Free Crazy for Love by Victoria Dahl Page A

flashed in his eyes, but Max assumed an incredulous expression. “That’s ridiculous. What are you talking about?”
    â€œI’m talking about you being a freak, Max.”
    â€œHey!”
    Shaking her head in disgust, Chloe spun awayfrom him and waded toward the sand. “I thought you liked me.”
    â€œWait…” His splashing tossed water high, making her shiver when the drops struck the small of her back. She’d felt confident and playful a moment before, but now she was left vulnerable in her swimsuit, exposed to a man who didn’t find her attractive.
    She made it to the waterline and looked around for her shirt.
    â€œChloe,” Max said behind her. She jerked away when his fingers curled around her elbow. “Chloe, I do like you. So why are you calling me a freak?”
    â€œGive it up, already. I’m on to you, okay? I see what you’re doing.”
    â€œWhat?” He threw his hands up. “What am I doing?”
    Though he tried to hold her gaze, Chloe turned away to search the beach for her shirt. Humiliation was a familiar enough feeling that it only stung a little when she realized how close she’d come to letting him distract her with his fake kisses. Even now she wished she’d kept her mouth shut. Or just opened it for him, actually. She could be rolling around on the sand with her hands wrapped around those big biceps right now.
    â€œLast night, you weren’t interested in me or inJenn, were you? You were checking on the fire. That’s why you came over.”
    â€œChloe,” he said, his voice warm with indulgent laughter. “Come on.”
    â€œAnd the diving? You didn’t want to go diving. You didn’t even look at that wreck.”
    This time he didn’t respond. Finally spotting her shirt, Chloe sprinted over to grab it and shook it hard to be sure there were no crabs nesting in it. She jerked it over her head, then glanced back to find him standing five feet away, hands open as if he’d paused midgesture.
    He inclined his head, and his hands completed the circular motion. “Of course I wanted to go diving. I love diving. It’s what I do. Sorry, I must’ve gone into work mode. I guess I’m not used to diving on vacation anymore.”
    â€œMax.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œYou’re a big fat liar! You didn’t want to have marshmallows, and you didn’t want to go diving, and you definitely didn’t want to make out on the beach tonight.”
    â€œI… It’s…” He looked dumbstruck. His big, sexy shoulders drooped. “It’s no fun to make out on the beach. The fucking sand is a hundred times worse than a rug burn.”
    â€œThe sand? What’s the sand got to do with anything?”
    â€œYou said I didn’t want to make out with you. That’s not true. I just didn’t want to do it here.”
    She ignored the stab of ugly hope that hit her belly. Slick talk. “So why’d you follow me out here?”
    He snapped his mouth shut.
    â€œWhy did you want to come with me?”
    â€œIt seemed like a fun idea.” There was a tiny note of question in the last word, as if she finally had him on shaky ground, but he clearly didn’t mean to give up the truth. She’d had enough of lying men.
    Chloe shook her head in disgust. “I need to find my shorts,” she growled, bitterly aware that a phrase like that should be uttered under much happier circumstances. “Good night. I’m sure I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    Wishing she’d brought a flashlight, Chloe walked along the waterline, squinting into the darkness. Where the hell could her shorts have gone? Had she missed the sand completely and they were even now floating toward Europe? The perfect end to a shitty evening.
    She finally spotted the shorts and hurried to grab them. No wonder they’d been hard to spot. The pale gray material blended right