So I smile when I’m asked and say my name is Herald Vance. Chase gets her this weekend, but I’ll have her latest appointment Thursday and remind her what she’s missing out on while checking off a box for father.
VALERIE
Chase was right, I survive the week. Which means I wait for him Saturday in a white sundress with watercolor flowers printed on it. He shows up in some kind of luxury car that makes my baby look like she belongs in a junkyard.
I get in before he can get out and see he’s unbuckled. Shaking my head, I lean over him, meeting his eyes, and click his seatbelt in place. “Be safe for me, Chase.”
“If only you knew what I did in my spare time.” He chuckles.
I cup his cheek in my hand. He’s so damn rebellious, so eager to prove that he’s better than the average man, that he’s invincible, perfect. I prefer when he’s just him. His eyes widen as I keep stroking his cheek gently.
“Stay safe so we can go on more dates,” I murmur before kissing him softly.
When I sit back down, he nods slowly. “Ready for our date?”
“The one that’s definitelynotthe dinner cruise?”
“You asked for no paparazzi. I aim to please.” He pulls on sunglasses to beat the steady dropping of the sun and I shake my head as I buckle myself into place.
Of course, Chase drives like a crazy person until I order him, using that damn mom voice that Sophie’s always given me shit about, to slow the fuck down. He obeys immediately, reaching over to take my hand and press it to his mouth.
“Don’t like fast cars?”
“I don’t trust the other people on the road,” I pant, shaking slightly. “You’re a wild child.”
“I know you’re not all talk, Valerie.” He chuckles. “I’ll learn your limits.”
“Quickly,” I hiss.
We get to a marina and Chase pauses for a moment, glancing around, then nods. “Feel like a race to the dock?”
“Is everything about speed with you?” I demand.
But with his hand in mine, we half-sprint, half-trip to the dock. I bend over a little to catch my breath. I clearly need more time in the gym to keep up with these three. I stand and rub the back of my neck. My hair’s already falling out of my bun and whipping around my face as Chase leads me past luxury sailboats and fishing boats to the second to last branch off the dock.
He waves his hands to a yacht. A gorgeous yacht, actually. “This is my girl.”
“Lovely,” I say with an approving nod.
He helps me board the yacht and before I can really get my bearings, we’re leaving the marina and heading onto the Potomac River.
Sitting on the deck, where there’s a single table set up, Chase finally removes his sunglasses. He’s dressed impeccably, as always, his suit perfectly tailored to show off that hard body he has underneath. Remembering he’s older than me and has this much energy, this much fun gives me hope for the future.
He takes my hand and brushes his thumb over my wrist. “We’re on a boat with dinner, I think I stayed in the lines pretty closely.”
“You didn’t need to bid on something to ask me out,” I mumble. “You could have just asked me out. Anytime since the wedding.”
“You could have texted too,” He says.
“I made the first move,” I remind him. “Pulled you up to my room and everything. It was your job to make the second one.”
“Sorry that I didn’t receive an instruction manual on how to do this.” He kisses my fingers softly.
“Dating’s new to you?” I ask, trying to be somewhat coy and avoid throwing myself.
His lips lift at the corner, ever so softly. It warms his whole face and I can’t believe he’s more than thirty with that mix of ‘kid caught in the cookie jar’ and absolute joy etched in his features.
“You make all the rules for relationships and dating that I know useless,” He says. When I arch my eyebrow at thatmaybecompliment, he continues. “Sex first normally means a one-night stand. You’re younger than any woman I’ve dated since I was well … thirty, and you like being the one in charge.”