Chase woke up next to Katie. After a wild time in the shower, they had fallen on the bed, totally spent. They hadn’t even totally dried off. He went to sleep before she could ask him to go to his own bed. Flat on his stomach with an arm resting across her abdomen, he peeked at her with one eye. The other side of his face was buried in his pillow, and he didn’t want to move for fear of disturbing her. He’d planned to tell her yesterday that their deal was off, but the pain in her eyes while looking at the negative pregnancy test knocked the wind out of him. She desperately wanted a baby. How could he say no after giving her hope? Before he made the offer, she had given up on ever having a child of her own. He couldn’t take it away from her now, even if it wasn’t what he personally wanted. She would be a great mother and deserved to have that chance.
A quiet snore slipped past her open lips, making him smile. He didn’t like the idea of never seeing her again. Sleeping in a cold bed alone and waking up alone didn’t seem that appealing anymore. But the fact was even if he wanted to continue with their marriage, which he didn’t, she was in love with her dead husband. She’d made that abundantly clear.
With an ease of motion, he climbed out of bed, careful not to wake her. He needed his ritual five-mile morning run more than ever. Hopefully, fresh air would clear his brain so he could think clearly on the matter of Katie.
A few minutes later, he was running down the block. Helen Rochester waved at him from her front yard. His plan was to simply nod at her and keep running. He needed time alone to think, but she had her own plans. Wearing a bright red tracksuit, she jogged out to intercept him.
“Hey, neighbor,” she said with a flirty smile. “The new wife doesn’t run, huh? Not surprised. She looks like an indoor aerobics girl to me.”
“I like to run alone, so I can think,” he said, hoping she’d take the hint.
“I totally understand. We all need time alone with our thoughts.”
And yet, she kept pace with him with no sign of stopping.
He didn’t want to be rude, but... “Have a nice day, Helen.”
Legs and arms pumping, he took off at the highest speed he could manage. The burn in his muscles felt good and inspired him to push harder than he usually did. He didn’t get much thinking done on his run. Every time he tried to put his thoughts in order about Katie, something happened.
A horn honked.
A person yelled his name and waved.
He caught up with another jogger and had to pass them.
Distraction after distraction.
Then he was home.
Helen raced up to him with a cool bottle of water as he reached the end of his driveway. “Wow,” she said. “You worked up quite a sweat. Here. You need to hydrate.”
He accepted the water because it was easier than arguing with her, and he was thirsty. He downed half the bottle in several gulps. His gaze traveled up to the master bedroom window and caught Katie watching them.
Helen chose that moment to place her hands on his chest and leaned in with an uptilted face, silently inviting a kiss. “You lift weights, don’t you?” Her arms slipped up around his neck. “You have an incredible body, Chase, and I don’t mind at all that you’re currently married. It’s kind of a turn-on. So, when are we going to do this?”
He reached up and disengaged the hands clasped behind his neck. Gently but firmly, he pushed her away. If that didn’t dissuade her from pursuing him, he hoped the scowl on his face and the growl in his voice would. “Never. Read my lips. I am not interested in you. I have tried to be nice, but I’m done with that. I am married to a beautiful woman who keeps me fully satisfied in and out of the bedroom, and I don’t appreciate you disrespecting her. Don’t make me get a restraining order.”
Helen’s jaw dropped. “How dare you talk to me like that.”
“You didn’t leave me much choice.”
“Jerk!”
“There it is. That’s what I wanted to hear. Have a nice day.”
Helen flipped him off. “Screw you, Grayson!”
He walked up the driveway and into his home, whistling as he went. Katie was waiting for him in the foyer. Since she’d seen him with Helen, he was expecting her to be mad, but she started laughing the second she saw his face. So much for the idea that she might be jealous. She laughed so hard that tears came to her eyes, and she went down on the steps, holding her stomach. She didn’t seem to be able to stop.
Her humor was contagious. He grinned and leaned back against the door despite being slightly wounded by her indifference to the blonde. She sure was cute when she got her funny bone tickled. “What’s the joke?” he asked.
“That woman is like a horny octopus. I thought she was going to tackle you on the front lawn and try to shag you right there.”
“If she had, would you have come to my rescue?”
That made Katie laugh harder.
When she could speak again, she shook her head. “No. No way. Me saving you from desperate divorcees was not in our vows.”