Page 28 of Hard To Love

Chapter Nine

After an hour of preparation, I stood in front of the full-length mirror in my bedroom checking my appearance to make sure everything was perfect. My body was filled with nervous energy at the thought of seeing Chase tonight after four long days. The anticipation of this evening and all the possibilities, had been building all week.

The ringing of my cell phone in the other room had me running to answer it. Seeing his name on the screen had caused my nervousness to pick up speed.

“Hi Chase.” I smiled, while lighting a few votive candles, admiring the romantic setting that they created. I walked over to the table and set the lighter next to the yellow roses he had sent this morning with a card attached that read, “We are not friends.”

Although we’d talked daily on the phone it didn’t compare to being able to see him physically. I missed him terribly and sometimes it felt like our phone conversations only made it worse.

His heavy sigh told me that this phone call wasn’t going to end well. “I’m so sorry sweetheart, but my flight never made it out of Atlanta, not sure when we’ll be able to get out of here.”

My smile fell as my hands gripped the phone tightly. I glanced around the room, and saw all the effort I had put into this evening.I forced myself to remember that he had no control over the airline schedules. “That’s ok, it happens. When do you expect you’ll be back?”

“I’m not sure, but I have to spend the night. I’m having a package sent over right now as a peace offering; I hope you’re not too disappointed.”

“It’s not your fault,” I told him, trying hard to convince myself.

A soft knock sounded at the door.“There’s someone here. Hang on a second.”

With a long sigh, I cradled the phone with my shoulder to my ear, as I forced myself across the room.

The second the door swung open, I had to blink my eyes a few times to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. Standing there was the man who had been responsible for those butterflies in my stomach this past week. The battle to control my emotions was lost when I jumped into his arms and threw my hands around his neck.

“Miss me?” he asked, while pressing a kiss to the corner of my mouth. His shit-eating grin spread wide across his face while his hands dug into my behind, giving it a slight pinch.

He was lucky that I was so excited to see him, because my only focus was on the excitement of him standing in front of me, and not the growing urge to kick his ass for pulling a stunt like that.

I brushed my mouth against his as our tongues eagerly found each other. His hands rested on my hips holding me in place as I slid down his hard body.

“I wouldn’t say I missed you,” I teased, “I greet all my male visitors that way.”

His eyes hardened letting me know that he wasn’t amused, “Careful.” He warned.

I pushed out my bottom lip, enjoying his reaction. “Sorry, but you had that coming.”

He slid his hand up to my cheekbone and gently stroked it with his thumb. “That’s cute, but hopefully you’ll be the one coming later.” The husky sound of his voice hit my ears as his breath lingered against my skin. Jesus, this man was overwhelming all of my goddamned senses.

I almost forgot we were standing in the hall as his hand skimmed across my hip. “I really missed you.” I confessed.

“Good, because I missed you too.”He said staring into my eyes. I pulled on his hand and led him into my apartment.

He closed the door behind him and set his briefcase down in the hall.

“Something smells good.” He said, while looking around the room for the source of the aroma. It took a second for my brain to register that he was talking about the food. Shit, I hope I hadn’t ruined it. All that hot and heavy kissing in the hallway had me completely forgetting about our dinner cooking on the stove.

Walking over to the kitchen I grabbed the orange handle of my saucepan and lifted the lid to check on the meal. Everything looked good. I lifted the pan in the air and showed him with pride.

“It’s my ‘famous’ Chicken Piccata. I hope that’s okay?”

He walked towards me looking pleased. “It’s one of my favorites. What can I do to help?”

“There’s a bottle of wine on the counter. If you want to open it while I get the food on the table that will be helpful.”

I maneuvered my way around the small space trying to get everything ready.

Despite my worries, the meal came out perfectly and the dinner conversation was smooth and pleasant. I was surprised to learn that that he specialized in corporate law, which would probably be boring if it were anyone else describing mergers and acquisitions, but hearing how excited he was talking about his work made everything sound so fascinating. Our conversation flowed effortlessly as we started to learn little details about each other.

Once we finished our dinner, I brought the dishes into the kitchen to start cleanup. I sensed him approaching me from behind then felt his hands slide around my waist leaving a trail of goose bumps along my skin. His lips kissed along my neck making it hard to concentrate, as my thoughts switched from the kitchen to the bedroom.

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