Page 40 of Vitamin Sea

F all in Love at Costa Morpho . It was the article for the latest issue of Strut. She had fallen in love with the resort, yes, and she had fallen in love at the resort.

If someone had told her six months ago that she would end up on assignment at a naturist resort and would not only enjoy her time there, but find new love, she would have asked them what they were smoking.

The day she had written the first draft of the feature, she had gone out for dinner with Jack.

Liam hadn’t taken the news that she already had plans well.

The funny thing was, she agreed to go for dinner with Jack because he was the one who had asked her first. If Liam had beaten Jack to the punch, she would have opted for dinner with him—reservations about his character and getting back together be damned.

A few days later, she had gone out for dinner with Liam again. Taking the advice her girlfriends had given her to heart, she had put Liam through the fifth degree.

They had dinner at a little English pub on the east side of

the city. It was an inconvenient location for both of them, but it had great food and a cozy environment.

Over appetizers and wine, she questioned him.

“Help me understand,” she had started off, “how you moved on so quickly?”

Liam’s eyes flicked to the left before he met her eyes.

“I wasn’t thinking with my head, to be honest,” he said sincerely.

“Sophia had been coming onto me for months and because we were spending so much time together, we developed an emotional relationship. She started confiding in me, flattering me, talking about her ex. Saying how she wished she had such a dedicated, supportive, and hard-working boyfriend as me . . .” He trailed off.

“And nothing happened between you two during that time?” she asked pointedly. “For six months before you broke up with me it felt like you were distant and distracted.”

“Nothing, Chlo,” Liam looked sincere. “I swear on my life.”

She thought about it for a second. She was satisfied by his answer. Giving into temptation wasn’t something she condoned or something she was thrilled about, but it had never occurred to her that Sophia was coming onto him.

Not that it absolved Liam of any guilt.

“What made you realize breaking up with me was a mistake?” she asked.

He shook his head.

“It was when she and I settled into a routine. It didn’t feel right. At first it was invigorating and exciting.” He looked sheepish. “But the more time she and I spent together, the more I realized I had made a huge mistake.”

Chloe kept listening as she popped a warm olive into her mouth and washed it down with a sip of wine.

“You’re supportive and kind. You’re not demanding, you’re not belittling, not combative.

You’ve stood by me through thick and thin, and you’ve been my biggest champion.

” He leaned forward. “I thought about all the great times we shared together. About all the plans we had made for the future. And I realized what an idiot I was to throw that all away just because I was under stress. I lost sight of who I really am and what I really want because of a coworker who I confided in and spent a lot of time with. I realized I blew up my life for nothing. So, I broke up with her in hopes of getting you back.”

Chloe didn’t know how to respond to that.

It was a small satisfaction to finally receive answers to the questions she had agonized over for several months. But it was also a shock to her system. She thought about Liam’s behaviour during their last six months together and realized just how checked out of their relationship he had been.

“I’m sorry, Chlo,” he pleaded with her. “I really am. I wish I could take it all back. Everything. I’ll never forgive myself for the way I treated you and for how I hurt you.”

Chloe worked to keep a neutral expression on her face.

“And what about now?” she asked. “You still work with Sophia.”

Liam shook his head. He had told her during their first dinner that he had moved out of Sophia’s place and had been living with Karam for the past month. So, while she was no longer his girlfriend, she was still his colleague.

“She recently took a job at Bank of America.” He took a drink of his beer. “Her last day at the office was two weeks ago.”

A weird sense of relief swept over her. Sophia was gone.

The woman she had spent so many hours and days worrying and feeling sick over was gone.

Chloe had been unsure as to whether she was going to give things with Liam another go, and the lightness she felt after hearing that Sophia was out of his life was further confusing.

They had finished their appetizers and drinks with a conversation that was much lighter than before. And outside

the pub that evening, Chloe had been the one to initiate a

hug.

◆◆◆

After that evening, Liam had taken to texting and calling her with increasing fervor—asking her to go for lunch, for dinner, for walks. It was, Chloe assumed, because he knew he had competition, but she was still shocked by how determined he seemed to get her back.

