I thought he’d be more excited. But as I cleared that initial bump of disappointment, I realized why Chase was holding back. He cared about me too much to mindlessly accept the help. He was trying to protect me. That only strengthened my will to do this.
I released my grip on his wrist, but didn’t pull back. My hand moved lower, grazing his skin, and I laced our fingers together.
“I understand,” I said. “Just think about it. Know that my offer is there.”
Chase flushed. He processed my comment with a cute furrow in his brows.
“This is a lot,” he mumbled, scratching his head with his free hand. “Like, what if I bomb at being a business owner? What if I totally fuck it up?”
I smirked. “I fucked up your exorcism, so we’ll call it even.”
He laughed. “Fair enough.” Tilting his head, he gave me a fond look. “At the risk of sounding like a total douchebag, how about we grab a coffee and talk business?”
A flicker of hope danced in my chest. I laced our fingers tighter together.
“I’d love to,” I agreed.
To my surprise, Chase opened up during our business chat. We talked numbers and facts and all the boring things that went into running a business. But once it sank in that my offer was serious, and that his dream could really happen, Chase’s eyes started to sparkle with excitement. He spoke faster, sat higher in his seat, and started throwing his hands around as he talked. It was charming to watch him light up. It was also, weirdly enough, really hot to hear him talk about crunching numbers. I saw a different side of him, and I liked it.
Three hours at the cafe flew by—just like how this entire week had flown by. As we approached the end of the week-long grace period, I found myself nervous and uneasy. I didn’t want this to end.
Maybe it didn’t have to. Maybe if Chase agreed, we could make something work...
Chase stretched in his seat, then released a content groan. It sounded far too similar to his moans of pleasure, so I had to stamp down the tickle in my chest.
“Want to take a walk? We could both use a break from the numbers,” I suggested.
He sprang from his chair. He looked happy just to be with me. That made my heart ache.
“Yeah. Actually, I know a place a few blocks down. They have the best gelato.”
“Is that Faust talking, or you?” I asked. I already knew the answer, but I felt like teasing him.
“Me, duh.” More seriously, he added, “He hasn’t made a peep since his donut tantrum.”
The demon was dormant again. I wondered what Faust was thinking. But the longer I spent with Chase, the less I found myself caring. Faust was more of a temporary nuisance than a serious problem. Lately, I even found myself forgetting about him, especially when Chase and I were intimate.
A week ago, I would’ve found the idea of dismissing a powerful demon unfathomable. Irresponsible. Now I was just looking forward to a bite of gelato and the rest of my afternoon with Chase, possession be damned.
It was late afternoon by the time we bought our gelato. The shop was a short distance from the boardwalk, so we took it on a stroll by the lake. The setting sun reflected off the water and turned Chase’s hair to pure gold. I played it cool, but I had to stop myself from staring at its brilliance.
“Hey, you got pistachio flavour, right?” Chase asked. “Can I try a bite?”
I offered it to him. He leaned in and carefully licked the pale green dessert without spilling any of it.
“You’re good with your tongue,” I said before I thought better of it.
Chase nearly choked. When he swallowed, he said, “Don’t make dirty jokes when I’m eating!”
“It wasn’t a joke. I was serious.”
He huffed, his ears turning pink. “Thanks for the compliment. Wanna try mine?”
I took a small bite of his lemon gelato. The tartness was refreshing compared to the mild sweetness of my pistachio.
“That’s nice.” After a few strides down the boardwalk, I said, “We should do this more often.”
“Yeah.” Chase took another lick of his gelato. “By the way, I have a question.”
