Grand Passion by Jayne Ann Krentz Read Free Book Online Page A

twenty-three at the time.
    Slowly, painfully, she had begun putting her life back together. She had gone to the coast frequently during that period, drawn by the eternal, soul-soothing appeal of the ocean. It was there she had discovered the Cosmic Harmony Women's Retreat and the strength to rebuild her world.
    With the money left from the trust fund her parents had established for her, Cleo had purchased the old Victorian inn that sat on the bluff high above Harmony Cove. Slowly, but surely, she had gathered a clan of friends around her.
    It was a loose-knit group, and some of the members changed from time to time, but there was a central core that consisted of Cleo, Andromeda, Daystar, Sylvia Gordon, and her son, Sammy. Trisha Briggs and Benjy Atkins had both been added to the clan somewhere along the line. So had Jason Curzon. An extended family had been created, albeit a nontraditional one.
    Although she had needed the closeness of her friends, Cleo had felt no need for a lover. She did not think she was cold or frigid, but there was no denying that a part of her seemed to have gone into hibernation somewhere deep inside her. Her therapist had suggested that Cleo had become deeply wary of intimacy because of the manner in which the close bond between her parents had been so shockingly severed.
    On the one hand Cleo longed for the sort of relationship her parents had enjoyed, the therapist explained, but on the other hand, she was fearful of what might lie at the heart of it. Only a dark sickness of the mind could have made Edward Robbins turn the gun on his beloved wife. The therapist was convinced that Cleo now feared that such a powerful love might be based on an equally powerful and very dangerous obsession.
    The only thing Cleo knew for certain was that she could not give herself to a man unless she loved him the way her mother had loved her father. Cleo understood that for her it would have to be a grand passion or nothing at all.
    She had been dating Nolan Hildebrand for some time now on a casual basis, but she had not gone to bed with him. She knew she never would.
    Max watched her intently. “Did Jason know about Hildebrand?”
    Cleo was surprised by the question. “Of course. I told you, Nolan and I have been seeing each other for quite a while.”
    Max put down the last, unfinished bit of muffin and folded his arms on the table. He leaned forward, his eyes cold. “Are you telling me that Jason didn't mind sharing you with the mayor of Harmony Cove?”
    “Sharing me?” Cleo blinked, astonished. “What on earth are you talking about?”
    “You know damn well what I'm talking about. I knew Jason for twelve years, and I know that he was not the kind of man who would share his woman with another man.”
    A warm tide of embarrassment flooded through Cleo as the finally understood what he was talking about. “Are you crazy? Jason and I were friends.”
    “I know.”
    “Good friends. Not lovers. For heaven's sake, Max, he was old enough to be my grandfather.”
    “So? You wouldn't be the first woman to latch onto an older man in hopes of getting your hands on some of his money.”
    “So that's what this is all about.” Anger surged through her, driving out the embarrassment. “For your information, Jason didn't have much money. He never even managed to sell one of his paintings. He was an old man who was living on a pension and Social Security.”
    “Is that right?”
    Cleo slid out of the booth and got to her feet. “I don't believe this. I thought you were a friend of Jason's. I thought you knew all about him and about his family here at the inn.”
    “Are you telling me you weren't Jason's mistress?”
    “I don't think I'm going to tell you a damn thing, Mr. Fortune. I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me. I've got to race off and meet another one of my many lovers. When I get back, I'll expect to find you checked out.” Cleo spun around on her heel and stalked out of the kitchen.
    She refused to