He searched her face. “Are you trying to tell me you’ve never been with a man before?”
“Yes.” Her pulse raced at his insistent stare of disbelief. “You think I’m weird don’t you?”
He shrugged. “Nothing weird about being a virgin.”
Larke let out a small cough, averting her gaze. “We, um... We should eat before the food gets cold.”
Chase helped to bring the food out of the kitchen and onto the dining room table. “You’re a good cook,” he said, in between bites of the chicken. “Best food I’ve had since….” He crinkled his forehead. “Since I can remember, really.”
Larke smiled to herself. She was flattered, but honestly, she wasn’tthatgood of a cook. “Don’t you eat at restaurants?”
He shook his head, chuckling with a measure of self-derision. “No. That’s not really my sort of thing. I can cook just fine. When I don’t feel like it, we have certain restaurants that deliver to the area.” He ate another morsel of the meat. “Their food’s all right. Nothing like this, though.”
“Okay. Since I now know you’re not big on going out to eat, what exactly do you enjoy doing in your spare time?”
“Hunting,” he said, eyeing her carefully. “Shouldn’t surprise you, I guess.”
It didn’t. “Apart from hunting, what else do you like?” Larke asked.
Chase lifted a shoulder and scratched his brow. “Not much else. Sometimes I carve knives.”
She thought back to the one he’d had while chasing her. Ithadlooked a bit crude and not professionally made. “Did you make the knife I saw you with before?”
“Yeah” he answered, lowering his head. “That one I definitely made.”
“What else do you carve?”
He paused, slowly raising his face to look at her. Surprise filtered into his lackluster eyes. Did Chase think she wouldn’t want to continue talking to him because of that memory? Shrugging, he said, “Nothing important. Just stupid stuff.” A moment passed and then his brows furrowed with suspicion. “Why the sudden interest?”
Larke pursed her lip. “I wanted to know more about you. That’s all. But if it makes you uncomfortable we can talk about something else.”
He visibly relaxed. “Sorry. It doesn’t. I’m just not used to small talk or anyone wanting to know what I like and all. Might take some getting used to.”
Anyone. Did that include his mother and stepfather? Surely even the most hardened racist took pride in their children and loved them. She wanted to ask about his family but decided against. Too many questions might put Chase on the offensive.
After the meal ended, Larke rose to clear the table. Chase did the same, helping in spite of her insistence that it wasn’t necessary.
“I thought maybe we could watch a movie if you’re in the mood,” she suggested, putting the last of the dishes in the dishwasher.
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Is there anything in particular you’d like to see?”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. As long as it doesn’t involve singing, teenage vampires or wedding dresses, I’m good.”
Larke laughed as she went to the television screen. “Then we dislike the same things.” She scrolled down the menu. “I’ll add watching movies to my list of Chase’s likes. What about comedy films?”
“They’re okay. I’ve seen a couple of them. Mostly when I’m out of town inside a motel room. Kills time. I don’t have a television at home and didn’t have one growing up, so never really caught on to TV watching.”
“As nonchalant as possible, Larke asked, “I take it not all of these trips had anything to do with your shipping business?”
His face immediately closed up. His eyes glinted with a warning. “Let’s watch the movie, okay?”
Nodding slowly, she clicked play and sat beside him. “It’s a Will Smith movie. You know who that is right?” She pursed her lips. “Or would you prefer something else? There’s an old Clint Eastwood western I saw with my dad once. It was pretty good. We could watch that instead if you’d like.”
He shook his head. “The movie’s fine. I’ve seen Independence Day. It’s all good. No worries.”
