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Her crazy antics drew the attention of a woman walking along the beach in a tiny, black string bikini, huge sunglasses, and a floppy hat. She stopped and stared at Eden as if she was a complete idiot. Feeling like one, Eden lowered her hands and offered the woman a weak smile and lame wave. After only a second’s hesitation, the woman walked toward her. It wasn’t until she stopped at the foot of the lounge that Eden noticed the nose stud and tribal tattoo on her hip. Eden mentally groaned.
Chloe.
The sunglasses covered the majority of Chloe’s bruises, but not the cut on her full bottom lip. The sight made Eden feel bad for disliking the young woman so intensely. Her compassion fizzled when Chloe spoke in a belligerent tone.
“What do you want?”
Eden tried to smile. “I just wanted to say ‘hi.’ So you didn’t go to the photo shoot?”
“No.” She flopped down on the lounge next to Eden. “I have no desire to see a bunch of anorexic prom queens strut around in bathing suits for a couple of goody-goody billionaires.” She tipped her chin down and looked over the rim of her sunglasses. “Although I guess Nash isn’t such a goody-goody, is he? Who would’ve thought that one of the panty billionaires was a pervert? Of course, I should’ve guessed. What kind of a man runs a lingerie company?”
Eden felt her spine stiffen. “There are lots of men who work in female apparel. And Nash is not a pervert.”
“Right.” Chloe snorted. “He just likes to pay women so he can talk dirty to them in the dark.”
Eden bristled. She had spent the last two days trying not to think about Nash talking dirty to Chloe in the dark. Now Chloe was forcing her to think about it. And Eden couldn’t stop a myriad of questions from popping in her head. What dirty things had Nash said to Chloe? Had she stripped? Had he touched her? The thought made her so queasy that it was hard to keep her hotel breakfast down.
Chloe pushed her sunglasses back up on her nose. “Well, that explains that. You’ve fallen for the billionaire pervert, haven’t you?” She tipped back her head and laughed. “Now that just made my day.”
The laughter coupled with the image of Nash and Chloe in a dark hotel room caused Eden to lose all patience. She sat up and glared at her. “No. I have not fallen for the pervert—I mean Nash. But even if I have, it would be better than falling for a bad-breathed street thug who likes to punch women. Although I can certainly see why he wanted to punch you. You are the meanest person I’ve ever met in my life, and I don’t know why Madison puts up with you!”
After she finished her tirade, Eden braced for a flying fist or at least a stinging slap. Instead, Chloe picked up Eden’s mai tai from the table and took a long sip from the straw before she spoke.
“Yeah, you’re right. I am a pretty big bitch. And I don’t know why Madison puts up with me. She must be a glutton for punishment.” She took out the umbrella and sucked on the end before pointing it at the ocean. “Do you think there are sharks in the water?”
It was hard to yell at someone when they agreed with you, especially when they had two black eyes. Eden stared at Chloe for a moment before she reclined back on the lounge. “I doubt that a shark would swim this close to shore.”
“I guess you didn’t watch Shark Week,” Chloe said. “Most attacks happen within fifty feet of the shore.”
“So I gather you didn’t live close to an ocean.”
“Close enough, but my parents weren’t what you’d call beach people. They preferred a glass of wine by the pool.”
“You had a swimming pool?”
Chloe took another sip of mai tai. “What? Did you think I grew up poor?”
Eden had thought that. “So if your family has money, why haven’t they helped you?”
“Maybe I don’t want the control that comes with the money.”
“And you don’t think an escort is controlled?”
Chloe’s lips pressed together in a firm line. “I’m not a prostitute. Zac didn’t let me go with guys who wanted sex. Just guys like your boyfriend who wanted a peep show.”
“What a nice guy.”
Chloe jerked off her hat and tossed it to the foot of the lounge chair. “So I guess we both fell for jerks. And what made you want to become an escort? I’m not buying the entire romance writer thing.”
Eden could’ve made up another lie, but there was no reason to now. She wasn’t going to be a reporter. “Until I was fired, I worked for a newspaper. My editor wanted me to write a story about prostitutes. I was trying to get the inside scoop.”
“So I was right. You are using Madison.”
“I was at first,” Eden said, “but then I made a major journalism mistake and got too close to my story. Madison became more than just a means to an end. She became my friend.”
Chloe studied her as she twirled the umbrella between her fingers. “And is that what happened with the billionaire pervert? You got too close to the story?”
“Yes.” Eden sighed. “And now I can’t do a story on him or Madison.”
