by Debbie Mason
Chance smothered a laugh with a cough.
Easton scowled at him, then said, “I didn’t buy her a gun, you did.”
“I know, but…Excuse me, I better get that,” she said when her cell phone rang.
His brother widened his eyes, nudging his head at Chloe a couple of times.
Right. He was supposed to keep her away from her phone. “Chloe, there’s something I need—”
She raised a finger as she rushed to the kitchen table. “This won’t take long,” she said and picked up her phone. “Hello, Linda. I was going to touch base with you about the launch tomorrow. Can you believe it’s only a month away? I’m so excited. Do you have a line-up of my inter…Pardon me? No, I’m fine. Why do you ask? I-I don’t understand what you’re talking about.” She took the phone from her ear and looked at the screen. Her eyes rolled back in her head.
Chapter Eight
Easton didn’t react fast enough. Typically, when Chloe fake-fainted, she crumpled to the floor in slow motion. The woman had the graceful swoon down to a science. Anytime something didn’t go Chloe’s way or she’d done something she shouldn’t have, down she’d go. His bad knee hit the floor as he dove for her, reaching her in time to save her from cracking the back of her head on the coffee table, but he wasn’t fast enough to save her ass from meeting the floor with a resounding thud. His bent leg at her back, he cradled her against his chest. “Chloe.” He gently patted her cheek.
His brother held up her phone. “It’s the photo Nell took. Whoever was on the line disconnected. She all right?”
Chloe’s eyelids fluttered, a soft moan escaping her parted lips.
He nodded at his brother while keeping his focus on Chloe. “You’re okay. You just fainted.”
Her eyes blinked open, and she stared up at him for a couple beats, then blinked again. “What do you mean just fainted? No one just faints,” she asked in a breathy but slightly ticked-off whisper.
He preferred ticked-off to the emotion now darkening her green eyes.
She rubbed her chest, a terrified expression coming over her pale face. “No. Heart. Must. Have. Stopped.” She gasped between each word as she struggled to breathe.
“E, maybe we should call Dad.”
“I’m dying, aren’t I?”
Easton swore under his breath, then cupped her chin in his hand. “Look at me, Chloe. You’re not dying. You’re fine.”
“I-I lost consciousness, and my heart is racing.” She removed his hand from her chin and pressed his palm to her chest.
Her skin was soft and warm beneath his fingers and reminded him of the last time he’d touched her there. Only then his hand had dipped below her dress to…
“See?”
He cast her a sharp glance, worried she’d sensed the direction of his thoughts. But all he saw in those long-lashed eyes was fear. And while the emotion may have been unwarranted, he knew it was real. There was no way she could fake the tremors causing her delicate frame to shake in his arms or the faint sheen of perspiration on her pale face. So all this time they’d thought she was just an overemotional drama queen, her Scarlett O’Hara act as her sister called it, hadn’t been an act at all. She truly believed she was having a heart attack.
He slid his hand out from under hers and reached up to stroke her face. “I know you’re scared, but it’ll be over soon. I won’t let anything happen to you. You’re going to be okay. Just try and relax and take deep breaths.”
“No, you don’t understand. I can’t breathe, and I have no”—she gasped for air—“feeling in my hands.”
That’s the thing—he did understand. The first few weeks after returning from Afghanistan, he’d suffered from panic attacks, too. Chance had witnessed one and had talked to him about it. But obviously, because Chloe was admittedly high-strung, no one recognized her symptoms for what they were. It made him angry to think she’d been dealing with this for years on her own. Angry at himself for not recognizing the signs. And worse, making fun of her along with everyone else.
“E, your leg,” his brother said, crouching to take Chloe from him.
Easton didn’t want to let her go, but the searing pain in his calf was getting harder to ignore. He grabbed the edge of the coffee table, unable to hold back a groan of pain as he pulled himself up.
Chloe drew away from his brother, twisting to face him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
He was about to tell her he was fine, but realized the best thing for her was to do something. She needed to get out of her head. He rubbed his leg. “Would you mind getting me an ice pack?”
