Chaos by Lanie Bross Page B

Karen’s party.”
    Jasmine didn’t know whether to feel relieved or disappointed. He didn’t know anything. She shrugged. “He didn’t say anything to me about it.”
    Tyler looked down at his shoes. “Yeah, well, I probably wouldn’t want to talk about it either, if I caught my girlfriend—” He broke off suddenly.
    “Caught my girlfriend what?” Jasmine said. She was curious, even though it shouldn’t have mattered; she had never liked Karen and had never understood how Luc could date someone whose idea of a deep conversation was a ninety-minute discussion about which bikini to take on vacation.
    Tyler blew out a long breath. “Cheating,” he said. “Luc caught Karen cheating.”
    Jasmine felt her mouth drop open. Why hadn’t he told her? She felt a flicker of guilt. Maybe he hadn’t wanted to worry her, or maybe he didn’t think she could handle it.
    Luc always took care of her. But there was no one to take care of him.
    She made a silent promise: She was going to do better. She was going to be better. For Luc.
    “I’ll let him know you’ve been trying to reach him,” she told Tyler. “Look, I gotta go. I’m supposed to be meeting someone.”
    At the corner was a small coffee shop: Tully’s Coffee. Damage to the block looked minimal, although the green awning had partially detached from the building and hung limply next to the door. Inside, Jas was assaulted by the smell of roasting coffee—so strong she could practically taste it.
    The coffee shop wasn’t large, and only a few peoplewere clustered around the small bistro tables—Jasmine registered their individual conversations without actually listening. Ford was gone. How had he disappeared so fast? Had he left the coffee shop while she was distracted by Tyler? She cursed softly. She should have just walked up to him at the gym and demanded answers. Now she had no way of finding him.
    “Why are you following me?”
    She spun around. Ford.
    She hadn’t even heard him approach.
    Jasmine took a deep breath. “Because I need answers. You disappeared on me.”
    “I wish I had some.…” Ford raised his eyebrows. “And I hate to break it to you, but we’ve never met. I most definitely would remember you.”
    Heat climbed up Jasmine’s neck. He had the sexiest smile, and a small freckle, like a tiny star next to his left eye. She hadn’t noticed that before. “At the rotunda,” she said impatiently. He was messing with her. “What happened to the people who were chasing me?”
    The playful smile disappeared. “Look,” he said, and frowned. “I don’t know who you think I am, but you’ve got the wrong guy.”
    She stared at him. “But—”
    “I don’t know you,” he said, raising both hands apologetically. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Sorry.” He scanned her face one more time, like he was trying to decide whether she was crazy. He tried to sidestep her, but she grabbed his arm and a shock ran through her body.
    Ford took a quick step back and a flash of recognition passed over his face. When he looked into her eyes again, he seemed afraid. “Look,” he said, lowering his voice, “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing. We both know we’re on different sides, so stop following me. I won’t help you.”
    “What?” Jasmine was more confused than ever. “I’m not on anyone’s
side
. I don’t know what the hell is going on. All I know is we were at the rotunda together. Then you disappeared. Now you’re pretending that you don’t even know me.” She crossed her arms.
    “Miranda,”
Ford muttered, so quietly Jasmine almost didn’t hear him. The name sent a jolt through her.
    “What about Miranda?” Jasmine asked quickly. She still had no idea who Miranda was, but it couldn’t be a coincidence that her name kept coming up.
    “I knew she must have had something to do with this,” he said. He didn’t look afraid now. He looked tired. “Time was always an obsession of hers.”
    “I