Chapter 6

"And Wendy, your timing really isn't great either. Wait for the next vacation. The company's about to go public, and we can't afford any distractions right now."

Chloe shot me a smug, triumphant look.

Andrew, probably trying to head off another argument, turned to Chloe. "Book her a return ticket too. She'll sit with me."

Before Chloe could respond, I spoke first. "That's not necessary. I—"

A roar of flames erupted from the bonfire in the distance, swallowing the rest of my sentence.

Andrew frowned. "What?"

Chloe's brown eyes flashed with something sly. "The gathering's starting. Go enjoy it, Andrew. I'll take care of things with Wendy."

Andrew's mind clearly wasn't on me anyway. He nodded, told me to behave, and drifted off with the crowd toward the fire.

The second he was gone, Chloe dropped the act. She crossed her arms and looked me up and down.

"Wendy, I thought you'd decided to get divorced. So what, you tracked us down through HR and followed us here? Is that really where we're at?"

I knew she had the wrong idea. But the divorce decree would be here any day now, and I didn't feel like explaining myself to her.

Chloe wasn't letting it go. Something vicious crept into her eyes. "Fine. If you insist on crashing our trip, then let's settle this. Let's see who Andrew picks."

Before I could react, she shoved me hard. I lost my balance and fell backward onto the bonfire. The searing pain ripped a scream out of me.

The sound drew a crowd. Andrew heard it too, and when he turned and saw me sprawled against the fire, his expression shifted. He started toward me.

Then he noticed Chloe standing to the side, clutching her hand, face crumpled in pain. "What happened to your hand?"

He changed direction instantly, going straight to Chloe and pulling her hand toward him.

Chloe's voice trembled with rehearsed hurt. "I don't know what happened. Wendy just stumbled backward into the fire on her own, and the sparks burned my hand."

Andrew's face softened with concern. He blew gently on the faint redness on the back of Chloe's hand.

Then he turned to me, all the warmth gone. "Wendy, the jealousy thing has got to stop. I actually thought you'd matured, but here you are pulling stunts to frame Chloe.

"Apologize to her now, or I swear I'll put you on a flight home tonight."

I was clutching my foot, covered in blisters from the burn, in too much pain to get a word out.

Andrew took my silence as defiance. "Don't think playing the victim is going to make me take your side. You're the one in the wrong here."

He was about to say more when the front desk attendant from the guesthouse, a young, clean-cut guy, stepped outside.

"Wendy, your divorce decree came in."