“Me?” she asked, glancing from Chance back to him.
Easton groaned again and rubbed his leg. “Yeah, if it’s not too much trouble.”
His brother looked at him like he was being an ass, then seemed to understand what he was trying to do and helped Chloe to her feet. She took a moment to steady herself, then walked to the refrigerator with Chance following close behind.
“Well, little brother, it doesn’t look like you’ll have to buy food for the next six months. What all do you have in here, Chloe?” His brother began pulling containers out of the freezer and putting them on the table.
Chloe frowned. “What are you doing?”
“Thought I’d bring a couple home. Vivi loves Hailey’s lasagna.” He leaned around her and opened the fridge. “Hey, nice-looking roast.”
“You can have it.” She took out the roast and pushed the slab of beef into his brother’s hands, then retrieved a container from the table. “But I’m keeping one of the lasagnas for us.”
“What are you doing, giving away my dinner?” Easton teased, relieved to see her looking and acting more like herself.
She sighed. “Easton, I was too busy transforming your home to think about cooking a roast.”
His mouth twitched, and over her head, his brother grinned. “You’re right,” Easton said. “After all the work you did today, I don’t expect you to cook for me. Did I tell you how much I love what you did to the place? Because I—”
Her eyes widened, and she dropped the container on the floor, letting loose a high-pitched shriek. “My phone! Easton, where’s my phone?” She put her hands on her head, tugging at her hair as her panicked gaze darted around the room. “I have to call Linda back. Call…I need to do something!”
He’d wondered how long it would take for her to remember the reason she fainted. Easton pushed himself off the coffee table and limped toward her. “What you have to do is settle down. Sit.” He pointed to a chair.
“No, I can’t sit.” She gave her head a frantic shake. “You don’t understand. There’s a picture of me. Oh, my goodness, I have never looked so hideous. Why would anyone do that to me? I’m ruined.” She sank onto the chair he held out for her. “They won’t release my perfume now. I’ve spent over a year on the campaign. I worked with the best nose in the United States to get the perfect scent and…” She buried her face in her hands and started to cry.
Chance gave his head a slight bewildered shake as he went to clean up the mess on the newly laid laminate floor.
“Come on, you’re overreacting. The picture isn’t that bad,” Easton said.
She lifted her head, swiping at her eyes. “You saw it?”
He pulled out a chair and sat down. “Yeah, I did. And your brother’s already on it and so is Estelle.”
“I don’t understand. When did this happen and why didn’t someone tell me?”
“A couple of hours ago. And we didn’t tell you because we knew how you’d react,” he said with a pointed look.
She blinked back fresh tears. “Oh, yes, because heaven forbid Chloe might get a little upset that someone decided to take a photo of her looking like a drowned…” Her eyes widened, and she slapped the table. “Nell. Nell took that photo of me, didn’t she? That vindictive old woman has always blamed me for breaking up you and Cat. She would do anything to destroy me.” She gave a bitter laugh. “Well, bravo, Nell. You succ
eeded.”
“Are you done now?” Easton asked through clenched teeth, his earlier sympathy evaporating.
“My career or me, Easton? I’m hardly done, but my career and life are over. Over!” She threw out her arms dramatically.
“It’s one picture, Chloe. No one is going to believe you were trying to drown yourself.”
Her gaze shot to him. “Drown myself? I don’t understand—”
“Forget about it.” He scrubbed his hand over his face.
“No, I want to know what you meant about me drowning myself.”
She’d find out anyway. Might as well get it over with. “The headline read ‘Distraught over being fired from As the Sun Sets, America’s Sweetheart tries to drown herself.’”
She flapped her hands in front of her face. “Oh, no. Oh, no.”
His brother sat back on his heels. “Look, Chloe, Nell got carried away, but she had no idea the photo was going to get picked up on the wire. Vivi took it down as soon as she realized it was online.”
“I’m suing! I’m calling my lawyer and suing.”
Chance came to his feet with a look on his face that Easton imagined had scared guys a lot bigger and badder than Chloe. She lifted her chin. “Don’t try and intimidate me, Chance McBride. I have no choice in the matter. If I don’t sue, people will believe that it’s true.”
