Fool for Love (28 page)

Daisy pushed her blue-tinted glasses up her nose and clicked her apple-green heels. “Thanks to you.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“Sure you won’t join us?”

“Us” being Daisy and the other senior members of Cupcake Lovers. Tasha had assigned them the task of coming up with three of the most sentimental and successful charity events from their earliest recollections, stories they’d pass on to Chloe, who’d type them into a word document.
So many wonderful memories,
Daisy had said. The ladies had decided to discuss their choices over Sunday brunch. Directly following church.

Chloe fidgeted. Brunch might be fun. But church? It made her think of her mom and dad, of what had been and what Chloe hadn’t had for very long time. A deep connection with family.
Her
family. Logically, she knew she should’ve let go of those wistful notions years ago, but being at odds with her dad only made her cling to the good times all the more. “Not that I wouldn’t enjoy the company,” Chloe said.

“But you’d rather have some time alone.”

“As of last night, I’ve received e-mails from most everyone in the club regarding the tasks Tasha assigned for the proposal. Once I have the stories you’re collecting today, I’ll have everything I need. With the exception of the pictures.”

“Which we’ll have by Tuesday,” Daisy said.

“Right.”

Tasha had booked a session with a local photographer for Monday and had used her influence to pressure him into providing digital prints by the next morning. A publicity shoot that everyone in the club, with the exception of Tasha, had insisted Chloe attend.

She knows food and media,
Rocky had said.

And PR and photography
, Devlin had added with a sly smile.

Daisy had crossed her arms over her scrawny chest, a defiant glint in her eye.
She can offer valuable perspective. Beside, as my driver, she’ll be there anyway.

Tasha had relented, but because she wanted to get on with the meeting, not because she agreed. She’d told Chloe so by way of an annoyed look.

“Anyway,” Chloe said, shaking off the uncomfortable moment, “since Tasha wants everything formatted and in the mail by Thursday, I should probably use this morning to get started. Plus there’s Sunday dinner to prepare and—”

Daisy cut her off with a raised hand. “Say no more.”

A car horn announced the arrival of Ethel, Judy, and Helen. Chloe honestly
was
looking forward to some free time and not having to worry about her soul sister pulling some derring-do stunt. Chloe had met Daisy’s cronies over the weekend and, though fun, they didn’t strike her as the Errol Flynn type. Besides, how much trouble could they get into at the Pine and Periwinkle Inn? “Have fun,” Chloe said with a smile and a wave.

Daisy waggled her fingers, then spun on her shiny new heels. “One of these days you’re going to tell me what you have against church,” she called over her shoulder.

“One of these days you’re going to tell me what’s really going on between you and Mr. Redding!”

Daisy shocked her as she sailed out the door. “Deal!”

*   *   *

Rocky usually joined Daisy and a portion of the family for morning services, but today all she could think about was her many faults and sins and how she’d wronged some very good people. Asking the Lord for forgiveness, then doing nothing to atone would only make her a hypocrite, so she decided to stay away until she’d cleaned up her act.

Apologizing to family for her irrational and rude behavior the past two days would be a piece of cake compared to having a heart-to-heart with Adam. As for Jayce, she wasn’t sure how to “let go and move on,” but she knew she had to do something. The one thing she couldn’t do was come clean with her brothers or parents about why she’d been at odds with Jayce all these years. The more she thought about it, the more she fretted. She wasn’t exactly an innocent in this matter, and he had, after all, asked her to marry him. Her parents and Dev were big on
the right thing.
Luke would probably cut her some slack, but she wasn’t even sure she could tell him. On top of everything, by keeping her teenage indiscretion a secret she’d been lying to her family for years. And what about Adam? She’d kept their relationship secret, too. Their purely
sexual
relationship. How many times had she concocted a tale or dodged questions to keep everyone in the dark about her fuck buddy? Maybe her family would forgive the liaisons, but could they forgive the lies?

All she knew was that she had to address the future with Adam and resolve the past with Jayce. If she could at least accomplish that, maybe she could breathe. Since the moment Adam had offered to invest in the Red Clover and Jayce had returned to town, she felt like she was suffocating.

