“But Kaylee and I were fake from the beginning. Well, we did have an unbelievably great one-night stand. Then she tried to sneak out, but you and Ashley were here.”
“Hey,” Liam drunkenly interrupts, “that’s right. She tried to sneak out. Also, not a move in the repertoire of a gold digger. Chase, my man, she was never after your money.”
That stops me in my tracks. He’s right. I stare out the window for a few minutes until Ashley knocks on the door.
When I answer it, she’s holding three boxes of Scrumptious Chocolates and a few skin care products.
“What’s all this for?” I ask, irritated.
“Well, I have to do a live session for my followers,” she says, pushing past me into the room.
She doesn’t even notice that I’m angry.
“I have been so caught up in your drama that it’s been days since I put out any new content. That means only one thing can save me, a skin care battle royale,” she says as she throws all of the boxes and containers onto my kitchen table.
“The chocolates are for me, I mean you. Since you’re sad and all. They’re amazing, trust me, they’ll cheer you up.”
I stare at her waiting for her to figure out what she’s doing to me, but it never kicks in. “Those chocolates aren’t going to make me feel better,” I thunder.
“Why the fuck not?” Ashley asks.
“Because they remind him of Kaylee, stupid,” Liam says from behind me.
Ashley breaks into laughter. “Oh yeah. Well, maybe they won’t help you then, but they’ll sure as hell help me. And you can’t blame me for buying the chocolates. One, they’re delicious, and two, I had no idea at the time that you two were going to break up, did I?” At the end of her little speech, she gives an annoying and overly sassy head waggle.
“Where did you even get them?” I ask, knowing that the chocolates Kaylee gave to Fi for the charity event were the last ones she had.
“Oh, believe me, it wasn’t easy to track them down,” Ashley answers. “The only place that had any left was a Taffy Teaky. I mean the Laffy Taffy.” She finishes the sentence, then looks confused.
“Do you mean the Beaky Tiki?” I ask.
“Yes,” she points at me. “That’s the one. Cutest little beach bar I’ve ever seen. Too many paparazzi though. I had to sneak in with my biggest, loudest hat. Mind if I use your balcony? A beach sunset from a penthouse suite is the exact right location for this particular session. Oh, who are we kidding, there’s never a bad time for penthouse sunset beach session. I’m going to look so pretty.”
Ashley carries her boxes of skin care products, one of the boxes of chocolates, and a bottle of wine out onto the balcony while Liam and I sit back down on the couch.
We watch Ashley do her thing with the skin care creams. Although watching her, she spends more time downing chocolate and wine than with the products. I get the feeling that’s not going to negatively affect her followers, though.
At least watching Ashley gives me something to concentrate on other than thinking about Kaylee. Or talking to Liam.
As Ashley wraps it up, I feel my phone buzz in my pocket. I pull it out and stare at it. Then I tap on the text for more information. I can’t believe my eyes.
“What is it?” Liam asks.
“Oh shit.”
“What?” Liam is even more interested now.
“Okay, I’m willing to admit that maybe, just maybe, you’re right about Kaylee not being interested in me for the money.”
“What finally tipped you off?” he deadpans.
“She returned the money.”
Liam’s eyes got as big as saucers. “All of it?”
“Every penny,” I answer.
“No way,” Liam says.
I hear the patio sliding glass door open. “No way what?” Ashley asks. “What did I miss?”
“Kaylee returned the money,” Liam says excitedly.
“You’re kidding,” Ashley says. “She spent the weekend with you, Chase. I’m sure she earned every penny.”
I’m getting agitated by the attitude around here. “Yes, she returned the money. So what? All that means is that she’s a very stubborn person.”
“Not so,” Liam says. “Nobody’s ever returned a penny that I gave them, you?” He looks at Ashley.
“Not a chance.” Ashley answers. “Look, Chase. Either you had something real, or Kaylee’s the world’s best liar. And as a world class liar, I didn’t get that vibe from her at all. Face it, Chase. You had something real. Delicious even. And you threw it all away. Because you’re a hot head who doesn’t even like chocolate. Pity.”
“How drunk are you, Ashley?” I rage. “I happen to love chocolate.” This can’t be happening. This whole afternoon has felt like one gut punch after the other. I suck in a few breaths. Kaylee is not the world’s best liar; she’s the world’s worst liar and I know it. That makes me the worst. How could I not have seen it? She must have been telling the truth the other night when she was drunk.
“I’m going down there,” I announce. Then I stand up, wobble, and sit back down. “Just as soon as I have a couple of cups of coffee. And an aspirin.”
“Oh,” Ashley says, “I’ll have some of that too. Then where are we going?”
“Where else?” I answer. “The Beaky Tiki. I think it’s about time I ask her what the hell she thinks she’s doing.”
“Oh, that sounds like a terrible idea,” Ashley says. “I’m in.”
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Kaylee
A few drinks later I’m feeling a little bit better.
Angie finishes her drink and sets the glass back onto the table. “Listen, Kaylee, it’s going to be okay. We’ll help you figure all of this out. You’ll be back on your feet in no time.”
I smile even though I know it’s going to take a very long time.
“Right,” Fi adds. “Hey, fall charity season is right around the corner. There will be lots of events needing great chocolate. I can try to
