must have been pain
ful for her.
“My father was a detective—policeman. He was a terrific man until I was six. He went undercover that year and stayed for almost eighteen months. When he came home, he was different.”
“He used drugs?”
“No—he got clean. He became abusive and cruel. He was very possessive and jealous, yet he cheated on my mother with anything in a skirt. My mother couldn’t breathe without him accusing her of something.”
“Darice—”
“When I was fourteen he beat my mother to death in front of me, and I shot him four times. His brother came over and I shot him too.”
Chapter Nine
“Oh my god,” Chloe exclaimed softly. Pain shot through her for Darice and what she must have gone through watching her mother die. “Why did you kill your uncle? He wasn’t there to help you?”
“He raped my mother with me in the next room, and my father beat her for it. My father said it was my mother’s fault it had happened. The bastard raped her two more times because he knew she’d never tell, but the third time, I made her go to the hospital. She filed charges against him and my father was livid. He said he wouldn’t allow a piece of trash like her to ruin his brother’s career and his life.”
“What did your uncle do?”
“He was a cop,” she said quietly. “He was being considered for captain in the sex crimes unit.” Darice laughed coldly. “Ironic right? You know what he did after he raped her the third time? He pissed on her and told her he’d have her whenever he wanted. If she dared to fight him, he’d beat her to within an inch of her life and fuck her while she bled.”
Tears hot and wet burned down Chloe’s cheeks. No wonder Darice never talked about her family. “I’m sorry.”
“If I hadn’t talked her into going to the doctor and filing charges—I just wanted to get us out of that situation. My father was going to kill us both one day or my uncle would.”
“He beat you too?”
“Yes and I would provoke him, so he’d stop hitting my mother. I would have died for her, but I got her killed instead.”
Mad About Her Page 4