“So, where are you going to live?” Chance burst out. “I assume you won’t be hopping from place to place with Willow now that you’ll be more settled.”
Bryan looked at Willow and then at the children. “We have been talking about that. I understand that you live in Miami now, and if it isn’t too much of an inconvenience, Claire, maybe we can move to my house in Los Angeles. Willow told me how much she would appreciate you being there with her.” Chance cocked his head to the side and smiled at Claire in an ‘I told you so’ manner. “I have a lot of connections, so if you want to change jobs, I can help you with that.”
“Wow! My entire life is being rearranged,” Claire said, sarcasm dripping from her lips. “You’re asking me to leave all I have in Miami at the drop of a hat?”
“I know it’s a lot, Claire, but I really need your blessing on this,” Willow pleaded with her eyes. “I know I cannot force you to go with me, but I’d really like it if you did.”
“Sure. Fine,” Claire said and threw her hands in the air in defeat. She did deserve some time off from work, and what better way than to live in the comforts of a mansion, all expenses paid, under the same roof as Chance, if she could convince him not to move to an apartment of his own. And even if he did, she could move in discreetly with him. She didn’t know how the logistics would work, but she knew they’d figure it out.
“Great,” Bryan said with a sigh of relief. “I think it’ll be a good idea for all of us to be together for a time just to get to know each other better.”
“Okay, so now that that’s settled, let’s enjoy this day. Why don’t we go on a little excursion together?”
“Oh, no,” Chance said and got up. “That’s too much family for me.”
“I have to agree,” Claire commented. “Too much, too early.”
“That’s okay,” Willow chimed in. “Completely understandable. Baby steps.”
“Alright,” Chance said and wiped his lips. “I will see you folks later.”
“I’m coming with you, Chance,” Claire said as she finished the last morsel of food on her plate. Anywhere but right there with their crazy love struck parents.
CHAPTER 14
Claire sat on the balcony looking across at the one similar to hers. She could see his silhouette, and she smiled as she thought about his hands on her body. Her mind circled around to their parents. By all indications, she and Chance wouldn’t see each other much, at least not openly. She wasn’t yet sure how they would keep their relationship a secret, but at present it was a necessary evil.
She didn’t want to spend time with Chance so soon after their parents’ announcement and their apparent accord, and she didn’t want to run into her mother or Bryan, either. She was, therefore, left with her wayward mind for company. Claire spent a majority of the day in her room with her tablet, catching up on a novel she had begun reading a month ago but had not finished. Back then she’d had a wedding to plan, and most of her time had been consumed with the preparation of it. Right now she should have been parasailing with Trent or biking along the coast like they had planned to do. They were supposed to have children and spend the rest of their lives together. So much was supposed to happen that didn’t and wouldn’t happen again, and even more was happening that she had not planned for.
She had taken the advice of her mother and best friend and had come to St. Lucia to unwind and get away from the stress of a broken heart. But how does one do that while carrying the heart inside? She had brought her broken heart with her, and instead of nursing it to keep it from being wounded again, it had decided to latch itself on to the first moving target. She had not planned on Chance, and in some ways she wasn’t sure she was ready for him. And even while she was trying to figure it out, her mother had made sure he would be in her life forever. Such was her tragedy, she thought as she tried to focus on her tablet.
It was at page 184 where she had left it, but she saw nothing but white. Her mind was a maze of confusion.
“Claire?” she heard Amy call from the other side of the door.
“It’s open,” she replied.
Amy walked in and saw Claire in bed, and the expression on her face made her smile disappear. “Claire, are you all right?” she asked as she climbed into bed next to her.
“That’s a good question,” Claire responded. “I don’t know how I feel about anything. Two weeks ago I was happy. A week ago I was confused and hurt, and three days ago I was happy again. Now I just don’t know. Chance was supposed to be nothing but a fling, and even that turned into something else,” she said and threw her hands up in the air. “And my mom had to go and marry his dad. What are the odds?”