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)
He listened to her go on, her genuine excitement making him smile. All during the course of dinner, he was both surprised and grateful that Billie didn’t ask about his weekend with Lauren and figured she was too enamored with Neil so the question didn’t cross her mind. Whatever the reason, Chase was relieved she kept up a steady stream of conversation that had nothing to do with him and his sad, wreck of a life.
After their main course, Billie ordered dessert, which she shared with Neil, while Chase opted for an Irish coffee.
When the pair finished the tiramisu, Neil stood up and smiled at Billie. “I know you want to talk to your brother privately, so I’m going to go and sit at the bar. You can come and get me when you’re done.”
“Thank you,” she said, returning the smile with a soft one of her own.
Chase wasn’t going to assume anything about what she wanted to have a private conversation with him about, and kept his tone casual as he asked, “Everything okay?”
She folded her arms on the table in front of her, her gaze direct and more serious than she’d been all evening. “With me, yes. As you can see, I’m great. I’m more concerned about you.”
“Because?”
She pursed her lips together, the faintest amount of annoyance flickering in her eyes, which was something he didn’t see often. “Oh, come on, Chase. Don’t be obtuse.”
He raised a brow and admitted to nothing.
“Okay, fine.” She sighed heavily. “I called the Meridian today to discuss a few things with Lauren about next year’s Future Fast Track charity ball. I know I’ve been in my own little bubble with Neil and should have called you earlier this week, but I didn’t, so when I was on the phone with Lauren, I asked her how everything went this past weekend at her sister’s wedding.”
His gut twisted at just the mention of Lauren’s name. “And?”
Billie held his gaze. “She said I should ask you.”
“It went just fine.”
Her eyes narrowed on him. “Then why did Lauren sound so… sad? And not like her normal, upbeat self? Something happened between you two, didn’t it?” she pressed. “And I’m not talking about sex, because… eww, you’re my brother. But I can see it in your eyes, the same way I heard it in Lauren’s voice. You’ve tried to be present tonight, and you’ve been great with Neil, but I know you, Chase. I’ve seen you when you’re grumpy and annoyed and standoffish, but for the first time since meeting you, you look sad. Maybe even defeated.”
He was so goddamn tired of trying to keep his walls raised high, of denying all the emotions that Lauren had cracked open inside him. “Yes,” he finally admitted. “Something… happened. And it scared the goddamn shit out of me.”
She broke out in a grin. “That’s good.”
He frowned at her in confusion. “Why is that good?”
“Because it tells me that your heart is working, and I don’t mean in an obvious, pumping blood kind of way,” she teased. “Being scared of feeling something means you’re human, and I know it’s hard to let yourself be vulnerable that way. And despite those walls you have up, and how gruff and tough you act, I already know you have the capacity to care very deeply.”
He scoffed. “We’ve discussed my upbringing. What the hell do I really know about love, Billie?”
She looked taken aback. “You know how to love, Chase. If you didn’t, I wouldn’t be here, sitting across from you, feeling like the luckiest sister alive because you searched for me and found me and made me your family. A man incapable of love wouldn’t have done that.”
He sat back, not only listening to his sister, but processing her words. He’d been unhappy, not just for the last four days, but for most of his life. Until Lauren.
“Chase, you can continue to bury yourself in work and tell yourself it’s for the best or you can put that brain of yours to work and accept that things don’t always have to be this way. You don’t have to be this way. You don’t have to be alone.”
His hand curled around his empty espresso cup as he met Billie’s gaze. “What if I hurt her?” he asked.
Billie leaned forward. “What do you think you’re doing now?” she challenged him. “That said, I’m going back to Neil and leave you to your thoughts.” She rose from her seat before he could push his chair back, and walked over and kissed his cheek. “Don’t let this chance at happiness slip away, big brother.”
She left him sitting there with the knowledge that he had one more chance to get this right with Lauren. Assuming she wasn’t so upset with him she wanted nothing to do with him now. But knowing her sweet, forgiving personality, he didn’t have much to worry about.