Just One Scandal

by Phillips, Carly

  With no news from Beck or his brothers, she pulled out her phone and texted him. Simple questions like how are you? Where are you? Want me to meet you someplace? The texts went unread and unanswered.

  She’d eaten dinner and fallen asleep on the sofa reading when she heard the sound of the front door of the apartment opening.

  “That’s it. Come on. Just a few more steps.” It sounded like Tripp talking, and Chloe moved the reader from her stomach and stood, rushing over to meet them.

  Tripp’s arm was around Beck, who leaned against his brother, as Tripp guided him inside. “Bedroom?” Tripp asked Chloe before she could speak.

  She nodded, following an obviously drunk Beck as his brother led him to his room and unceremoniously dumped him on the bed.

  Chloe frowned and rushed over, lifting his feet, allowing him to stretch out on the mattress. She pulled off his shoes and set them on the floor before turning to Tripp.

  “What happened?”

  He shrugged. “Drew and I split up. He went to the club and I hit up Club TEN29. I found him shit-faced and about to order another drink. You can see for yourself he’d have ended up on the floor.”

  She narrowed her gaze. “Where’s the club?”

  “Not far from here. We know the owners,” Tripp said, glancing at Beck, who was on his back and snoring.

  She sighed. “I’ve never seen him drunk.”

  “He doesn’t do it often. Or ever, really. A drink or two to relax and that’s it. He’s just working off his demons. He’ll be fine in the morning.” He pulled a cell from his pocket and handed it to her. “This is Beck’s. It was on the counter where he was sitting. I grabbed it on the way out.”

  She nodded, accepting the phone. “I’ll make sure he gets it in the morning. Tripp, wait. How’s your father?” She asked both for herself and for Beck, who would want to know when he sobered up.

  He slid his hands into his back pockets. “Dad’s tough. He’s doing everything the doctors and nurses tell him, and he’s determined to get out of there in a few days. They won’t know if he needs chemo until the biopsies come back, but we’re hopeful. So are the doctors. Not that my brother heard anything they said.” He gestured to Beck, jerking his thumb in his sibling’s direction.

  Chloe bit the inside of her cheek. “He hasn’t gotten over it.”

  “Whitney,” Tripp said, stiffening. “Yeah. I know. We all reacted differently, but Beck’s always been a caretaker and he took on that role with my twin. I couldn’t handle it but that’s my problem. But Beck?” He shook his head. “He needs to stop living based on the past and look to the future. I tried to tell him that tonight, but given his condition, I doubt he heard a damned thing I said.”

  “I know,” she said sadly.

  “Hey, are you sure you can take care of him? Otherwise I can stay,” he offered, but he clearly was hoping he didn’t have to. He had one foot out the door already.

  She smiled. “I’ll be fine. Besides, I owe him.”

  Tripp laughed at that. “Okay, if you need anything, give one of us a call. Got your phone?”

  She nodded. “It’s in the family room. I’ll get it for you.”

  He typed his number into her cell and left.

  Chloe leaned against the door and sighed. She didn’t know what kind of night she had ahead of her, if Beck would just sleep it off or wake up in the middle of the night. The one thing she was sure of was he wouldn’t make a fool of himself the way she had the night of her non-wedding.

  After setting the alarm, she headed back to the bedroom to take care of him.

  Chapter Eleven

  Beck’s head pounded like someone played the drums inside his skull. Groaning, he rolled over, immediately regretting the motion. What the fuck had he done last night?

  He blinked and his bedroom came into focus. “Thank God.” He wasn’t in a stranger’s bed. Given how he felt this morning and how little he remembered about the evening before, he counted himself damned lucky.

  As he lay there contemplating how he’d manage to get up for Advil and water, the events of yesterday came back to him, and he remembered his father’s surgery. He reached for the nightstand, where he always kept his phone, and the pounding in his head stopped him. “Shit.”

  “You’re up?” Chloe’s familiar voice asked.

