He nods. “I’m hanging on hard. Good thing we have each other.”
I can no longer avoid or try to escape the notion of us because I’m afraid of change, of altering my rules and my life to make room for more for Chase, because that’s what’s on the other side of the flood—a new beginning.
“The power is out in here. I should get you a room at a hotel.”
“That’s not necessary. It’ll kind of be like camping. We can hunker down, light candles, find some trail mix, marshmallows, or something.”
I change into dry clothes and find a couple of pouches of nuts from the flight in my bag. We light candles and spread blankets on the floor. The space is furnished, but since Chase is soaked, he opts not to ruin the furniture. He plays Elvis on his phone since there isn’t electricity.
Beside me, he radiates heat, magnetizing me with warmth. The fluffies in my belly suggest I’m excited, nervous, and eager for him to find my fingers and hold my hand.
The candlelight illuminates the smooth plane of his cheeks and the defined edge of his jawline. The only thing missing to paint the perfect picture is his dimple.
Leaning against the wall, he gazes up at the ceiling and chuckles lightly. “I get back to Boston, ready to impress you, and it’s just my luck that everything falls apart.”
“On the contrary, I’m flattered that you’d want to impress me, and mine is weird luck. I hope it didn’t rub off on you.”
“Of course I want to impress you. Remember the rugby game when I wore that black and yellow paint—team colors? I thought you’d think I was tough. Or the time I answered all of Mrs. Sharma’s Shakespeare questions? Stayed up half the night preparing for them. I wanted you to think I was smart. And the sponge cake debacle was so you’d think I was clever and know that I liked you.”
“Well, that was around the same time as the start of my weird luck.”
“Name something bad that happened in the last week.”
“Marlow, for one.”
“Aside from my father interfering.” His sigh edges toward a growl.
I think about it for a solid minute. “Actually, nothing. A pen didn’t explode in my purse, ruining it. I didn’t drop my phone in the toilet. The flight wasn’t delayed because a rodent chewed on the wiring.” I clear my throat. “That’s all happened, by the way.”
He nudges me with his shoulder, closing the few inches of space between us. “You have entertaining stories to tell, and I like the one that brought us together the most.” There it is. His dimple pops.
Cue the heart eyes.
As if aware of the effect it had on me, Chase tips his head back and tosses an almond up, catching it in his mouth. We make it into a game and keep score of who can catch the most. Our laughter echoes through the house until the pouches of nuts are empty.
And the game is forgotten, but our mouths are still hungry. As the rain picks up again outside, we sink into another kiss.
33
CHASE
Moon-gate notwithstanding, I rarely get embarrassed, but putting Pippa up in a leaky house and then locking myself out put a reddish tint on my cheeks. However, splashing in the rain, talking for hours, and then kissing her more than made up for it.
Still, I want to make it up to her. A woman like Pippa isn’t used to roughing it, even if that means sleeping on a couch in one of my rentals.
Beside her on the floor, I stretch. Glancing at the time on my phone, I slept until mid-morning. We stayed up well past midnight talking about anything and everything.
I smile at the sight of Pippa sleeping peacefully as I sneak outside to call the locksmith. It’s a beautiful morning. The air is fresh and the sun promises to peek through the departing clouds later.
I sit on the steps while I give the locksmith the info he needs.
From the far end of the street, a sleek black town car approaches and stops at the curb. Dressed in a steel gray suit, Rhett Collins gets out. As always, he greets me with a disapproving frown.
Rumpled from sleep, I say a groggy, “Morning.”
Rhett grunts disapprovingly. “Up to no good, I see.”
“Actually—” I start to explain.
