Free Private Passions by Jami Alden Page A

from the train wreck that was her own life. Jane Bowden
Turns to Pills to Cope. Jane Bowden on the Edge of Collapse as her
Private Passions Go Public.
    And her favorite, courtesy of Weekly News of
The World: Sex Fiend Jane Collapses After Too Long Without a
Fix, complete with accompanying "expert" testimony from a Dr.
Harper that like all addicts, sex addicts could also suffer from
withdrawal symptoms, which in extreme cases could include physical
collapse.
    Jane finally slapped her laptop closed.
"What's so wrong with the truth? That I freaked the hell out?" And
she was on the verge of doing it again, if the churning of her
stomach and the pounding of her heart were anything to go by.
    "That's not quite enough to sell the rags,
doll," Hal said matter of factly. "You know how it works. They need
to make it sound like you're on the verge of a total
breakdown."
    That wasn't exactly far from the truth.
    "Are you packed for New York?" Hal said.
    She barely heard him through the sound of her
blood pumping in her head.
    "Yes," she heard Hailey answer. "We're just
waiting for Mira to drop off her outfits for the Today Show and
Letterman."
    The Today Show. Letterman. Live With Kelly.
Interviews with People and Vanity Fair . Hal had been
busy in the last week, booking a full docket for Jane to do damage
control and show the world she was fine just fine after this latest
humiliation.
    Her stomach twisted and a cold sweat broke
out over her skin at the thought of repeating last night's
experience. At opening up to millions about something so private.
At trying to laugh it off like it was some big joke when in truth
it was so deeply personal.
    Hailey and Hal's voices faded to the
background as one thought took over, echoing through her head in an
endless, undeniable litany.
    I need to get out. I need to go away. I need
to be alone. I need to get out. I need to get away. I need to be
alone.
    She was on her feet before she realized it,
phone in hand, practically running down the hall and up the stairs
to her bedroom, ignoring Hal's and Hailey's startled protests. She
got to her room and locked the doors behind her, blocking out the
sound of Hal pounding on the door.
    Her call was answered on the first ring.
"Jane, honey, how are you holding up?"
    Just the sound of Julie Dennison's voice was
enough to make Jane's heart slow a degree. Back when Julie and her
now husband, Chris had hosted her wedding at the exclusive Holley
Cay Resort, Jane had been a bridezilla from hell, overwhelmed and
completely stressed out about marrying Ryan. In retrospect, that
should have been a warning sign.
    Fortunately, Julie had accepted Jane's
apology after the fact, and they'd always stayed in touch. After
the wedding, Jane and Ryan had been back several times, and could
always count on Julie and the Holley Cay staff to provide the
utmost discretion and privacy. Two years ago, when Jane had
purchased an island retreat near the resort Chris had helped her
negotiate the deal so her purchase was never made public.
    The retreat, which Jane had jokingly dubbed
"the Sea Shack," was the last completely private place in Jane's
all too public life.
    "Not so great, if you want to know the
truth," Jane said shakily.
    "Tell me what you need," Julie said.
    "I need to get away. Fast. And I can't let
anyone on my end know that I'm going."
    "How fast can you pack?"
     

Chapter 6
     
    "Just
so you know, if she has you thrown off the island and arrested for
trespassing, I'm going to claim I had nothing to do with it."
    "I heard you the first five times," Deck
replied. "You know I'd never throw you under the bus." He owed Sam
O'Connell, the head of security for Holley Cay resort—who just
happened to be an old Army buddy and former colleague at Ross
Securities—big time for this.
    To be fair, it wasn't as if Deck couldn't
figure out how to get himself to Jane's mysterious island retreat.
It hadn't taken a rocket scientist to figure out where she'd
disappeared to. Unlike most of