  “Barely.” He couldn’t even open his eyes to face her, the throbbing was so bad.

  “Here. I have Advil I found in your bathroom and a glass of orange juice. Think you can sit up and take them?”

  “Yeah. I’ll manage.” He inched his head up and pushed himself up until he was leaning back against the headboard. He peeled his eyes open and met her worried gaze.

  “You didn’t move once Tripp got you onto the bed,” she said, holding out the pills and glass. “Here.”

  He realized he was still in his clothes from yesterday. A glance told him so was she. Accepting the medication, he swallowed both with the juice, drinking slowly, because his stomach was doing somersaults and he didn’t want to throw up.

  “Thanks,” he said, handing her back the glass. She placed it on a tissue on his nightstand. “How’s my father?”

  Though he’d needed time alone, getting drunk was fucking stupid because he had no idea how his dad was doing after surgery. Jesus, he was so pissed at himself.

  She swallowed hard, obviously worried about his reaction.

  “Just tell me,” he said, then, catching his angry, misdirected tone, modulated his voice. “Please.”

  “Well, I’m not sure what you processed yesterday, but despite the change in stages, they’re very optimistic. And before you say another word, everyone in your family is on board with the news they heard.” She lowered herself onto the bed and sat beside him. “Everyone hopes you’ll come to feel the same way. Your dad needs your support, not worrying about you because you’re upset about him.”

  He nodded. “I know. I was an ass.”

  She sighed. “No, you were upset and it’s understandable. Now you had your night, pull it together and go visit him,” she said.

  He grinned at her no-nonsense tone.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Our roles have reversed. You’re taking care of me.” If only he didn’t like it so much.

  She looked at him warily. “That’s what you do when you love someone, Beck.”

  He stared at her in shock, waiting for her to take back her words, but she didn’t. She stared at him, that damaging phrase dangling between them.

  “Chloe, no.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Oh? You’re going to tell me what I can and can’t feel? I have enough of that with my brothers.”

  He swallowed hard, but his mouth was dry like cotton and his lips almost stuck together. “You don’t love me, Chloe.” If he said it enough times, maybe he’d convince her. Then this panic running through his veins would disappear and they could go back to the way things had been before.

  “You can’t tell me what I feel,” she repeated, rising to her feet. Arms wrapped around herself, he saw how much he’d hurt her, but he had to make her understand.

  “Chloe, I rescued you after you were rejected by your fiancé. We had fun together. I was there to cheer you on and watch as you started to rebuild your life. But I was just the right guy at the right time to make you feel good. But that’s not love. It’s rebound.”

  She stared at him with tears in her eyes. “Good to know how you feel, Beck. You realize that even if you aren’t in love with me, if you keep pushing people away, you’re facing a pretty lonely life.” She turned and walked out, pulling the door shut behind her.

  He watched her go, his heart shredded inside his chest. Needing to remind himself why he’d just hurt her so badly, hurting himself as well, he reached over, opened the top drawer in his nightstand, and pulled out the laminated paper with his sister’s handwriting.

  His sister was gone. Her promised positive outcome had never happened. His dad had stage two cancer, not st
age one as they’d thought. Once again, the doctors had been wrong.

  He looked down at the list. Fall in love and get married. He ran his finger over the words and shook his head. No. He couldn’t let Chloe in. Couldn’t add her to the small group of people he already had wrapped in cotton in his head and prayed every day he wouldn’t lose.

  If he could just make her see that he was right, she’d still be his friend. They could still look out for each other but from a distance. And it would be good.

  Wouldn’t it?

  * * *

  Chloe closed herself in her room and didn’t come out until the next morning. She ate a protein bar from her purse for breakfast and used the time to pack everything she’d bought since she moved in. Thank God she’d bought suitcases in preparation for when she left. Her heart was breaking but she had no one to blame except herself. Beck had been one-hundred-percent honest from day one. Falling for him was on her.

