“Thank you,” he finally said, though inside he was freaking out. Davis didn’t think Chloe would steer him wrong. But really, what was she thinking ordering for another person, not knowing his preferences? What if it had mushrooms in it? He hated mushrooms. Or what if he had an allergy? She’d have no idea. The fact that he didn’t actually have any food allergies didn’t make her actions any less risky.
Davis stilled, his heart racing, warning him. Maybe that freaking-out person was the real him. Maybe he was just an obsessive person who liked to be alone.
And was meant to be alone.
But then Chloe smiled. “Tell me about Starlight Ridge.”
The panic melted away. And there was only her.
Davis looked at Chloe—really looked at her. He took in the shape of her nose—it had a slight crook in it—and the way her eyes danced as she watched him, awaiting his answer. He couldn’t help but compare her to Bridgette. They were very similar in a lot of ways. They both had a carefree style that drew him in and made him do things very unlike himself.
Davis shifted his gaze to the window. The sun was beginning to set, casting an orange hue on the river. It reminded him of home. “Starlight Ridge is beautiful. Everything, and everyone, centers around the ocean. It’s the one thing that is predictable—constant.” He pulled in a long breath and tried to smile. “Tourist season is the definition of insanity, but not many people on vacation feel the need to come to the hardware store, so as long as I stay inside, it’s not too bad. Though it does mean a lot of work for me, with all those extra people running around, breaking things.”
Chloe was quiet for a moment, and when Davis glanced back at her, he saw she was watching him, a curious look on her face. “You don’t have a high opinion of people, do you?”
“They’re chaotic and loud.” Even Davis could hear the bitterness in his voice. So much for trying to show Chloe a different person. He was who he was, and there was no changing it. He at least tried to soften his tone.
“People don’t realize how loud they speak, especially when they are in a crowd, all competing to be heard. But I’ve always been extra sensitive to it. Even as a child, when we’d go to an event or the movie theater in the next town over, I had to bring headphones. I couldn’t handle the noise. Of course, if you’re at a party and you’re wearing headphones, people think you’re being rude, that you don’t want to talk to them. My headphones only dampen the noise, I can still hear just fine, but people think I’m making that up. They don’t believe me.”
Davis’s voice shook at the end. He hadn’t meant to say so much.
Chloe leaned forward, her elbows on the table. “You didn’t wear your headphones in Chiang Mai.”
“I almost pulled them out,” Davis admitted. What he didn’t tell her was that he had put them back in his satchel at the last second, not wanting her to see him wearing them. Wearing headphones as an adult was different than when you were a child. He’d tried earplugs, and they always fell out or blocked out so much noise that he couldn’t hear anyone at all, so he’d gone back to the headphones.
Chloe seemed to have a way of understanding what he wasn’t saying out loud, and she said, “Pull them out anytime you need to.” Reaching forward, she placed a hand on his. “I’m serious. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
He nodded slowly. Chloe seemed to mean what she was saying rather than just trying to be nice.
“Okay.”
“Your mom chose well,” Chloe said, leaning back in her chair. “Chiang Rai is the perfect place for you to spend the remainder of your vacation. It’s very low key, and I think you’ll like it here. I was thinking that tomorrow we could just walk the city, take in what Thailand is without all the tourist attractions. Though I do have to warn you that there are more people here than usual. And you might want to wear that swimsuit of yours when we go out. Just in case.” Chloe nodded at his new swimsuit that sat on the table next to him.
Davis looked at her, an eyebrow raised. Why would he wear that if they were just going to be exploring the city? The thought left him just as quickly as it arrived, though, because their waiter had appeared with his food.
Chicken satay with peanut dipping sauce. Rice on the side.
His gaze snapped up and met Chloe’s. She wore a smile so big, it took up half her face.
“You have to start trusting me,” she told him. “I can tell you aren’t used to that—trusting people, I mean. But maybe you could start, if only for this week.”