Chest tight, she massaged her aching heart and sipped coffee. As soon as she had enough caffeine in her, she’d get out of her ratty pajamas, into some decent clothes, and take action. She glanced at her half-empty cup. It might take a pot or two.

Feeling sorry for herself and horribly alone, she fell forward and banged her forehead on the kitchen table.

In tandem the back door swung open and Luke strode in. “I was going to mind my own business, but I can’t. So,” he said when she cast him a pathetic gaze, “whose ass do I need to kick? Jayce’s or Adam’s?”

*   *   *

Since there were no direct flights from Miami, Devlin’s morning flight landed at the Burlington airport just shy of 2:00 p.m. Normally, he would’ve resented the layover in D.C., but in light of the circumstances, he welcomed the additional downtime to decompress. Meeting with his dad had been a bear. Not because the old man had given him shit about flying down or shit about pushing revised health benefits, but because he’d refused to talk about his battle with cancer.

I’m fine.

Thankfully, because Devlin’s mom was forthcoming and the oncologist a compassionate, no-nonsense man, Devlin trusted that his dad was indeed gaining ground on that bastard disease.

But he was not
fine.
“Fine” implied nothing was wrong. Due to chemo, he’d lost weight and most of his hair. It had taken all of Devlin’s resolve not to verbally or physically react to his dad’s appearance. Show no pity. Imply normalcy. Which entailed a strong façade that screamed,
You’ll beat this.

After two days in the trenches, Devlin was exhausted. How did his mom find the strength, the resolve? Where did his dad dig up that unwavering faith and courage? Not one spoken word of doubt. Not one complaint. In one weekend Devlin’s admiration for both of his parents had tripled.

Leaving hadn’t been easy, but it had been a relief. The entire time he’d been with his parents, he’d felt like he was choking on fear. What if things went bad? What if his dad suffered? Since he refused to discuss the disease, Devlin had felt useless. He needed to get back to where he could make a difference.

After tossing his overnight bag into the rear seat of the four-door rental, he leaned back against the trunk, breathed in the clean, crisp air, and collected his thoughts. Once home, he’d hit the ground running. He snagged his Android, intending to check in with Jayce, a follow-up that would help him decide where to concentrate his immediate efforts—Rocky or Gram. But instead he dialed Chloe.

“You’re back!”

Her enthusiastic greeting warmed him more than two days of intense Florida sunshine. “Almost,” he said. “Getting ready to leave the airport. Just wanted to let you know I’ll definitely make Sunday dinner.”

“That makes three of us then.”

“What do you mean?”

“Calls have been coming in all day. Rocky canceled first, saying she wouldn’t be good company. Then Luke bailed due to a previous engagement he forgot about. Sam canceled about an hour ago. His daughter came down with a stomach bug.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

“Oh, and Jayce canceled,” she said in a rush. “Though he didn’t give a reason.”

“Huh.” Since Devlin had spent next to no time with his visiting friend, he was sorry about that, too. On the other hand, a quiet dinner with Chloe and Gram might be the perfect time to subtly pick his grandma’s brain:
Why are you seeing a doctor in Pixley? What’s behind your sudden need for reckless kicks?
“How’s Daisy doing?”

“As far as I can tell, great. She was an inspiration all weekend at Rocky’s, a shining example of a tireless caretaker. Other than that, she’s totally jazzed about the Cupcake Lovers project. She’s spending today with Ethel, Helen, and Judy, compiling stories for the recipe book.”

“Sounds encouraging.” Knowing his grandma hadn’t pulled a crazy stunt in his absence, knowing her spirits were good and her mind focused, relieved Devlin of an immediate source of tension. He was still curious about that second doctor, but maybe there was no real need for concern. Maybe there was a simple explanation based on Gram’s recent quirky nature. Trying to channel his mom’s and dad’s optimism, Devlin chose to think positive, relaxing enough to focus on Chloe. “So you’re alone right now?”

“I am,” she affirmed with a seductive smile in her voice.

“Maybe I’ll swing by early.”

“Something to look forward to.” She paused and he knew they were both thinking about their last steamy interlude. After a moment she cleared her throat. “How did it go with your dad?”

“We struck a compromise.”

“So things are good.”

