Chapter 12
“Who are you hoping it’s from?” Chase asked, finally looking her in the eyes. His expression said he knew, but wasn’t sure he wanted to reveal who it was.
Ashley’s heart sunk a little. If he was protecting some other guy’s feelings, then he obviously didn’t have any of his own.
“No one in particular.” She stuck the worry stone back in her pocket and walked to the exit. She wanted to press him on it, but since they were going out, maybe it was better not to know right now.
“So, is Beth up for babysitting tonight?” she asked.
He nodded. “I just checked in with her. She said Tyler’s working on his homework now that she’s bribed him with candy, and she’s cooking a gourmet meal of frozen pizza and bagged salad.”
“What a good sister.”
Chase pulled his car keys out of his pocket. “Do you want to follow me to the restaurant?”
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Is Carmelo’s okay?”
She put a hand out and stopped him from walking. “Carmelo’s? We don’t need to go somewhere that fancy.”
“So you’ve heard of it?” The sudden steel in his eyes said he wouldn’t back down easily. Men and their egos.
“My sister, Paige, went there once. It’s the place local celebrities go. Newscasters, and the mayor, and people like that. But I don’t care where we eat.”
“I made a reservation.”
“Those aren’t binding agreements, you know.”
“Ash, you know me. How often do I go out?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Never. Every night I go home and microwave something for dinner and then arm wrestle my little brother into doing his homework and taking a shower. Let me take you somewhere nice, okay?”
“I’m not exactly dressed for it.” Chase was. She’d admired the cut of his dress shirt and slacks all day. The man had no idea how good he looked in them. She glanced down at her khakis, creased from sitting in them all day. She had freshened up her makeup and hair in the bathroom before they left, but that was when she thought they were going to some burger chain.
“Do you want to stop by your place first so you can change?” he asked.
“Do we have enough time?”
“Sure. I’ll follow you.”
She got in her car, tapping her fingers nervously on the steering wheel as she led the way. Before she left the lot, she texted him her address, just in case they got separated getting there.
Lina wouldn’t be home. The over-achiever worked out at the gym most weeknights. But that was probably better. Ashley didn’t want to imagine the questions Lina might ask him. She loved to pick people’s brains.
Ashley should have asked Chase when the reservation was. There likely wouldn’t be time to search around or iron anything, not with Chase sitting in her living room waiting for her. Had Paige returned the goldenrod swing dress yet? It was the dress that showed off the long legs they’d both inherited from their mother, and though Paige wasn’t really into fashion, she’d begged to borrow it the moment she’d spotted it on Ashley a few months ago. Ashley smiled. Good thing she’d shaved her legs this morning.
Chase followed her into the parking lot of her apartment complex, and she rolled down her window and gestured for him to pull up alongside her so she could direct him. “You can park right over there.”
She waited for him to meet her on the sidewalk, and then she led the way to her apartment door, an awkward silence descending. She hadn’t been on a date in a long time and felt as rusty at it as she expected, even with Chase.
“This is nice,” he said, moving to sit on their couch as he gazed around the living room.
It was a tad girly, almost like a college dorm room, with a big bulletin board filled with pictures of Ashley and Lina together. Lina liked to craft, and she’d painted their names on wood letter cutouts and whimsically displayed them on the wall over the couch. Her ex, Reid, would have hated it, which made it all the better.
“How much time do I have? Be honest, because I’ll use up every minute of it.” She grinned at Chase as his eyebrows raised.
