Page 13 of Sweet Spot

"I'll take a different route then. Growing up, I had three brothers, each one bigger than me. I was the twerp of the family. When shit went south, like the time we tried to barbecue a pillow, I always ended up taking the blame. If I didn't, my brothers would give me noogies and purple nurples. My dad's punishments were much less painful."

"And your mom?"

"She died of cancer when I was six." The tone of his voice changed dramatically. "She was sick for a good portion of my time with her."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Well, it seems your dad did a good job on his own."

A laugh shot from his mouth. "He'd probably debate that point. At least he would have when we were growing up. But now, we've all done pretty well, so I think he's proud."

"I'll bet. And how does barbecued pillow taste?"

He shook his head once. "Can't tell you that. It went up in a toxic puff of smoke. Glowing feathers floated all over the yard, setting fire to a few of the dry bushes we had surrounding the yard. Almost lost the house. And, of course, my brothers had used my pillow, so I had to fold up a towel to sleep on."

Chase pulled off the freeway and headed towards a long road leading up a hillside that was dotted with large houses. I gazed out the window, watching as the city lights fell away. It seemed like a strange location for a restaurant. It was even stranger when Chase pulled up to a large house sitting at the top of a hill. It was a beautiful house with a turret and stone work that made it almost castle like. Dark ivy snaked along much of the facade. It was a new house built to look genuinely old, and the architect had done an amazing job.

"This is a house," I noted unnecessarily.

"Yep. I bought it for my dad and his new wife. They are in Europe for the month."

Chase parked at the top curve of a circular driveway.

"But you mentioned an Italian restaurant."

"Right. The chef is a friend. He delivered the food earlier. We just have to heat it up."

I sat still for a second after he opened the passenger door. "Are you mad? I thought it would be a nice, quiet place for a first date."

"It's not what I was expecting."

He lowered his hand for me to take. "I promise, Macy, I didn't bring you here to seduce you. Just dinner."

I wasn't sure if his words gave me a sense of relief or profound disappointment. After all, maybe it was time for a little seduction in my life. After all the time I'd wasted with Trevor, thinking we were both saving ourselves for that big explosion of passion that waited for us on our honeymoon, it had turned out that I was doing all the saving. And Trevor had been doing a heck of a lot of spending. I needed to get past the invisible chastity belt Trevor had buckled on so long ago. I was embarrassed as hell about my inexperience, and just maybe it was time to lose that innocence.

I placed my hand in his, and he helped me out of the car. Chase smiled down at me, his pleasant aftershave wafting to my nose as he leaned down and shut the door. Even in the shade of night, he was spectacular. And he oozed experience. I was sure he knew more about a woman's body than I knew myself. If it was time to climb out of the chaste hole I'd been pushed into, then I was happy to have Chase lend a hand.

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