“Okay, I know when I’m not wanted. You have fun.”
Chloe walked him to the door and she smiled up at him.
“Drive safely,” she said as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.
Chloe couldn’t help but sigh as she bolted the door behind him.
“It’s like that, is it?” Marissa asked from across the room.
“Like what?”
“You know, all lovey dovey, gooey eyes,” she said.
Chloe was silent. She didn’t know what to say. She and Marissa had become friends, but she had never had a friend she could discuss these things with. She wanted to, but it felt odd.
Marissa handed her a glass of wine. “Here you go, loosen up. I’m just teasing. He’s liked you for ages and he is turning his life upside down for you, oh yeah, and he’s cute. You’d be mad not to be at least a little bit attracted to him.”
“He is cute.”
Marissa raised her glass. “To cute guys.”
“You dated him . . .”
Marissa raised her hand. “Correction. I went to his resort for a weekend and let him spoil me rotten. I was in love with Mike, and he and I, we didn’t have chemistry, not like you two.”
“So tell me about the resort. Is it nice?”
“It’s beyond nice. It’s amazing. You should go. In fact, you definitely should. Next week you should shut up for a day or two and go see how he lives.”
Chloe bit her lip. She probably should but she was nervous.
“I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like a place I’d fit in.”
Marissa brought out some dip and chips and put them on the coffee table. “I know. It is kind of scary that he has so much money, but he’s the same easygoing guy there as he is here.”
“I can’t ski,” she confessed.
“They have lessons. Anyway, there’s tons of other stuff to do there. If you like him, you should go. That’s his life. He’s seen yours, so you should see his.”
She was right but the truth was she was scared that he would take one look at her there and really see how ridiculous his attraction for her was. Maybe not in the short-term but long-term this was not a thing that could work. Their worlds were too different.
“Maybe.”
“So tell me, how is it having him live there with you? That must be a little odd.”
“You have no idea. The only men I’ve ever shared a house with were my father and brothers and I barely even saw their long johns.”
“They wore long johns in Texas?”
“They did. And Moose, I mean Tom, seems to be half naked half the time,” she announced.
“Really?”
“Yeah, he works out a lot, and he didn’t exactly pack for the trip. Plus, I think he just likes taking his shirt off.”
She let out a laugh. “Some men do. At least he would look pretty decent with his off.”
“Or indecent,” she said, fanning herself. “I don’t have much comparison, but he sure is fine.”
Marissa laughed. “That’s good. And how do you feel about him? You know, when he has his shirt on?”
Chloe swiped some dip and considered her answer. “Confused, I guess. I like him and I’m definitely attracted to him, which is new for me, but I hardly know him and he seems almost too good to be true.”
“Do you want my opinion?”
“Absolutely, I’m floundering.”
“I think he’s one of the good guys. I don’t think he has an agenda, well, he does, he likes you and wants to be with you and the way he looks at you can melt all the ice cream in your parlor, but I don’t think there’s anything more to it than that.”
“But that’s a lot,” she said, her voice rising in exasperation.
“Yeah, but it’s a whole lot of good. The wealthy, hot guy likes you, Chloe. That’s not a bad thing.”
No, but it was a truly terrifying thing.
A few hours later and a few glasses of wine in, Marissa had her convinced that this was the start of a fairy tale that was sure to have a happy ending. She couldn’t help but want to believe it. After all, hadn’t she left everything behind in order to find a better life? Hadn’t she been through an awful lot these past few years trying to break free of her past so she’d be ready for something wonderful if it came along?
She’d studied up watching television shows so this time she’d know a decent guy when he came along. She’d kept to herself so she wouldn’t make any more catastrophic decisions. Didn’t she deserve good things to happen to her?
Moose had been driving about an hour into his journey when he became aware something was wrong with the truck. He wasn’t a gambling man, but if he was, he’d have bet some serious money that Viper was part of the problem. His truck was spluttering. It was a brand-new, top-of-the-line vehicle that had been checked a week earlier. It wasn’t a vehicle prone to spluttering.
He cursed and pulled over. He didn’t have time for this crap.
This Viper creep was really starting to piss him off. He checked his watch and it was seven thirty. The first call he made was to get the car towed. The second call he made was to Dave at the police department.
“I don’t know for a fact it’s him,” he had to concede. “I’m just not a big believer in coincidences.”
“Yeah, me either and having read his rap sheet, I’d say it fits his M.O. He probably would have slashed your tires but that would have been too obvious.”
“Yeah, and I wouldn’t have left town. Plus, this is a much more expensive fix by the sounds of it.” Not that he cared about the money. That was something he had over Viper.
“I’m going to get in my car and go sit outside the apartment building. We’ll have eyes on that building,” Dave assured him.
The next call was to a friend who lived in a town about an hour north of where he was. By eight thirty, he was back on the road in his friend’s spare truck. He’d comp him a week’s skiing at the resort and his wife would be one happy woman. At least someone would be happy. Moose himself was anything but.
When he finally pulled into the resort, he put a call in to Chloe.
