Page 15 of Hard To Love

I tried to bury my gaze in my lap while trying to avoid his curious stare. “Just thinking.”

He flashed me a confident smile. “Care to share?”

I chewed on my bottom lip trying to pull all my thoughts together. He had already told me that most women threw themselves at him and he saw me as a challenge. I started to wonder if that was all I was to Chase, a challenge?

When his gaze traveled down to my legs, lingering long enough to make my skin prickle, I knew I had to ask the one question that had been poking at my brain since we left the club.

“Why are you giving me a ride home?” He drew his eyebrows together looking utterly confused so I continued. “You could have any woman in that club you wanted. So why are you choosing to spend your time with me?”

It made zero sense to me that he would choose to waste his time on me when he could be hooking up with a hot blonde or two back in his office.

A look of frustration showed on his face when he quickly snapped his gaze towards mine before looking away in the rearview mirror. “Why wouldn’t I want to spend my time with you? You’re gorgeous, fun, entertaining, a bit of a pain in the ass at times.” He smirked. “But, look at you.” His eyes did a quick sweep of my body. “What red-blooded male wouldn’t want to spend time with you?”

His comment made my stomach swim with excitement. Either he really was that something extra special I had pegged him to be, or he was a great actor and full of shit. I tended to lean towards the positive.

I decided to make light of his reply hoping he wouldn’t see how much it had affected me. “Well, you’re not so bad yourself now that you’ve decided to behave, and stop attacking innocent women in your office.”

Chase’s laughter filled the car. I turned my head to look away, hoping he didn’t see my satisfied smile.

“So, tell me something about yourself.”

His words made me squirm in my seat. I’ve never felt very comfortable talking about myself, but there was something about him that felt different. It surprised me how much I cared about what he thought of me. His opinion really mattered, even though we’d only just met.

‘What do you want to know?”

Not taking his eyes off the road, he answered, “Well, it’s obvious that you’re over twenty-one…”

He tried to finish his sentence but I cut him off. “Are you trying to say I look old?” I asked in a mocking tone.

He turned his head and stifled a laugh in his closed fist. “No. Not at all. Actually, you don’t look a day over eighteen. However, you never would have gotten past the bouncers at the club if you were underage!”

“Nice save,” I said, trying to sound skeptical. “And, just so you know, I’m twenty-six, thank you very much.”

“Seeing that we got that out of the way,” he said with humor dancing in his eyes. “Why don’t we start with the basics? Like, where are you from, your occupation, favorite foods, your sexual orientation etc?”

I glanced over and saw a smirk on his face and I couldn’t help but think he was a bit of a smart-ass. “Well, since you have asked me so nicely, I will do my best to answer them. But…” I paused “I would hate for you to feel left out so…” I pursed my lips. “How about for every question I answer, you have to answer one of mine?”

He smiled. “Oh, a negotiator. That’s interesting. I’m a very good negotiator, so bring it on!” I tried telling myself that he was just a man, but that electric heat that seared my skin every time he smiled had me thinking otherwise. I peeled my eyes away from him hoping to ignore the flutter that was erupting in my stomach.

“Go ahead, ask away.” I teased as he flashed me that sexy dimple.

This could be fun. The light, playful atmosphere had me feeling alive, like a switch had been turned on. I liked spending time with him. He was strong and confident, and the chemistry was so intense, it was impossible for me to even try to ignore it. I wondered if I ever really stood a chance against him. I wanted to laugh at my futile attempts from earlier at trying to keep him at arm’s-length. Something told me there were no boundaries he wouldn’t cross to get exactly what he wanted.

His fingers drummed the steering wheel as if he was thinking it over. “Where are you originally from?”

I stretched my legs out in front of me, feeling relaxed. “I’m from Upstate New York, originally.” His question was way too easy; I would have thought he would have come up with something better than that.

He flipped the turn signal on the car. “How long have you lived here?” he asked, while attempting to turn right while hundreds of people walked in front of the car.

I tsked him. ”Oh, no you don’t…” I said, waving my finger at him. “You only get one question at a time.”

He just shook his head and let out a dramatic sigh. “Okay, shoot.”

His comments from earlier poked around in my brain. “What made you decide to get into the nightclub business?” The thought of him running a nightclub along with being a lawyer had me fascinated.

He seemed to think over my question for a beat. I watched as he drew his eyebrows together as if he were searching his brain for an answer. Surely, I wasn’t the first person to ever ask that question.

He finally cleared his throat. “Long story, but it’s technically my brother’s club. I’m just a silent partner. He needed the help and I had the money.”

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