The New Girl Who Found A Dead Body (excerpt)

Chapter 1: The New Girl

Chloe had tried her best to look good today, although five hours of flying had taken the curl out of her long blonde hair. She had quickly touched up her make-up before picking up her luggage, though, so she felt a little better about that. Still, she was nervous. She really wanted to make a good first impression. This was the start of the rest of her life.  

“Chloe?” a male voice questioned from her right.

Chloe turned and stared into the bright blue eyes of Jake Spencer. Her breath caught and she felt her cheeks turn pink.

He was cute! He still had the unruly brown hair and his eyes had become an ocean shade of blue. A dimple creased the right corner of his mouth, making his smile contagious. Chloe smiled back.

“Hi, Jake?” Chloe said, attempting to recover from her sudden reaction to him.

“I’m so sorry! I was late and then I couldn’t find you in the baggage claim and I left your cell number at home,” Jake paused, catching his breath and then he grinned broadly, “It’s so good to see you!”

And, before she knew it Jake was engulfing her in a hug. Chloe hugged him back and noted, with wonder, at how nice it felt to be in his arms. Chloe caught a hint of his aftershave as he pulled away.

“It’s good to see you too,” Chloe smiled back.

They just grinned at each other for a moment and then Jake looked away, “My girlfriend, Kate, should be here any second. She’s circling, while I went to look for you. The airport’s crazy.”

Chloe nodded absently at his words, her mind suddenly elsewhere. Jake had a girlfriend. Of course he had a girlfriend. She felt a surge of disappointment. She immediately pushed it away. She hadn’t come to California for romance. Well, she hadn’t come for just romance, she admitted. Some romance would be nice eventually, but she had come for the adventure and to pursue her dream. Besides, even if it couldn’t be romantic, Chloe thought, she would enjoy getting to know Jake again. It had been a long time since they had been friends and she was eager to hear about his life since then.

They stood for a few moments in silence, watching the cars fly by. Chloe felt awkward and gawky, suddenly, standing next to Jake. He was at least a head taller than her, his shoulders broad and muscular. She looked at him from the corner of her eyes as he scanned the crowd for his girlfriend. She wondered if he was still the same boy she had known in grade school. She searched his features, looking for the friend she had lost to distance so long ago.

“There she is!” Jake motioned toward a blue convertible, which screeched to a halt next to them.

Wow, Chloe thought, as the sleek car pulled up. “Is this your car?”

“Yeah,” Jake grinned. “I love this car.”

Chloe looked at it in admiration. It was the ideal way to arrive in California. How much more perfect than a convertible driving by the ocean could you get? Chloe felt a warm glow of happiness form in her stomach. This was going to be great!

Jake busied himself with loading her luggage into the trunk and Chloe found herself gazing awkwardly at his girlfriend, Kate. She was the epitome of the California girl – tall, blonde, with cool blue eyes, and a killer sense of fashion.

Chloe felt old fashioned in comparison despite the efforts she had made to look nice in the airport bathroom before she had gotten her luggage. Her own blonde hair was a strawberry blonde, the curls she had tried to put in that morning, falling out, and she had on the normal jeans and baby doll T-shirt that were her usual ensemble. Chloe felt almost like she was staring at a girl from a magazine, sitting inside a perfect car. Kate, on the other hand, had sleek, bleach blonde hair, make-up that looked almost professionally done, a glowing tan, a mini-skirt, and a purple lacy tank top that fit her body perfectly. Chloe had a feeling that she was going to have a lot to learn if all the girls in California looked like Kate.