Page 31
“You’re really struggling with that landlord of yours, too.”
“About that,” I sighed. “It’s awkward. Can I ask you a question?”
“She’s not into you. You don’t have a chance. You’re delusional,” Kevin said.
“Stop. I mean, yes, I want you to tell me that, but after I tell you.”
“Okay, so what?”
“She flashed me. We were having a bit of a back and forth—she was in the house and waved at me on the pool deck. I waved back. There were some texts exchanged and then she just… whipped off her bra. What does that mean?”
Kevin furrowed his brow, as if I spoke Italian. He burst into laughter.
“I’m sorry, but… it’s the truth, man!” I exclaimed.
“I have a hard time believing it. I’ve been following your landlady on social and damn. Every post is a thirst trap. Maybe she thought you had a terminal illness and needed a good send-off, grandpa?”
I smacked him. “I’m forty-eight not eighty-eight!”
“And you are asking me this because you two obviously didn’t do more, right?”
“Right. It was awkward. I panicked. I think she did, too. Maybe she regretted it? Then, Piper came home early from a party and glommed onto Chloe like they were best friends. Piper loves that woman. That’s why I’d never, ever do anything.”
Kevin handed me his phone. “Ever?”
He’d pulled up Chloe’s social media footprint. I knew it was massive, but her photos were even wilder than I remembered. The photo in question was one of her in a pair of full-seat breeches—the type I’d spent $200.00 on as a Christmas present for Piper so she could “fit in” at Chloe’s fancy-ass barn. Chloe was on her side, naked from the waist up, holding a book strategically.
The caption read, “It’s release day tomorrow for A Horse Girl’s Guide. To commemorate it, I had a little photoshoot with the ever-wonderful Eva Hunter at Tatler. I’m selling prints in my merch shop to raise money for the Greater Chicagoland Thoroughbred Retirement Program. Make sure you grab a copy of Horse Girl’s Guide, too.”
“That? You’d not even bother with that?”
I took a deep breath. “Nope. Piper worships her.”
“I would, too. Damn. Are they as good as you’d think—”
Yes. They’re fucking perfect!
“It’s not important. Are all her photos like that?”
“She’s prolific. Her photos aren’t all this spicy, but they’re… she’s hot. Her videos are largely silly. I think that’s how she got famous.”
“She got famous by being born rich,” I sighed. “But I don’t mean to suggest she’s not talented. Her barn is well-run. Her staff is very good. The clients… annoying. I have attracted a small following of horny re-riding moms. That’s the bread and butter up there, I think.”
He snickered. “Anything you’d go for? Or is that all for the birds next to your landlady’s tits? Damn, man. If she flashed you, she’s interested. Do yourself a favor and go for it. You don’t have to marry her, Cole. Just get back on the horse. How long has it been?”
“Since well before I signed my divorce papers,” I sighed. “And I am pretty sure a woman like that might give me a heart attack.”
“Don’t knock it until you try it.”
“Why are you invested in this?” I asked.
“You have just been through everything bad imaginable, Cole. You’ve seen hell on earth. You barely survived a huge disaster. You lost everything. And before that, you had a bum divorce, a custody battle, and everything else. I want you to have some fun and do more than just take care of everyone around you. It’s okay to be selfish and take a chance.”
I wanted him to be right, but a woman like Chloe Markham would never actually consider me. I’d once been a young, fit man who could land someone like her, but I wasn’t that guy anymore. I was a little withered after twenty years with someone I should have left ten years in. It wasn’t that I didn’t want companionship. It was that I was sure integrating another person into my life right now was more trouble than it was worth. And Chloe Markham? She was off limits.
PART II
THE SECRET
