Page 70 of The Forever Promise

I waited until he’d gotten into the shower to grab my phone. I called the number Lydia had given me, but there was no answer. Like so many other people this fine July morning on Mount Desert Island, she was probably hungover.

Once Bryce was finished in the bathroom, he came and sat on the edge of the bed. “Chloe…” He hesitated, then seemed to choose his words carefully. “Apologizing isn’t really my thing. I’m sure I did a crappy job of it, just like I did a crappy job of putting you first yesterday. That’s why I was being such an ass all afternoon. I didn’t want to lie to you, so I just didn’t say much. I didn’t say anything.”

“I understand,” I said again. My voice was flat.

He looked as if he wanted to say more but then just gave up. “Fine. I’ll see you at lunch?”

“Sure.” I tried to sound normal. I probably failed, but what else was new?

He didn’t say anything more as he got dressed. He seemed afraid to say anything, to come near me. He stiffly kissed me on the cheek right before he left. I smiled at him. He smiled back.

Everything felt like shit.

As soon as he put on his suit and left, I jumped out of bed. I threw on leggings and a sweatshirt, tugged my hair into a ponytail, and brushed my teeth. Most of my mascara was still on from the night before, the upside of being too upset and lazy to take my makeup off. I checked my phone again—nothing from Lydia. She was probably snoring her face off, an empty big bottle of wine on her nightstand.

I could still go to Northeast Harbor and bang on her door.

I needed to deal with her before she came looking forme.

But how was I going to get to the mainland? It was true what I’d remembered last night—I was contractually forbidden from speaking to men unless I had a Bryce-approved chaperone. I’d already gotten one captain fired; I didn’t want to push Captain Johnny back into retirement by getting him fired, too. The contract term wasstupid, and I doubted Bryce would really care if the older man gave me a ride, but that didn’t make it any less binding. Akira Zhang had drilled it into my head: if I breached the contract, Bryce would have grounds to refuse me my payment. I needed to follow the terms to the letter.

I just needed a female chaperone, someone Bryce would approve of. But I had to find someone without asking Bryce himself. We were already on thin ice. He didnotneed to know that my step-monster and dad were on the mainland, threatening to sue me to get my brother back. Lydia kept threatening to ‘fuck my shit up,’ and my step-monster was, if nothing else, a little scary. She had nothing to lose. If Gene Windsor got wind of that—ofthem—I was dead. He would throw me off the dock and move Felicia Jones into my bedroom once and for all.

I had an idea, probably a very fucking stupid one, but it was all I had. I refused to drag Midge or Dale into this—I didn’t want to get them fired. Hazel would be theperfectchaperone, and I’d be thrilled to getherfired, but Bryce’s spindly little lap dog would tell him my plan before the words even left my mouth. No, I had to call someone else.

There was only one person who could help. Lucky for me, she was already doing Pilates at the crack of dawn, per her regular routine.

“Yes?” She sounded winded. “What the heck doyouwant at six a.m.?”

“Want to head off-island to go shopping?”

God bless her, Daphne didn’t hesitate. “I thought you’d never ask.”

* * *

It turned out we didn’t even need Captain Johnny. “Gene has a Hinckley I can drive. It’s down on our dock. C’mon.” Daphne hadn’t bothered to change out of her workout clothes, and for good reason: she looked great. Black leggings and a lavender crop top showed off her flat-as-ever washboard abs.

“Can you explain what you were saying to me before?” she asked. “About not being able to ask Captain Johnny to take you off-island? You sounded a little…paranoid.”

“Oh, it’s just this thing with Bryce. He doesn’t like me being alone with the staff—he’s weird like that.”

“You mean he’sobsessedlike that.” She sighed. “Ah, to be loved. I remember when he fired that other captain for talking to you. And then he fired that waiter. It’s kind of hot that he’s jealous like that, don’t you think?”

“Not exactly,” I said, uneasy. “It’s more like he’s crazy. And hypocritical.”

“What do you mean—are you talking about Felicia?” Daphne asked. “That whole thing was planned. It was soobvious. Trust me, you don’t need to worry about her. I mean,sheherself is a fucking pain in the ass. I just mean you don’t have to worry about Bryce and her. He sees her for the cow she is.”

“She doesn’t see it that way.” I frowned. “She accosted me in the bathroom.”

“Did you hit her?” Daphne sounded hopeful.

“No, I chickened out. But she reallyisa bitch. Maybe someday…” I shook my head. I sounded like a drunk Mimi Jones! “Anyway, I wanted to go home after that. Sorry we stranded you.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it—I had fun.” Daphne climbed aboard, undid the ties, and brought the bumpers up. She surprised me by seeming at ease being in charge of the boat. “Jake and Colby showed up right after you left. They were drinking a ton, so they made it fun. They actually got Kelli Nguyen to limbo.”

“That sounds like a good time.”

“It was! But what did Felicia say to you? She’s probably upset about the way she’s being portrayed by the media. She’s being cast as the bad girl, and you’re the good one.” Daphne started the boat and backed it away from the dock.

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