Crazy for Love

“I’m sorry.”

“But…they hardly know each other. They’ve only met a few times. And you’ve been acting so weird. Why have you been acting so weird?”

Jenn took a shuddering breath and wiped her eyes. “I knew about it, and I didn’t tell you. And then I knew if you ever found out, you’d hate me, too. Maybe even more.”

“Anna told you?”

“No,” Jenn whispered.

“Then how could you know?”

“I saw them together. At Anna’s apartment. I went by to bring her a few books she wanted to read and she was walking him out.”

“Wait a minute, you’re talking about after the plane crash, right?”

Even before Jenn shook her head, Chloe finally understood why her friend had been so upset for all these weeks. “How long?” she managed to get out past her tight throat. “How long have you known that one of my friends was sleeping with my fiancé?”

“I saw them together three months ago. I’m so sorry, Chloe. I didn’t know what to do, but Anna promised me it had only happened that one time and she’d cut it off right away. I thought she had, I swear.”

“And you thought that was okay? As long as it didn’t happen again?”

“No, but I thought hurting you wouldn’t serve any purpose!”

“Jenn. Jesus Christ, would you just listen to yourself? I was going to marry him. You were going to let me marry him.”

“My mom was always—”

“Damn it, it’s time for you to grow up. You’re not your mom, and I’m definitely not your mom. Oh, and—news flash, Jenn—not every man is like your dad, either, so get over it.”

Jenn smothered a sob, and Chloe closed her eyes against the guilt. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“No, you’re right. I’m a coward. I was afraid to hurt you, so I lied. And then it got worse and worse.”

“The crash.”

“I swear I thought it was over between them, Chloe!”

All the tension she’d felt over the past week seemed to coalesce in her shoulders at that moment. She tried twisting her neck, but nothing popped. “Maybe you’d better start driving. I have to be back at my place to meet Max.”

Jenn didn’t try to protest or defend herself, but Chloe didn’t feel any satisfaction. She could be mean to Jenn for that very reason. It was safe to be mean to someone who wouldn’t fight back. But she was so angry, bubbling over with it, and she had to get it out.

“I gather it wasn’t over?” she snapped as they pulled out of the lot and headed away from the courthouse. Not one reporter even looked in their direction. It felt strange, like stepping out of a dark theater in the middle of the day. Disorienting to be set free into the bright, beautiful sunlight.

“When the plane crashed,” Jenn said, her voice raspy with tears, “I was so glad I hadn’t told you. I thought ‘It’s over. She never needs to know.’”

“You’re saying you were relieved. That he was dead.”

“No! Or maybe I was! I didn’t want you to marry him anymore, obviously, but I didn’t know how to stop the wedding without hurting you.”

“That’s so fucking stupid, Jenn! You were going to sentence me to a lifetime with a man who was lying and cheating before we even got married.”

“I know. As soon as they found Thomas in Florida, Anna called me. She was completely freaked out and panicking. I told her not to tell anyone. Not you, not the police.”

Chloe’s jaw felt too tight to move, but she managed to whisper, “Tell them what?”

For a long moment, Jenn didn’t speak. Her careful breathing betrayed an attempt to control tears. Finally, she nodded to herself and took o

ne last breath. “She said they both felt trapped in their lives. Anna in her family’s business and Thomas in his. They talked about running away, but Anna said that was just part of a fantasy. She didn’t really think he’d put it in motion.”