Page 72 of Chasing the Sun

She stared at him in silence for a few beats, her emotions all over the place. She was the one who’d encouraged this affair and convinced him she could handle it. Now she was having trouble convincing herself. The choices were simple, though: enjoy his company for the duration of her stay or cut things off now before she got in too deep.

“Chloe?”

He stood there, feet apart, hands on his hips, his hair deliciously rumpled from their love making. He was impossible to resist. She stepped up to him, twined her arms around his neck, and tipped her head up for a kiss.

“I thought you were worried about bad breath.”

“Not anymore.”

“Good.” With that, he scooped her into his arms and carried her down the hall to his bedroom.

“Do we have time?” she asked as they tumbled onto the bed.

He glanced at the clock and said, “We’ll have to be quick.”

Then he pulled up her shirt and swept her away.

When Molly came home an hour later, they were both sitting in the living room, freshly showered and looking like the picture of innocence. Bryce sat on the couch reading his book, and Chloe sat in a chair, thumbing through a fashion magazine.

Molly came racing into the room to greet them, but she wasn’t alone. Victoria stepped in right behind her and said, “Good morning!”

Molly hugged Bryce and then sprinted across the room to hug Chloe, surprising her with the strength of it. Chloe’s earlier concern about Molly disappeared as she hugged her back just as tight. “Hi, pretty girl. We missed you.”

“So, what are you two up to this weekend?” Victoria asked, looking at them curiously.

Bryce shifted uncomfortably, crossing and uncrossing his legs and looking guilty. “Nothing much,” he replied.

And I thought I was bad at hiding things!

Given the way Victoria was eyeing them, Chloe doubted she believed him. She’d obviously sensed something, yet she didn’t seem the least bit bothered by it. In fact, she looked pleased.

Chloe was struck by the difference between Victoria and Bryce’s relationship and that of her divorced parents. They could hardly be in the same room together without arguing, and she and her sister, April, often had to play referee. Her experience with divorced parents was vastly different from Molly’s, and she was glad for her.

“It’s a beautiful day, and Molly mentioned wanting to go to the beach. Trace and I would have taken her, but we have a wedding to go to this afternoon.”

“Can we go to the beach, Daddy? Please!”

Molly jumped up on his lap and peppered his face with kisses.

“I don’t know, sweetie.”

“Miss Chloe could come too. Please!”

Chloe had been trying to stay out of it, but Molly looked at her pleadingly. “Only if your dad says it’s okay,” she said.

Bryce looked up at Victoria and gave her a mock scowl. “Thanks a lot! You know how I feel about the beach.”

Victoria laughed, and Chloe suddenly felt like an outsider. Then Victoria turned to her and said, “Can you believe this guy? He’s lived in Florida all his life, yet he doesn’t like the beach!”

Chloe laughed. “Seriously?”

Victoria and Molly both nodded.

“Daddy hates the sand,” Molly said.

“The darn stuff sticks to everything, and it never comes out,” Bryce complained.

That time, they all laughed.