“Hey, you took your time. I was worried.” Her voice was soft and a little bit slurred.
“Having fun?” He decided to avoid the question. Why ruin her night?
“Uh huh. It’s nice to have friends,” she said as if this was a new concept for her.
“It sure is, honey. I’ll be back tomorrow. Meanwhile, let your friends help you, okay?”
“Sure thing.”
He wanted to tell her to be extra careful, but the truth was she was already scared and it was better if she didn’t know about the truck for now.
Tom crossed the foyer and went straight for the bar. If ever he’d needed a beer it was now.
He had four or five hours work ahead of him but he was buzzing with energy. One beer wouldn’t make a difference.
Chapter 10
Chloe woke up a little disoriented and more than a little hungover. Bright light shone through a window and she was on a pullout couch, but where? She blinked a couple of times and took a moment to orient herself. That’s right, she was at Marissa’s place. She lay back on the pillows and that did not help. She propped herself up and noticed someone, maybe her, had left water and headache pills by the bed. Whoever did it she thanked them. She couldn’t hear any movement, so she assumed her friend was still asleep.
It was nice to have a friend, even if she did ply you full of alcohol and false hope. Still, the whole evening hadn’t been about her. They’d also tossed around ideas for her wedding to Mike. They were engaged but hadn’t really started making wedding plans yet. It was fun to flick through magazines and look at options.
Chloe had never been to a wedding that didn’t take place in the community church. There the women wore white dresses and veils, but the dresses were not really any more elaborate than their regular day dresses. And yes, everyone celebrated with a barn dance, but it wasn’t quite like a wedding out in the real w
orld. No bridesmaids, no flower girls, no elaborate ceremonies. She’d never grown up imagining a Cinderella-style fairy tale as a result. Looking through the magazines, she couldn’t help but put herself in place of the brides and of course there was only one face she imagined standing at the end of the aisle.
Here in the cold light of day she knew how crazy that was. She could enjoy this relationship, if that’s what it was, with Moose for now, but she needed to stay in the now. Yes, he had kissed her and made her toes curl. Yes, she did dream about his smile, his deep voice, and the way he made her feel. Yes, it was his face that kept appearing in her dreams but that did not mean wedding dresses and happily ever after.
“You know better,” she muttered to herself before heading to the kitchen and turning on the coffee.
She liked Marissa’s apartment. Unlike her own place, which was really still very much her uncle’s, this place had stamps of the owner everywhere. Tom was right. If she planned to stay in town and live in that house, she did need to put her own stamp on it.
Still, a big “if” hung over that decision. What was going to happen with Viper? She didn’t believe for a minute he was gone. He wasn’t going to give up that easy. No one knew that she’d gone to the prison to tell him she hoped he would come out a better man. No one heard the threats he’d whispered down the phone that provided communication between the prisoners and visitors. Only she knew how angry he was and how much he blamed her for his incarceration. He hadn’t come all the way here to give up easily. He wanted her to pay.
She walked to the window and saw the police car parked in the parking lot outside. She realized they had probably been there all night. She wanted to take them coffee, but she knew she couldn’t go out there alone. Tom was right. The people in this town did care about her.
Her worry was that her presence was going to end up hurting someone she’d come to care about.
Chloe was still considering that when Marissa came out a while later. She didn’t look quite as bleary-eyed as Chloe felt.
“Good morning.”
“You don’t have a hangover?” Chloe asked.
“Nah, I think I’m a little more used to alcohol than you are, sweetie. Plus, you know when you’re already tired and emotional those things affect you more.”
One more area she wasn’t quite on par with everyone else. “I started the coffee.”
“Thanks. That’s one thing I miss now that my folks are gone. My dad was always up at the crack of dawn, so I woke to fresh coffee. Mike keeps assuring me I could just set the timer but, I don’t know, seems weird to replace my father with an appliance.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t think that’s exactly what you’d be doing.”
“I know, I’m ridiculous,” she said, shrugging and pouring herself a large mug.
“I think we had a police guard all night,” she said.
“Really?” Marissa peered into the carpark below. “Wow. I feel special. I wonder why? I saw Dave and he didn’t seem to indicate they’d be doing that.”
“Something changed?” she asked, her voice a whisper.
“Well, no one called so I guess whatever it was must have been minor. Maybe they were bored,” Marissa said, obviously trying to ease her nerves.
“Have you ever been so bored you’ve wanted to sit in a car on a snowy night?”
“Not really, but men are weird.”
“Nice try. Maybe I’ll call Tom.”
“Listen, everyone is fine or we’d have heard differently. Let’s get dressed and I’ll drop you at work.”
“I feel like the whole town is my babysitter.”
“Small-town life is pretty much like this anyway. Everyone is always in your business.”
An hour later, she was in the ice-cream parlor and the place was busy. She was going to need more staff. Word of the Wi-Fi seemed to be met with similar excitement as word of the coffee machine. She heard the bike over the buzz of the cafe and she had a feeling Viper intended to make an appearance.
She was scared to face him alone. She carried a coffee to Todd who was sitting in the back booth working on his laptop eyes on the door.
