Chase’s eyes widened and his neck turned pink.
Alexa one, Chase zero.
“Rocky, don’t let her get into any trouble.” With that he closed the door.
I rolled my eyes at the dog. “What does he think I’m going to do? Make a run for it?”
I settled back into the couch and opened the bodice-ripping book. Hopefully I could stomach it enough to read for a few minutes. Giving Rocky a couple scratches, I opened to chapter one and told myself I’d do my best.
“Youstillreading?”
My head snapped up. “What’re you doing back? Did you forget something?”
Chase laughed then looked down at the smutty book in my hand. “Must be good.”
Frowning, I looked at the clock on the wall and gasped. “You’ve been gonetwo hours?”
He shut the front door to his apartment with his hip. “Yep. Must be quite a book for you not to even come up for air.”
I knew I was blushing, but I refused to rise to his bait. Instead, I set the book down on the sofa and picked up my crutch to hobble after him.
“Did you find loose-leaf tea?” I asked, grabbing at the first thing I could think of.
“Yep. I also got you some yogurt and granola.”
“Thank you.” I was seriously touched he cared enough to worry about what I ate. After all, I was encroaching on his space, he didn’t have to care.
“I also picked up steaks for Lance and me, and I got you a frozen veggie burger.” He continued unloading food from a bag. “Is that okay?”
“Yeah.” I had to wrap my arms around my crutch to keep from hugging him. It was like he was going out of his way to be kind to me. “What time is Lance coming over tonight?”
“Around five.”
“Did you tell him—ya know, that I’mstaying here?”
“He knows you’re staying here,” Chase said. “He’s the idiot that got it passed without my okay.”
I rolled my eyes. “Not like that. I mean…you know…stayinghereinside your apartment.”
Chase paused from unloading. “You’re a funny girl, you know that? Very refreshing.”
“Refreshing? Because I’m a little freaked out about what he’s going to say?”
“You never lived with anyone before?”
“You mean like another guy? No.” I bit my lip. “Have you?”
“Lived with another guy? Yeah, like hundreds of them when I was in the military. Not a pleasant experience.”
I sighed. “You know what I mean. Another woman?”
He snapped off a grape and popped it in his mouth and grinned. “Nope. You’re my first.”
Do not find him charming, Alexa. He’s a cop! Remember that!
“You go read,” he said. “I got the groceries.”
As it happened, I didn’t have to wait until five to see Lance. I heard him shouting my name out in the foyer. Unable to move fast enough off the couch, I yelled out to him I was in Chase’s apartment.