As Davis ate his satay, Chloe told him about Chiang Rai and the hill tribe people she’d met the last time she’d been there, and as she spoke, he realized he could trust her. Whatever his issues, she wasn’t running in the opposite direction. Or making him feel bad about not being normal.
No one had ever made him feel this safe, other than his family.
His family.
Davis realized he hadn’t thought of them once since arriving at the hotel. He should have at least checked in so they’d know he and Chloe had arrived safely.
But there was something about Chloe that made him forget everything and everyone else.
He’d been completely lost in every moment since they’d arrived in Chiang Rai.
And he didn’t want to be found.
16
Chloe walked with Davis back up to their hotel room, more intrigued by him than she had been before. Yes, she was still attracted to him, she could admit that now, but it was something deeper. He’d allowed her in, and she’d seen a part of him that she was sure Davis liked to keep hidden. The pain of being different, of being misunderstood. Of wanting to take part but being embarrassed to do so because of the headphones. She hoped she’d never inadvertently made him feel like he’d had to suffer in silence.
Davis hesitated, not following Chloe into the room, like he didn’t trust what was beyond the threshold.
“I promise I don’t snore,” Chloe said, laughing as she grabbed her suitcase off the bed. She needed to keep things light, because the only alternative was awkward. She unzipped the suitcase and found her pajama pants, a T-shirt, and her toothbrush. It took a moment before she realized that Davis was still standing rooted to the spot, just outside the room.
“I forgot the extra blankets and pillows,” he said.
Chloe waved him off. “You don’t need them.”
“The floor will be awfully hard otherwise.”
Chloe straightened, her arms full of what she’d need for her bedtime ritual. “You are not sleeping on the floor, Davis Jones.” The words came out a little more forceful than she’d intended, but the man had just admitted that he’d spent his whole life being uncomfortable, and she wasn’t about to add tonight to that list. “You will be fine.”
“What about Travis?”
Chloe cocked an eyebrow. “What about him?”
“Will he mind?”
She frowned, the frustration of her and Travis’s silent conversation from earlier resurfacing. “What I do outside of work isn’t any of his business.”
“So…you two aren’t dating? I thought…because you said…and then when he dropped us off…”
Chloe could see where Davis had gotten that impression. She snorted. “Uh…no. I know things were weird back in Chiang Mai, but believe me that it’s none of Travis’s concern who I sleep with.” Oh gosh, that came out badly. “In a completely platonic and not weird way.”
Yeah, she wasn’t helping the situation.
Davis shuffled his feet, like he was still fighting the urge to run. “I haven’t spent the night with a woman in two years.”
Frankly, with how fidgety Davis was around her, she was shocked that he’d actually been with a woman in the past decade.
“I promise, once you see the nightguard I have to wear to keep my teeth from grinding, you won’t be the least bit worried.”
Davis laughed at that and immediately seemed more relaxed. He walked in and eased himself onto the edge of the bed. “Look, I’ve seen you drenche
d from a monsoon, covered in mud, and when you would stumble to the outhouse first thing in the morning with your hair flying in every direction—well, let’s just say that you still managed to be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. And yet you think a nightguard is going to change all that.”
Chloe stilled, her pajama pants dangling from her arms where they threatened to slip. “I didn’t realize you’d noticed.” She gave a quick shake of her head, realizing how that had sounded. “Noticed me, I mean. Not that other…stuff. But just… It always seemed you were absorbed in your own little world.”
Davis released a long sigh and rubbed a hand over his face. “I was. I am. But being here in Thailand, away from home—it’s helped. You’ve helped.”
Chloe set her things on a small breakfast table that stood against the wall and sat down next to Davis. “You don’t seem to think as fondly of your hometown as the rest of your family.”
“That’s because they always felt like they belonged. The twins were popular in school, always had people following them around. They were the cool and funny surfers who also got straight A’s. Even my parents had the town gravitating toward them with their rustic down-to-earth charm.”