His brother looked like he wanted to strangle her, and Easton wasn’t far behind. “Chance, go home. Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle this.”
“You better,” he growled and stomped out the door with the roast and two containers of lasagna under his arm.
Chloe crossed her arms. “Where’s my phone?”
“I’m not giving it to you until we’ve settled this.” He raked his hand through his hair. “Chloe, a few days from now, no one is going to remember that photo. But here, in town, and in this family, if you sue Vivi and Nell, no one will forgive you or forget.”
Her chin quivered. “It’s not fair. How come I end up being the bad guy when I’m the victim?”
“’Cause, Scarlett, if you sue a seventy-something woman and your stepbrother’s pregnant wife, you kinda are the bad guy.” He leaned forward and took her hand. “I get it, okay. Nell shouldn’t have put the picture online, and I’m going to talk to her about it. Dad and Liz already went to speak to her. But Vivi doesn’t deserve to be hurt because of this. She took the photo down right away, and believe me, she’ll be kicking Nell’s ass, too.”
“But if I don’t do something…You don’t understand what this will do to my career. The woman I was on the phone with said they no longer feel I’m a suitable representative for my perfume. It’s my perfume, Easton.”
“Seems to me, if you’re going to sue anyone, it should be them. They shouldn’t be able to fire you over this.”
“I’ve worked so hard, and in less than a week I’ve lost everything. No one wants to hire me. And now with that photo and headline out there…”
He gently tugged on her hand to get her to look at him. This wasn’t exactly the best time to come clean, but he didn’t want to put it off any longer. Especially if she was worried about money. “You shouldn’t have spent what you did on this place, Chloe. I’ll—”
“Money’s not an issue for me. I don’t have to work. But I love what I do, and it’s all I have. It really is my life.” She looked away.
“I didn’t realize soap stars made that much.”
She shrugged. “We’re well paid, or at least I was. And I’ve done several commercials that were lucrative. But the bulk of my fortune comes from the investments I made with the inheritance Daddy left me.”
“Guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You always were smart.”
“Yes, I am. And that’s why I have to initiate a lawsuit against the Chronicle and Nell. I’ll tell my lawyer to—”
He stared at her, shocked and disappointed she still planned on going ahead with the lawsuit. Dropping her hand, he pushed off the chair. “There’s a reason why all you have is your money, Chloe.”
* * *
Chloe flinched as much from the slamming of the door as Easton’s parting shot. He was being unfair. He had no idea what it was like to live in the entertainment industry’s fishbowl. Sometimes she wished she didn’t. It was soul-sucking and exhausting. But if he just would have let her finish instead of storming off, he’d realize the lawsuit was a public relations ploy. She had no intention of taking Vivi and Nell to court, although Nell totally deserved it if she did. In the end, Chloe would accept an apology, but she had to go through the motions.
She got up from the chair, about to search for her cell phone, when she heard Estelle’s ringtone. Following the sound, she found her phone tucked between the pillows on the couch. She sank down on the blue sectional, taking a moment to prepare herself before picking up. If she didn’t want a repeat of earlier, she had to remain calm.
She’d barely gotten out hello when Estelle started ranting about Nell. Although her manager undoubtedly had Chloe’s best interests at heart, she couldn’t help but think Estelle’s adversarial relationship with Nell was behind the older woman’s suggestion that they take Easton’s great-aunt down. And as Estelle plotted their legal revenge, a sinking feeling came over Chloe. Easton was right. If she went through with it, everyone would hate her. But she couldn’t allow her reputation to suffer. She had to think of a way…
“Estelle…Estelle”—she raised her voice to cut off her manager—“we’re not going to sue. No, I haven’t been drinking.” Although that wasn’t a bad idea. As she explained to Estelle why she couldn’t go through with the lawsuit, Chloe got up from the couch and walked to the refrigerator. She took out a lovely bottle of Sauvignon Blanc that she’d ordered for her and Easton’s celebratory toast this evening. Obviously, that wasn’t going to happen now. Despite everything she’d done for him, they were back to being frenemies.