  Saying I love you to him had been a mistake, but she wasn’t going to apologize for her feelings or, worse, deny them once they were out there. He was too afraid of losing people to see the truth in front of him. He might not have wanted a relationship but they’d had one. Did he love her? That she didn’t know. But he had no right to tell her she didn’t love him or make light of her feelings.

  “Rebound, my ass,” she muttered, zipping up her cosmetics case and finishing up her packing.

  The last thing she wanted to do was leave Beck and the loft that had become her safe haven. She didn’t want to move in with Jordan and Linc, but she needed to be in the city, not an hour away at her mother’s. So she called Xander, and he’d willingly agreed to let her stay at his apartment uptown. As was typical, Xander was out at the Hamptons house anyway. Still, he promised to meet her at his apartment around ten with a spare key.

  She’d called Linc and asked him to do his due diligence on the condo that interested her, but until she had a place of her own, she’d be at Xander’s.

  She waited until Beck left for work before coming out of her room. His steps had echoed down the hall, and the beep of him unsetting the alarm sounded throughout the apartment.

  Once she was alone, she called for an Uber and headed uptown. At least it was just Xander she’d be dealing with and not Linc. She’d just gotten her oldest brother to ease up on Beck, and when he found out about the end of their friendship/relationship/whatever the hell it had been, he’d lose the restraint he’d promised. Chloe wished she didn’t have to leave, but she had too much pride to stay.

  She’d held herself together all last night and this morning. She was okay while her bags were loaded into the trunk of the car and as she climbed into the back seat. But as soon as she shut the door behind her, the tears began to fall.

  * * *

  Chloe met Xander at his apartment. Without asking questions, he told her to make herself comfortable and helped her drag her bags into the spare bedroom. It had closet space, and she didn’t want to take over her brother’s master bedroom in case he wanted to stay over. He’d left her alone to unpack, and eventually she heard voices in the outer rooms.

  She stepped into the hall and headed to the living room, where, sure enough, she found Linc and Jordan with him. “Really?” she asked Xander.

  He shrugged. “Linc happened to call while I was on my way to the city.”

  “So you just had to tell him.” She glanced at her oldest sibling. “Did you come to gloat? To say I told you so?”

  Linc’s compassionate gaze met hers, and she was taken off guard by the kindness in his eyes. “I never wanted you to get hurt.”

  She blinked back the tears that threatened to fall again. “Well, it’s not like Beck didn’t warn me, you know? He said he didn’t do relationships, had no intention of falling in love, and would never marry. He was pretty specific, so I have only myself to blame for letting myself fall for him.”

  “I’m not sure you can control who you fall in love with,” Jordan said softly, glancing up at Linc.

  He nodded, his expression grim.

  “But you can go into things with your eyes open and still have the rug ripped out from under you,” Xander muttered.

  Sasha Keaton, Chloe thought. The famous actress who graced every red carpet, fashion magazine, and social media outlet these days. She and Xander had met before she’d become the It girl, and her brother had fallen hard and fast.

  But Sasha had been younger than him and eager for stardom, and though Xander was in love with her, she’d broken his heart. Despite being a former marine with a tough exterior, Xander had a soft inside, and despite the trying to make it work, her ambition and the transient lifestyle had been too much. The breakup had gutted him. Years had passed and he hadn’t been serious about any woman since.

  Unfortunately her brother’s words made a lot of sense. “I know what you mean,” Chloe said. “I can’t blame Beck just because I fell in love with him.” Her eyes filled and she swiped the moisture with the back of her hand.

  “Are you sure it was love?” Linc asked. “I mean, you were getting married to someone else a couple of weeks ago. Maybe it’s just–”

  “Don’t you dare say rebound,” Chloe said, stepping into her brother’s personal space. “I may have had my head in the sand about Owen, I admit that, but I spent time figuring out that I only wanted to marry him because I thought he’d be a safe choice. A man who wouldn’t cheat like Dad did.” She couldn’t contain the snort that escaped. “Clearly I was wrong about that. Just like I was wrong in trying to keep my life choices risk free.”