Chloe was silent for a moment. When Davis didn’t continue, she asked, “And you?”
Davis blew out a long breath and lay back on the bed, his legs dangling off the edge. He stared at the ceiling. “I was the one who would rather fix things than go out with friends. Noises bothered me, chaos sent my anxiety sky high, and that is all that beach parties are—nothing but noise and chaos. It didn’t take long for everyone to realize that I wasn’t like my parents. That I was the odd one—the one it was better to keep your space from.” He fell silent again.
Chloe wanted to know more—so much more—but she could see the pain the conversation caused him, and she decided she’d let it go.
“Their loss,” she said, moving to stand.
Davis caught her hand, and she hesitated for a moment before sitting back down. He now had his head propped up on one arm, and he was studying her.
“No more questions?” he asked.
Chloe wondered for a moment if that was a trick question. Davis didn’t seem the type who willingly spilled his guts, or at least, not very often. “You really want me to ask them?”
Davis’s gaze didn’t waver as he studied her a moment more. “It’s interesting that you seem to be giving me a choice. Most people just barge in as if they know what’s best for me—like they know what can fix me.”
Chloe spun around on the bed so she sat cross-legged. “How could I possibly pretend to know what it’s like to be so sensitive to my environment that something like a rainstorm can practically immobilize me?” She paused at Davis’s surprised expression. “I noticed. The night of the monsoon. And I also noticed how you were still intent on going out in that storm, no matter how loud or painful it was. Because you care about other people. Whatever others’ impressions of you are, you are one of the most selfless people I’ve ever met.”
Chloe hadn’t actually realized all of this until she said it. But now that it was out in the open, she knew it was all true. She’d seen glimpses of the love he had for those around him. No, he didn’t engage in all of the pointless and superficial small talk that everyone else did. It made it difficult for him to connect to the people around him.
But that didn’t matter. Not to her. And she realized now why she’d never been interested in Travis, no matter how many times he tried to convince her that they’d be perfect together.
Because that was all he was. Superficial small talk. And that wasn’t something that impressed Chloe. That wasn’t the type of person she wanted to be with.
Davis sat up, his expression no longer surprised but stunned. “I’m completely insufferable. You know that, don’t you? I’ve been at odds with a woman in town for the past twenty-five years—since we were children. I don’t remember a single time we actually got along. I always said it was her fault. She’s the type who turns everything into a prank, laughs at jokes when they aren’t funny, and attempts to get people to enjoy reggae music, even when they have no desire. But she gets along with everyone else, and she doesn’t treat them any differently than she does me. Well, mostly.”
Chloe’s eyebrow quirked up as if to say, So?
“It’s me that’s the problem,” Davis said. “It always has been. I’m not the life of the party, I’m not the one who understands the inside jokes, and everything I do annoys other people.” His breaths came quickly, like it had taken a lot out of him to make those confessions. It was possible this had been the first time he’d said any of that.
And for some reason, it made Chloe like Davis even more, which made no sense whatsoever. To have someone tell you how insufferable they were shouldn’t be grounds for attraction.
She moved in closer to him. “One of the difficult parts about living in a small town, I would guess, is that because everyone has spent their entire lives around you, it makes them think that they also know you. But that doesn’t make it true. Just because they don’t understand you doesn’t mean you should believe that they are the ones who are right.”
Davis’s eyes searched hers. “You believe that. I can tell that you do. But what I don’t know is why. You met me a week ago. What makes you so sure that they’re wrong?”
Chloe placed a hand on his, not sure she could get him to believe her but hoping it was possible. Because the pain she saw went far beyond not liking reggae music. And she couldn’t stand seeing it, not in someone as good as Davis was.
“I don’t know,” she finally said. “I can just tell.” Not exactly convincing, and Davis seemed to agree.