“Improving. See you in a couple of hours, Chloe.”

“See you then.”

Mood lighter than it had been in two days, he slid behind the wheel and keyed the ignition.

Twenty minutes into the drive, he got a call from Luke. “Just heard from Ethel Larsen,” his brother said, voice tight. “There’s been an accident. They’re taking Gram to the hospital in Pixley.”

*   *   *

Rocky steered Devlin’s Escalade, her weekend loaner, into Adam’s driveway and parked. She sat there for a moment, staring at his two-bedroom rental, gathering her wits and nerve.

She hadn’t meant to spew her guts to Luke, but she wasn’t sorry. He’d listened patiently and he hadn’t judged, although he wasn’t pleased to learn she’d lost her virginity to Jayce on her seventeenth birthday.

Something told me you two had hit the sheets at some point, but I never guessed you were so young. At least now I know whose ass to kick.

Please don’t.

Request noted.

She’d managed to divert the conversation to Adam. If Luke had been shocked that she’d engaged in a friend-with-benefits relationship, he’d kept it to himself, merely saying,
At least Adam’s a stand-up guy.

Which was part of the reason Rocky felt so awful. Which was why she’d taken Luke’s advice to heart regarding their personal and professional relationship.

The conversation had ended with a comforting hug and Luke asking if she was going to confide in Devlin about Adam, to which she answered,
Yes.

What about Jayce?

I can’t,
and after explaining why she’d asked,
Will you keep my secret?

Yes. But I’m not happy about it.

So here she sat, trying to get up the nerve to do the right thing with Adam. Mostly it was about finding the right words. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings. But partly, it was because she couldn’t help worrying,
What if I’m making a mistake?

Just then the passenger door opened and Adam climbed inside. “Since you’re wrestling so hard with it, thought I’d save you the anxiety of knocking on my door.”

Chest tight, she regarded him with teary eyes. “I did you wrong, Adam.”

“If this is about Jayce … I had no right acting like a jealous ass. We had an agreement. No strings. For what it’s worth, my reaction surprised me as much as it did you.”

“I just want you to know, I haven’t been with anyone, sexually, since you and I paired up.”

“You don’t owe me—”

“Yes, I do. As my friend. As someone I care about. As someone … as someone I’ll miss.”

He blew out a breath. “So you’re breaking off with me.”

“My head’s in a crazy place right now, Adam. I need to step back and reassess.”

“Alone?”

She nodded. “Alone.”

“What about the Red Clover?”

She swallowed hard, feeling like a reneging bitch. “I need to do that alone, too. That is, without a partner. I said yes to your offer in a moment of panic. I appreciate everything you’ve done,” she blurted in a nervous rush, “especially with, God, the way you organized my family and erected a new shed—”

“It’s all right.”

“No, it’s not. But it’s my dream and—”

“I’m not part of it. I get it, Rocky. Honestly, knowing you like I do, I never should have crossed that line.”

“Adam—”

“It’s okay.” He reached for her hand, kissed her palm. “No strings.” Then he was gone.

Heartsick, she gripped the steering wheel, eyes burning. Had she just written off the one good thing in her life? She grappled for her ringing phone, saw the incoming call was from Luke. Maybe he had some wise brotherly advice to add before she faced off with Jayce. “What?” she croaked.

“It’s Gram.”

TWENTY-SEVEN

By the time Devlin blew through the front doors of Pixley General Hospital, the waiting room was crowded with family and friends. Luke and Rocky, two of Daisy’s sisters and their spouses, her Cupcake cronies Ethel, Judy, and Helen, and Chloe—who looked nervous as hell, sitting apart from the others, her leg bouncing as she read something on her Android. She glanced up and met Devlin’s gaze and he knew she felt guilty about the accident.

Luke stepped into his line of vision. “Gram’s sleeping comfortably, knocked out on painkillers. I called the rest of the family, told them the doctor’s discouraging visitors until tomorrow.” He gestured to their great-aunts and uncles. “Some people don’t listen. As for Ethel, Judy, and Helen, they feel responsible. Refused to leave until they had a word with you.”

Before Devlin could acknowledge his relatives, he was rushed by his grandma’s friends.