“You’re not alone, Chloe,” he said.
“Can you read minds?” she asked.
“You’ve seen me play poker, if I could read minds we both know I’d win more often than I do.”
She let out a laugh just as the door opened and the man in question came in. There was only one spare seat in the place, up at the counter, and he took it. He was wedged between Jim from the hardware store and a young college student.
She decided to treat him like a normal customer and serve him as such.
“Coffee?”
“Sure. No cream.”
She knew he wouldn’t want a fancy cappuccino. He wasn’t that guy. She poured him a regular. “Anything else?”
“You know what I want.”
“A sundae?”
His voice was a low rumble. “Don’t get smart with me.”
The college student shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
Todd came around behind the counter. “You make the coffee. I’ll serve.”
“You work here?” he asked.
“Today I do. Regular guy couldn’t make it in. You want a muffin or anything?”
She moved away to make the next vanilla latte.
A few minutes later, she saw the police cruiser go past and so did Viper. He was up and out like lightning. Of course he didn’t pay, which the college guy was quick to point out.
“Don’t worry about it, buddy,” Todd said. “Not your problem.”
Chloe had to smile. The kid was worried about a cup of coffee when there were so many bigger issues to deal with here.
When Dave came in a few minutes later, it was clear Viper had eluded them.
“Sorry, he’s slippery that one.” Chloe felt that was an apt description.
“That’s okay. I appreciate your efforts. Was that you watching guard last night?”
“It was.”
“Well then, let me get you a large coffee. I don’t understand why, though.”
“Tom had some car trouble.” She felt he body go cold. “He was fine but thought that Kevin might have played a hand.”
“He didn’t tell me,” she whispered.
“Nothing too major but we thought we’d be extra careful.”
Tom couldn’t wait to get back to Chloe. He’d spoken to her and she was fine, though a little upset he hadn’t told her about the truck. There had been no point and he really had believed what she needed was a night off of worrying about the craziness of her life. Still, he understood her concern. She felt like she was putting people in danger and this had confirmed it.
He pulled up in front of Two Scoops, a little tired and carrying a large bunch of pink roses. Pink roses that he’d seen and had to get for her.
When he swung the door open, what he didn’t expect to see were his parents, Felicia and Don, sitting in a booth talking to Chloe.
“Mom? Dad?”
“Hi, darling,” his mother replied. “Surprise!”
“I’ll say.”
“Yes, kind of like the surprise we got when our friends the Winchesters said they saw in the local paper that you were engaged,” his father said pointedly.
“Naturally, we hopped the first plane to meet the girl of your dreams, Tom,” his mother said sweetly.
Naturally. He really had misjudged this. He should have known this wasn’t a secret he could keep. In fact, the minute the photo was taken for the paper he should have contacted his parents, but his feelings for Chloe and the situation had clouded his judgment.
“I see.”
His eyes found Chloe. Her eyebrows were raised as if to say, “really.”
“Well, have you been here long?”
“Only an hour or so.”
Oh boy, his parents were a force of nature and he wondered how poor Chloe had survived. Then he remembered they were in a crowded space and mo
st of the town was still watching.
“These are for you.” He handed Chloe the flowers and kissed her cheek. Before whispering in her ear, “Sorry.”
“You really shouldn’t have, but I’m so glad you are back.”
“Well, it’s been so lovely to meet your charming fiancée,” his mother said. Her smile unwavering. “What a beautiful creature she is.”
Creature? Really? “I was going to introduce you when you got back from Mexico.”
“Well, we’re back now,” his father said. “And we’ve already met.”
“Do you want a coffee after that long drive, Tom?” Chloe asked him, her voice even.
“That would be great,” he said as she beat a hasty retreat back behind the counter, flowers in hand.
He slid into the booth with his parents.
“So engaged, huh?” his father said.
“Yes, it’s a long story, probably best not told here,” he said, giving his father a stern look.
“I’m just interested in why you didn’t tell us,” his mother said, squeezing his hand. “I know we’ve been telling you we wanted to see you settled and pushing you toward girls that obviously you weren’t interested in. I’m sorry if we put too much pressure on you, honey. I’d hate to think you felt you couldn’t talk to us.”
“It was nothing like that, Mom,” he said.
Her voice became little more than a whisper. “I hope you didn’t think we’d be disapproving of the girl herself.”
He shook his head. He actually hadn’t given any thought to what his parents would think of Chloe, though he knew she had. He was well aware that his wealthy background was intimidating to her but he had never thought of that as an issue, and to be honest, he had assumed it wouldn’t be for his parents either, even though he was sure they knew almost nothing of her background. “I expected you would trust my judgment.”
Chloe returned with his coffee.
“Sit a minute, dear,” his mother said.
“I really can’t, I’m sorry. It’s been so busy here since Tom organized that coffee machine and Wi-Fi.”
His father gave an approving nod. “You got to run your business, girl. If anyone understands that it’s us.”
Any Way You Want It : An Upper Crust Series Novel (The Upper Crust Series Book 5) Page 8