He looked down at her hand, which still covered his. “You’re seeing what you want to see—seeing the best in me, which is one of your strengths. It’s why you do what you do, helping others selflessly day in and day out. But just like the folks in Starlight Ridge might be wrong, there’s the possibility that you are too.”
Chloe removed her hand from his and ran it through her hair. “Well, I suppose until you see the good in you, there’s no use trying to convince you.” Yes, Davis was a good guy. But he was also the type to constantly self-deprecate, and she had no patience for people who insisted in only seeing the negative. It was like they went out of their way to think poorly of themselves.
Davis must have been able to sense her frustration because he sat up and grabbed her hand again. “Hey, I’m sorry. It’s just been a long time since I’ve been able to talk to someone like this. You’re a lot like her, you know. My fiancée. Whenever I see you, whenever we talk—I can’t help but think of Bridgette.”
Chloe stilled. Afraid to push, but desperately wanting to, she tentatively asked, “You’re engaged?” Well, that would explain the anxiety around sharing a bed.
Davis’s whole body tensed. “No. Not anymore.”
“Things didn’t end well?”
He gave a single, humorless bark. “Yeah, you could say that.” Davis threw her a sideways glance. “She died. Motorcycle accident.”
His reaction in Chiang Mai to the motorcycles, and even the tuk-tuk, made perfect sense now. Davis didn’t at all seem to be the dating-a-motorcycle-chick type, but Bridgette was probably the reason for that. Good thing Chloe hadn’t told him that she owned one. Well, it was a moped, but in Davis’s eyes, she doubted there would be a difference.
“I’m so sorry,” Chloe said, squeezing his hand that rested in hers. “No one should ever have to go through something like that.”
Davis dropped his gaze. “And you know the worst part? I hadn’t told anyone we were dating, let alone engaged. Bridgette had asked me on several occasions if we could spend some time in Starlight Ridge, and I had been meaning to take her there to let her get to know my hometown and the people in it. My family. She wanted to be more a part of my life. But I thought I wasn’t ready for that yet. Didn’t want to deal with the small-town gossip, the questions…the attention.” He pa
used, rubbing his thumb over one of Chloe’s knuckles. It sent chills through her, and she had to force her attention away from Davis’s touch and focus on his words. “So, when she died, I couldn’t tell anyone that either. I had no one.”
Chloe waited a moment before responding, wondering if she even should. “What about your parents?”
Davis released a shuddered breath. “They had left for Cambodia a month earlier. How was I supposed to call and tell them that my secret fiancée had died?” He gave a quick shake of his head. “I went to the funeral alone, and then I holed up even more than I already had been.”
Chloe only had one question left, but Davis had shared enough for one evening, and she didn’t know if he could take any more.
“What?” he asked, a small smile playing on his lips. “I can tell there’s something you want to ask. Go ahead.”
“I-I just wondered what made you decide to come out to visit your family after all this time.”
It wasn’t that Chloe thought him an ungrateful son, not caring about his parents or brothers. She knew it to be the opposite. But Davis was the type to suffer in silence, and Kara—well, she was the type to not let anyone wallow in their self-pity.
Davis released Chloe’s hand. He was quiet for a moment before sending a glance her way. He held her gaze.
“I convinced myself it was because I needed a break from Starlight Ridge. The noise, the pressure to be involved in all the town activities, the nosy neighbors—not to mention the fact that they’re currently filming a movie there and it’s been nothing but chaos the last several months.” He released a long sigh. “But since coming here, I’ve realized that’s all just smoke and mirrors.” He shifted his weight and dropped his gaze. “Really, I’m just tired of being alone.”
And then Davis did something completely unexpected. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, leaned in, and kissed her.
17
Davis shot back. It had taken a lot out of him, releasing all that emotional baggage. But he’d found someone who listened. Someone who cared. That was the only possible reason he’d kissed Chloe Rodgers in that moment. Because he was vulnerable.
Building on Love Page 11