  She glanced up at her family, who stared at her and just listened, something she appreciated. “Since Owen dumped me on my wedding day, I’ve done my best to understand myself and my choices and decide what I want for the future. And Beck was there, helping and encouraging me every step of the way. I know exactly what I feel for him, and I know that it’s real. He just doesn’t return my feelings.”

  “He told you that?” Linc asked.

  She sniffed and nodded.

  “Did he say he didn’t love you?” he pushed.

  She shook her head. “He said he won’t ever fall in love or get married. He’s afraid of losing someone the way he lost his sister, and that’s not something I can change. Now instead of revisiting my humiliation, I think I’m going to take a walk.”

  “Want company?” Xander asked.

  She glanced at him, surprised. He didn’t like the city streets, the noise, or the clusters of people. “Sure. That would be great.” With Xander, she could walk in silence and think. Her brother wasn’t the type to talk for the sake of filling the silence.

  She turned to Linc and Jordan. “Thank you for coming over. Just give me some time, okay?” She needed to lick her wounds in private, and though Linc never meant to push, that was his nature.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t see you were unhappy with your job and that I didn’t give you what you needed creatively.” Linc pulled her into a hug. “I owe Beck something for encouraging you. But I’d like to kill him for hurting you.”

  She laughed. “Let’s go back to you two keeping a respectful distance. I think that suits everyone much better than any interaction between you.”

  “Sure.” He stepped back and took Jordan’s hand. “Ready?”

  She nodded. “Call me if you want to talk,” Chloe’s soon-to-be sister-in-law said.

  “I will.”

  Chloe spent the day with her brother, but she couldn’t get Beck out of her mind.

  * * *

  Beck sat at his desk, staring at the closed door he knew wouldn’t be opening so Chloe could pop her head in. He’d left her at the apartment this morning, walking out early so they could avoid an awkward morning. He wasn’t sure why he thought going home tonight would be any easier, but oh, well. He’d just have to face her then.

  They’d go back to being roommates and friends, if they could get past the uncomfortable fact that they’d slept together and she’d admitted to having feelings for him he
just could not handle.

  He groaned and buried himself in work, calls, meetings, anything he could do not to think. By three p.m., he headed over to the hospital to see his father in person. He’d already checked in this morning and midday. Despite normal post-operative pain and issues, his dad seemed to be in an upbeat mood and was trying to recuperate fast by doing everything the doctors instructed. He wanted out of the hospital ASAP. Not that Beck blamed him.

  Not wanting to tire his father out, Beck didn’t stay long, but the doctors said he was supposed to go home Monday if he had a restful weekend with no issues. And they should have biopsy results by the end of next week. He pushed that thought away and headed home.

  Braced for a discussion of some kind, he entered the loft, which seemed strangely quiet. The lights inside were off, which was unusual considering Chloe tended to sit in the big family room with the lamps on so she could read.

  Hoping like hell she hadn’t retreated to her room, he put his phone on the credenza and walked down the hall. Her door was open but her lights were also off.

  His gut churning, he looked inside. The room was empty. Devoid of the perfume she kept on the dresser, the bottle of water on the nightstand, and other odds and ends he’d gotten used to seeing there. He stepped into what he’d come to think of as Chloe’s room and opened each dresser drawer, finding one after the other empty. And though he knew what he’d find, he checked the closet anyway. Everything that belonged to her was gone.

  “Fuck.” He lowered himself onto the bed and ran a hand through his hair. Had he really expected her to stick around after his rejection? He’d been deluding himself all day because he hadn’t wanted to consider the possibility that she’d move out without a word.

  The hell of it was, he couldn’t blame her.

  His cell rang, and he walked out of the empty bedroom and headed to the entryway, where he’d left the phone. A number he didn’t recognize flashed on the screen, and though he’d normally ignore it, something told him to answer.