With regards to Jack, she didn’t know if they would go the distance, but for now, she was enjoying the journey.

She was learning to appreciate things for what they are and not dwelling on wild fantasies of the future.

More importantly, she had come to appreciate that friends and family are the most important things in one’s life.

Romantic partners were great, but it was crucial to cultivate a life she was pleased with instead of crafting her life around her partner.

That way, if something did happen—infidelity, a breakup, or, god forbid, death—she wouldn’t fall apart.

Not that she was falling apart anymore. She was thriving. It had been one month since Liam had come crawling back into her life, and she had done a lot of soul-searching. For the most part, her mind was made up, but there were many ‘what if’ moments.

What if things didn’t work out with Jack?

What if Liam actually was reformed after his stint with Sophia?

What if it was a one-off and he would be faithful to her until the end of times?

It was stressful and she leaned heavily on her girlfriends. There were moments she was tempted, that was true. Throwing away the potential life with Liam she had envisioned for herself was hard. But when she really thought about it, Liam had thrown it away first.

Which was a funny thing really.

It was hard for her to believe that this was where she had ended up. She had known with every fiber of her being that she and Liam would have a happily-ever-after and she had been devastated when it didn’t turn out that way. For months.

She had sobbed, and hoped, and dreamed that one day he would change his mind and come back to her.

That day had come, and it had been followed by many more.

But it hadn’t turned out the way she had anticipated.

It turned out, when she really thought about it, she didn’t want Liam anymore.

She didn’t trust him, and she looked at their relationship through a new lens.

Life was funny that way, she reflected. Sometimes you want something so badly only to realize later on that it wasn’t actually for you.

It was only a little over two months since she had returned from her life-changing trip to Costa Rica, and just as long as she had known Jack.

But despite the short time they had known each other, Chloe really felt herself falling for him.

She wasn’t na?ve enough to think it was happily ever after for the two of them.

She knew there would come a point where things about him would annoy her and the other way around.

If they even made it to that point. But she was feeling optimistic.

The opportunity to try and make a relationship work with Jack—a man who not only seemed to like her, all of her, but who also made her feel like she was special—was something she didn’t want to pass up.

Jack worked just as many long hours as Liam did but somehow always found time for her.

She made up her mind. She had been open with Jack and he had backed off, saying he didn’t want to sway her one way or another. But she hadn’t let him. “I want you ,” she had said to him firmly. Jack had smiled, but she didn’t think he entirely believed it.

She didn’t know if she entirely believed it at first, but she was sure of it now. She had made up her mind and closed the door on a future with Liam.

And a good thing too. Only two days later, Lala had called her up to see if she could come over. It was early evening on a Monday and Chloe had just changed into her comfy clothes.

“Totally,” she told her friend. “I’ll make dinner.”

“Why don’t I bring dinner over?” Lala suggested.

Chloe had gotten out a bottle of pinot noir and two glasses. Twenty minutes later, Lala was on her doorstep with Thai.

“Hi!” Chloe enthused, grabbing the heavy brown bag from her friend. “Do you want some wine? I opened a red.”

“Yes,” Lala said emphatically. “I actually think you’re going to need it.”

Chloe blanched for a second.

“What,” she said cautiously. It wasn’t so much a question. She was almost afraid to ask.

“Pour me a glass, I’ll take out the food. We can dish up and then we’ll talk.”

“Lala, you’re scaring me.” Chloe wasn’t being dramatic. There was a pit starting to form in her stomach.

She hoped it wasn’t something about Jack.

The throaty glug of wine being poured into Lala’s glass and then topping off Chloe’s was intermixed with the sound of containers being opened and cutlery and plates being pulled out of their respective places in the kitchen.

She handed Lala a giant glass of wine and Lala clinked her glass against Chloe’s.

“Cheers, Chlo.”

Chloe hesitated. She had a feeling that whatever Lala was about to tell her wasn’t something she wanted to toast to.

Lala took a drink and set her glass down on the counter with a heavy thunk.

Chloe took a deep breath.

“Lala—what the hell is going on?”