Elaine had no idea what to say. When she looked at me, she must have mistaken bewilderment for grief. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
I caught Chase’s grin as he pulled his ringing cell from his pocket. “Excuse me for a minute.”
When he came back, he was less playful, quiet even. I wasn’t sure if the call he’d received was on his mind or if Elaine fixing me up with her brother had actually bothered him more than he let on. But something was off. Elaine didn’t seem to notice it, though. We talked about marketing for most of the rest of the evening, which was usually one of my favorite things to discuss, yet I found myself preoccupied with Chase’s lack of participation.
At the hotel, things were pretty much the same. It was late, and we’d had one hell of a long day—beginning at four o’clock this morning. Chase took a shower in his room while I washed up and changed. He came into my bathroom while I was brushing my teeth. “Can I borrow your charger again?”
I spit out a mouthful of toothpaste. “Sure. It should be plugged in on the desk.”
I don’t know why, but I assumed when he asked me for the charger, he meant he was taking it to his room, not spending the night in mine again. So I was surprised when I found him plugging it in on his side of the bed. His side of the bed. Well, that happened awfully quick.
Grabbing my moisturizer, I sat on the chair at the desk and pumped it a few times, squirting the white cream into my hand.
I’d begun to rub it into my legs when Chase said, “Come here. Let me do that.”
I handed him the lotion and sat at the bottom of the bed, extending my legs in his direction. He stared at them while he rubbed, his fingers massaging more than needed to work in the lotion.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
He nodded. It wasn’t very convincing.
“Are you upset because of the thing with Elaine’s brother? Because she just caught me unexpectedly. I wasn’t really planning on going out with him. I would at least be up front if I was planning on dating someone else.”
He’d been working his thumb into my calf, kneading a muscle that was cramped from twelve hours in high heels, when his hand abruptly stopped, and he looked up at me. “You’re planning on dating someone else?”
“No. Well…I know we talked about not dating other people. But I wasn’t sure—”
“I’m sure,” he interrupted.
“You are?”
“I’m not sure how we got here or where we’re going. But I’m damn sure I don’t want to share you.”
He’d said exactly what I felt. “I don’t want to share you either.”
“Good. Then it’s settled?”
“It is.” I smiled and then motioned to my legs. “Now rub more…that feels good.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Although the air between us was clear, I suspected something was still on Chase’s mind when he turned off the light. Pulling me onto his chest, he stroked my hair in the dark.
“The call at dinner tonight? It was the detective from Peyton’s case.”
I turned, propping my head atop my hands on his chest and looking up at him. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Since it’s technically an open case, she still comes around once a year and touches base. Told her I’d see her next week.”
“That must be hard on you.”
“Just odd timing. It had been a few years since I’d had a nightmare. Started happening again a few weeks ago. And then tonight she called.”
“Do they check in with you at the same time every year? Maybe it’s been in the back of your mind that it’s coming up, and that prompted your subconscious back into action.”
He nodded like it made sense. “Maybe.”
I crawled up his body and planted a kiss on his lips. “Thank you for sharing that with me. It means a lot.”
Chapter 21
Chase – Seven years ago
My phone buzzed on my desk. I picked it up and barked without saying hello. “You’re late.”
“Did you really expect me early?” Peyton asked. I knew she was smiling from her voice.
I shook my head and smiled back even though I wasn’t happy she was late. Again. “Where are you?”
“I got out later than I thought and had to make a stop. Go on without me. I’ll meet you at the restaurant instead of your office.”
For an actress, she really needed to work on being less transparent. “Where you heading, Peyton?”
“Just running an errand for Little East.”
“Running an errand or following Eddie?”
“Aren’t they the same thing?”
“No, they’re not. Please tell me you’re not heading uptown again to that homeless camp.”
She was quiet.
“Damn it, Peyton. I thought we agreed you weren’t going to do this shit anymore.”
“No, you told me I wasn’t going to. That’s not the same as agreeing.”