Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 94903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Fuck. Me.
Literally.
I blow out a steadying breath.
“That’s great, Maggie,” I say, hoping that’s the right answer to fill the gap in the conversation. “I’ll talk to Chase next and see what he wants to do and how he wants to do it.”
He chuckles.
“That’s wonderful,” Maggie says. “I’ll come by tomorrow and check in before we leave town. All right?”
“That’s great. See you then. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye, Megan.”
I hang up before the end of my name is entirely spoken.
There. I place my phone next to the napkin on the table. Decision made.
I take a massive breath hoping to clear the endorphins from my brain.
“I take it you reconsidered,” he says with a teasing lilt.
“Well, you were honest with me. I’m a woman of my word.”
He chuckles. “Yeah. You gave in because I was honest.”
“Do you think I did it for another reason?”
He shakes his head and ends his laugh with a sigh. “We need to talk about some things.”
I like doggy style. “What are you thinking?”
It’s as if he can read my mind. He lifts his brows and places his hands safely in his lap—the place farthest from me.
“The reason I didn’t want you to work for me was that I want to fuck you,” he says.
“Yes. I heard. That was quite the admission, but I’m not mad about it.”
“I’m glad.”
We watch one another, finding our way through a dance that neither of us is familiar with. He seems to want to be careful with his steps. I want to be smart about mine.
Does he believe I feel the same way he feels? Is he waiting for me to admit that I feel the same attraction?
Finally, after a long couple of moments, Chase breaks the silence.
“As long as you’re in my house, I can’t touch you, Megan.”
The words are strained as if saying them is as hard for him as hearing them is for me.
But I get it.
Tabitha returns to check on me. She says something about my grilled cheese, and I smile and nod in return. My head continues to process Chase talking about fucking me. Or not fucking me.
My breath wavers.
As soon as she leaves, Chase switches gears. He’s all business.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have admitted that to you,” he says, “but you asked for the truth.”
“I did, and I’m glad you told me. It’s an ego boost if nothing else.”
He tries not to smile.
“But in light of your admission, do you think this is a good idea?” I ask. “Your attraction is reciprocated.”
He lifts his chin.
“When you consider that along with how we seem to communicate …” I shrug. “It might be a recipe for disaster.”
He shrugs. “It might be. I can’t swear it won’t.”
I fall back into my chair. What do I do?
“We’re adults,” he says, his voice holding steady. “We can control ourselves. Right?”
“Yeah.”
He looks around the room before dropping his gaze onto me again. “Kennedy is going through a phase right now that’s making me want to drink. I’m trying to give her boundaries and a routine, and expectations. I’m trying to save her from herself. The last thing I want to do—that I will do—is confuse the kid more than she already is.”
“What’s going on with her?”
“Hell if I know,” he says, running a hand over his head. “She’s fine one minute, then skipping school the next. I found cigarettes in her room. She’s snuck out more than once and has a group of friends that need some discipline—shit that I don’t understand. She tried to forge my signature and get a fucking tattoo.” He groans as if he’s at his wit’s end. “Why would she act like this? What am I not doing? What am I not giving her to make her act like a vigilante?”
I giggle even though it’s not funny. What is funny, or endearing, is how sweet he is when it comes to Kennedy … and his complete lack of understanding of a teenage girl.
“It might not have anything to do with you,” I say. “I don’t know why she’s acting like that because I don’t know her. But this is normal teenage behavior.”
He blinks. Twice.
“Well, rest assured that none of that has stamped her ticket to juvie,” I say.
He sighs. “Do you see the problem? It doesn’t matter how badly I want you. I’m not willing to risk either of us getting distracted and losing Kennedy in the process. So my focus is on her. That’s why I need help—to keep Kennedy on the straight and narrow.”
The worry etched on his face pulls at my heart. Suddenly, some of his reaction to me makes sense.
I bet Chase was irritated with me last night. Helping a random woman at the end of a long day while trying to get home to his worrisome daughter must’ve been a hassle. And finding me in his house the next day? He had to have been as surprised as I was.