With the phone tucked between her shoulder and ear, Chloe unscrewed the cap and filled the wine goblet to the brim. “I know it isn’t fair, Estelle, but that’s the way it’s always been. No one in this town has ever taken my side. You’re right, I probably shouldn’t care what they think of me. I really wish I didn’t, but I do. So here’s how we’re going to deal with this: we’ll say it was Cat in the pool, not me. Well, if she won’t make a statement…No. What am I’m saying? Of course she will.” Chloe sipped on her wine as she walked into the bedroom. She was about to stretch out on the bed when she happened to glance out the window. Easton was in the hot tub. His head was tipped back, his muscular arms stretched out and resting on the ledge, his naked, tanned chest on mouth-watering display.
“Yes, I’m still here.” She dragged her gaze from the tempting view. She couldn’t afford to be distracted right now, and Easton was very distracting.
As the conversation turned to how they’d deal with Linda and the launch of her perfume, Chloe’s pulse kicked up. Estelle thought they’d been looking for an out since Chloe had been killed off As the Sun Sets. An extra-large gulp of wine did nothing to calm her now-racing heart. She found herself craving the feel of Easton’s powerful arms around her, his strong fingers gently caressing her face. He hadn’t told her the attack was all in her head or that she was being dramatic. He’d said exactly what she needed to hear—he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. And she believed him.
“No, don’t bother getting in touch with Linda, Estelle. I think it’s best if we let the lawyers handle this from here on in. The plan? Oh, right, sorry, I don’t know where my head is at.” Only she did, and drained the glass of wine. “Yes, I thought the poem and gun were an inspired idea, too.”
Until she’d heard that Cat had kissed Easton and an anxious knot had formed in the pit of her stomach. If she wasn’t such a good actress, she probably would have given herself away. She didn’t know what was behind her mixed emotions. Maybe spending more time with Easton had reminded her why she’d fallen in love with him all those years ago. Just like he’d proven earlie
r, he was her white knight. Easton was that guy, the one who rode to the rescue of a damsel in distress.
But Cat…she’d never be a damsel in distress. Preoccupied with the thought, Chloe missed what Estelle had just said. When she tuned back into the conversation, her head jerked up. “No! Sorry, I didn’t mean to shout, Estelle. I just don’t think giving Cat’s phone to Grayson to show him the poem is a good idea right now.” Because Chloe was second-guessing her win-Cat-back plan. Which wasn’t something she could tell Estelle. Chloe racked her wine-soaked brain for a plausible excuse. “It’s too soon to show our hand. We have to be patient. If Grayson and Cat guess what you’re up to now, they’ll kick you out of the house. Yes, of course I meant what we’re up to. I’ve had a stressful day, Estelle. So if you don’t mind, I’ll talk to you in the morning.”
Chloe disconnected and chewed on her thumbnail. She was so confused. Maybe if she talked to Easton…Yes, that’s exactly what she’d do. Before she lost her nerve, she stripped down to her pink lace bra and panties. She pulled one of Easton’s white T-shirts from the drawer and put it on. Once she’d piled her hair on top of her head, fastening it in place with a clip, she headed for the hot tub.
The warm night air carried the familiar smells of spring. The sweet aroma of cut grass, newly budded leaves, and the earthy scent of the ground heated by the sun, reminded her of her years growing up in Christmas before the magic was stolen. Overhead, it looked like a magician had waved his wand and sprinkled the night sky with fairy dust as the moon smiled down over the mountains. Her view from her beach house was spectacular, too, but there was something about the Rockies that spoke to her soul. Something she’d forgotten until now.
As she reached the hot tub, she slipped off her heels. Easton slowly turned his head and opened one eye. Watching as she awkwardly attempted to climb in, he didn’t make a move to help. So much for her white knight theory.
Balancing on the ledge, she cautiously dipped her toe in the bubbling water and quickly pulled it out. “Oh. I didn’t expect the water to be so hot.”
