When they returned to the square to catch their ride, the on-
ly members of their group present just happened to be Phillip
and Scot. They were sitting on a bench near the fountain, seem-
ingly deep in conversation. Scot was holding Liam, who was fast
asleep.
“Great.” Cheyenne huffed, as both men looked in their di-
rection. Steph tried to stifle it, but she laughed out loud. Cheyenne glared her down, and she quit immediately.
Steph found it impossible not to look in Phillip’s direction.
He sat unmoving, watching her. When they made eye contact, he
stood and took a step in their direction. Cheyenne stormed past
Steph, nearly knocking her down on her way over to Scot. She
took Liam from him without a word. The shocked look on Phil-
lip’s face was nothing compared to the devastated look Scot
wore. Steph wanted to shake Cheyenne, but after all the times
Cheyenne had put up with her episodes, she deserved nothing
short of Steph’s unwavering support.
As she turned to follow Cheyenne toward the street, Phillip
mouthed something to her. She frowned and squinted at him,
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TAMMY COONS & MICHELLE PACE
unable to read his lips. As she mouthed “what?” back at him, an
ear piercing whistle near her ear caused her to jump. Cheyenne
waved her free hand in the air, and a taxi appeared on the street beside them. Cheyenne hopped in, and Steph scrambled in after
her. Through the taxi window, she saw Scot throw his hands up
and exclaim something to Phillip, who simply nodded and
stuffed his hands in his pockets. Cheyenne tossed some cash at
the driver, and Steph was forced to try out her Portuguese as she told the driver which pousada was theirs. She glanced at Cheyenne, who seemed to cling to Liam for dear life. Steph reached
over and stroked Liam’s hair. Cheyenne had tears oozing out
from underneath her sunglasses. Steph hoped there was a rational explanation for all of this. Tonight at the luau, she intended to corner Scot and get some answers.
148
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Cheyenne hugged Yara’s mom and tried to blink away
grateful tears. Yara’s jovial parents had been offering to keep an eye on Liam since they’d laid eyes on him their first day on the island. Cheyenne didn’t want Kara anywhere near her family and
practically kissed Yara’s dad when he mentioned that they
weren’t going to the luau. Liam splashed happily in the pool and virtually ignored Cheyenne as she waved goodbye.
If Scot was going to toss her aside for some young girl, so
be it. She planned to go out, get drunk, and dance the night
away. She’d dressed up for the occasion, wearing her skimpiest
halter dress and strappy sandals that she was sure would give her a broken ankle by the end of the night. Steph refused to change
her clothes and muttered something like “you’re lucky I’m
brushing my teeth and hair tonight.”
Earlier that afternoon, Scot had been banging on the door of
Steph’s old room for about thirty minutes. Luckily the brides-
maids had been at the spa, and Liam was still asleep. Cheyenne
was convinced that the hours on the plane with Bret had trained
her son to sleep through a hurricane. Once Scot finally gave up
and left, Cheyenne noticed Steph seemed edgy.
“Cheyenne, don’t you think maybe—” Steph began, but
Cheyenne cut her off.
“I know what I saw.”
Steph ran an exasperated hand through her hair.
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TAMMY COONS & MICHELLE PACE
“Maybe you should brush your hair again.” Cheyenne rec-
ommended.
Steph’s eyebrow twitched. “Maybe you should confront
your husband.
“Maybe you should have told Phillip he was a daddy.”
Cheyenne stood up.
Steph folded her arms. “Maybe you should bite my ass.”
They both glared at each other for a moment, then burst out
laughing simultaneously.
“Yeah, we pretty much suck at life in general.” Steph ran a
hairbrush through her wild mane and practically killed Cheyenne
with a cloud of insect repellent.
“That’s a scent that’ll get you laid.” Cheyenne joked.
“That’s the last thing on my mind, Chey,” Steph murmured,
and their light mood dissipated.
They rode alone to the luau and saw the largest crowd
they’d seen anywhere since they’d been on the island. One third
of the beach was packed with people migrating around two large
bonfires. Cheyenne immediately started toward the bar, and
Steph scanned the crowd for familiar faces. The only person she
recognized was one of the bridesmaids who wandered away
from the crowd hand in hand with a man Steph had never seen
before.
Her satellite phone rang. Stephanie dug through her purse
and held it up. By the light of the nearby tiki torch, she saw it was Christopher. She answered immediately.
“Hello?” she said loudly, covering her ear in an attempt to
block out the sound of the enthusiastic crowd.
“Steph? Where the hell… like you’re…a concert,” she
heard Christopher stutter his words sporadically.
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RAGE
“Chris? You’re cutting out!” she exclaimed and tried to
move a few feet over for better reception. When she heard noth-
ing more, she looked at the phone and saw the call had dropped.
Frustrated, she tried to call him back, and her call failed to connect. She blew her bangs out of her face and stuffed the phone
back into her purse.
Steph hesitated, nervous to leave Cheyenne alone in such a
large crowd. If they were separated, there was a good chance
she’d have to spend the rest of the night looking for her. Chey-
enne’s current state of mind was somewhat dangerous based on
past experience. With a determined exhale, she made her way
toward the water, continuing her search for Scot. She needed to
confront him and find out what the hell was really going on,
since she didn’t buy any of Cheyenne’s theories.
She noticed a rowdy gathering near one of the bonfires and
moved closer to investigate. As she grew near, she realized Phillip, Bret, and Nathan were allowing a growing group of fans to
take pictures with them. She backed away as she heard a couple
of the members of Bret’s ever-present security detail whisper, “I think we’re going to need more men.”
Steph worked her away around the back of the crowd in an
effort to go unnoticed. Phillip, who was a notorious camera hog, hung back as Nathan and Bret mugged for every cell phone and
camera that pointed in their direction.
