The Billionaire's Secrets (21 page)

With the blankets pulled up over her nakedness, Chloe felt exposed, vulnerable, and very, very confused. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she protested. “I never even heard of Bowen until today.”

“Look, Chloe, the game’
s over - give it up. I just can’t believe I fell for the same scheme twice.
First Colleen and now you.
What was the plan? Marry me and then divorce me for half? Live happily ever after with my brother?
Or was it strictly a business deal, with you two splitting the proceeds?
” He ran his fingers th
rough his hair. “Well
,
why not? I
t almost worked with Colleen, didn’t it?”

“
Gaelan
, please,” she begged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about! I took
Sophia
to her class in Puffin’s Cove
,
a
nd Bowen was in the restaurant
I went to for a cup of coffee
.
I thought it was you.”

“Forget it,” he said. “Don’t even try. It’s too pathetic.” He went to the closet and pulled out his coat.
Putting it on, he
went to the door. Despite her misery, Chloe noted the contrast his dark anger made against the frilliness of the room.
I will always remember him
, she thought,
silhouetted against the fog at Wido
w's Cliff, the wind in his hair,
a faraway look in his eyes
. That thought was followed by the feeling of utter desolation. She couldn’t let it happen. She let the covers drop and grabbed the robe that he had only moments before so tenderly removed.

Pulling it around her, she
ran to him
and clutched
the wool of his sleeves. “You can’t go!” she pleaded. “I tried to tell you, but you said the only thing that mattered was that
Sophia
and I were safe.”  Was there a flash of doubt in those angry eyes? He looked away quickly, and Chloe grabbed at the opening, fighting for happiness itself.

“It’s true I saw Bowen for the first time in the restaurant today. I thought it was you - I
had no idea you had a twin brother.
”
She spoke
quickly, desperately, the words pouring out in a torrent. “He told me
you didn’t speak to each other,
that it was because of Colleen. He said you stole her from him, but that she wasn’t happy.” She took a breath. “He said you might have had something to do with her death.”

Gaelan
took hold of her wrists and tried to pull her free, but she hung on as if her life depended on it. “It’s true
,” she said
.
“
He seemed
so
nice
,
and I believed him.”
Gaelan
looked back at her sharply
but said nothing. “I know it was because I was lonely
,
and I was upset with you for going to
Montreal
without even saying goodbye.”

Gaelan
pulled her hands free and held her wrists in a firm grip. Chloe knew she had only moments left to explain before he would be gone and she would be left without him forever. “He said he’d like to see me again, and I said yes. But then the Jeep didn’t start
,
and he offered
Sophia and me
a ride home. After the accident,” she swallowed hard at the memory, “he took off after the police and the ambulance came. I don’t know where he is.”

“Are you done?” he said. There was no compassion or understanding in his voice, and Chloe knew he didn’t believe her.

“The Jeep’
s in Puffin’s Cove on the main street. Go see it! Then you’ll see it doesn’t work! Surely that would prove I’m not lying.”

“I don’t know what it would prove,” he said coldly.
“Except maybe your deviousness.”

Chloe felt the tears overflow her eyes and run down her cheeks. It was hopeless. He was determined not to believe her.

“Stop crying!” he said harshly. He released her wrists, and, turning away from her, pulled open the door. "Do you know the worst part of your little scheme?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “That the two of you almost killed
Sophia
in the process.”   

Chloe tried to protest her innocence, but the door had already slammed behind him, the echo
e
s reverberating through the room.

* * *

Gaelan
left the hotel and found the nearest pub. He didn’t want to think about what had just happened and so decided that drowning himself in scotch was the best method of forgetting. In the
dark
interior, a local Celtic rock band belted out tunes on the stage
,
and the audience cheered out their approval. It was Friday night in St. John’s
,
and it seemed everyone was out
celebrating
.

Gaelan
sat at the crowded bar and ordered a double scotch, neat. It came with ice anyway, but he
didn’t complain
. He threw it back and ordered a second.

He was sipping the second drink when the woman next to him spoke. She introduced herself as Karen, a graduate student at
Memorial U
niversity. “Rough day?” she asked. He noted she was tall with long
brown
hair
.
Attractive
too.
He started to contemplate another method of forgetting.

“You might say that,” he said evasively.

“You want some company?” she said, her bright red lips suddenly close to his ear, her right breast pressed against his arm. He felt the pressure of her long leg against his thigh. He thought about it. Why not? It was becoming more and more apparent he would never have a real relationship. Why not just
series
of one-night stands? Anonymous e
ncounters to quench the desire, no strings attached.

But then the image of Chloe flashed before his eyes, the perfection of her body against the satin sheets, the taste of her mouth on his, and he knew he wouldn’t go through with it.
That as much as he wanted to forget Chloe, he’d never do it having sex with this woman.
Or any other woman at that.
It wasn’t in him.

“Sorry, I don’t think I’d be very exciting tonight,” he said, draining his glass. He put some bills on the bar for the bartender.

“That’s okay, just looking at you is all the excitement I need,” she said.

“Sorry,” he repeated, getting up from his stool. “Goodnight.”

Her own goodnight was lost in the cacophonous racket of the bar as he pushed his way through the crowds and toward the door. But once outside, he stood on the sidewalk, not knowing where he was going or what he was doing. He thought of
Sophia
, but they would never allow him in at this time of the night, and so he wandered the streets, the evening's events replaying in his mind until he thought he’d go insane.

By five a.m.
,
he'd begun to hope that Chloe could be telling the truth. He didn’t know whether it was wishful thinking, but he couldn’t bear the thought that she was another Colleen, another scam by his brother. He thought back to the first time he’d seen Chloe, caught like a deer in the headlights of his car. That night, he’d assumed if she wasn’t already there for his money, she soon would be. Ce
rtain she was just another gold
digger
,
he’
d compared her to Colleen from the beginning. And now, when it looked almost
sure
he’
d been right to be suspicious, his mind was working overtime to find her innocent.

He took a taxi to an all-night car rental. Chloe had said to check the Jeep. He didn’t know what it would prove, but he found himself doing it anyway. It took him an hour to drive to Puffin’s Cove, only to find the street where Chloe had said he’d find the car empty. No doubt it had been towed.
If it had been there at all.
He drove out to the police station on the edge of town, stopping first at a donut shop for a cup of coffee.

At the station, he got out of the car and read the hours posted on the locked gate. He had half an hour to wait. He leaned against the car and sipped the bitter coffee, wishing he had something for his pounding headache.

Finally, a uniformed policeman came over and unlocked the padlock on the chain that secured the gates.
Gaelan
crumpled the coffee cup and tossed it into a steel drum. It wasn’t a big yard, only a dozen vehicles or so, and
Gaelan
went directly to the waitin
g J
eep. He had a key on his own ring
,
and he put it in the ignition.
Nothing.
She was right. It didn’t work. She wasn’t lying about that. But what did it prove?
The Jeep wouldn’t start
,
and he offered
Sophia and me
a ride home
. It proved nothing. Bowen and Chloe could have arranged to meet in town
,
and when Chloe's vehicle didn't start he
thought with
Gaelan
far
away
it was safe to drive her home. Except for the accident,
Gaelan
would never have known that Bowen was even in town.