Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 58952 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58952 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
She just needed to see if he was game.
Chapter Six
Chase added Baileys to the two mugs of coffee on the counter, grateful for the short time he had alone in the kitchen to recenter his mind and emotions after Lauren had shifted their conversation to his father, which was always a touchy subject for him. He didn’t discuss that part of his past with anyone, ever. The day his dad died was the day Chase swore he’d keep those terrible and painful memories locked up in the past, where they belonged.
But leave it to the persistent woman sitting out on his terrace to press the issue. She’d been nice about her inquiry, but her question had been equivalent to her shaking up a bottle of champagne (him), to the point that all that pressure he’d been suppressing for so many years had popped the cork he’d shoved into the bottle, and his anger had flared. He’d only told her a small fraction about his past, but there had been a moment when he’d wanted to spill everything, just to release all the bitterness and resentment festering deep inside.
He hated that he’d lost his composure when he was a man so in control of his emotions. Most of the women he’d dated would have been insulted or hurt that he’d snapped at them, but not Lauren. No, this woman wasn’t offended by much, and knowing he didn’t have to put on any pretenses with her made him feel relieved, and too damned comfortable around her. Which was why he’d probably allowed himself to slip and say anything about his relationship with his father.
He exhaled a deep breath and grabbing the two mug handles with one hand, and the plate with the dessert in the other, he walked out onto the terrace. Lauren watched him approach with a smile that soothed the last frayed edges of his emotions. He set the coffees and cannolis on the stone table built around the firepit, then took a seat next to her on the couch.
He handed one mug to her, then took the other for himself, waiting while she took a drink of the Baileys-infused coffee before broaching the subject of her ex marrying her sister.
And yeah, he was well aware that it made him a hypocrite that he was about to make her talk about her past, but she didn’t have much of a choice if she wanted him in the loop of what happened between her and her ex. And, if he was being honest with himself, he was curious to know what idiot would let a woman like Lauren go, then turn around and backstab her by hooking up with her sister. Totally fucking classless, in his opinion.
“So, tell me about your sister’s situation with your ex, so I’m aware,” he said.
She scrunched her freckled nose, as if she were about to discuss something distasteful. “I guess explaining things from the beginning would help. My ex, Greg, is one of the veterinarians in town and I worked as the front-end manager of the place. We also pretty much grew up together, considering what a small town Fairview is.” She took another drink of her coffee. “Anyway, we dated for about a year, then got engaged. It was just how things worked in such a small town,” she said with a shrug.
She put her mug down and pulled the blanket higher up on her lap before continuing, her gaze on the firepit’s flames. “My sister also worked at the vet’s, helping to take care of the animals while they were kenneled for the day, or a few days if they had surgery and were recovering. One evening, after I’d left the office for the afternoon, Greg called to tell me that there was an emergency surgery on a dog that came in and he was going to be a few hours late. So, I thought I’d take him dinner.”
Chase inwardly cringed, already sensing where this story was heading.
She shifted her gaze back to him, a wry look in her eyes. “There was no emergency surgery. Instead, I found Greg and Ashley in his office, going at it pretty hot and heavy until I cleared my throat and interrupted them.”
Shock at her calm response rippled through him, when most scorned women would have gone ballistic and thrown dinner at them, or worse. “That’s all you did?” he asked incredulously. “Just cleared your throat?”
She laughed lightly. “Shockingly, finding them in that passionate embrace didn’t devastate me, and I saw no reason to yell and scream and make a scene. So, I put the dinner on his desk along with my engagement ring while my sister was trying to straighten her blouse and refasten her bra, and then I left while Greg was sputtering out an apology.”