Page 51 of Mayhem

“Good luck with that.”

Chase reaches around me, opening the front door. He rests his hand on my hip as he rasps in my ear, “I have my ways, Willow.”

He lets go and I take a breath, not realizing I was holding one. We step out of the house and get into his SUV.

“You ready?” he asks as he turns his truck around.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I murmur, making him smile.

“Now that’s the spirit,” he quips, making me laugh.

The fifteen-minute drive to the diner goes by in comfortable silence with the radio playing in the background. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch as Chase drums his thumb on the steering wheel, keeping the beat.

“What are you smiling about?” he asks as he pulls into the parking lot, not once looking at me.

“Nothing.” I shake my head, hating that I was caught looking at him.

“Sure.” He smirks as he puts the truck in park. “Stay there,” he tells me as he slides out.

Not listening, I open my door and jump down.

“I wanted to open the door for you.” He frowns as he rounds the hood.

“I can open my own doors, Chase,” I tell him as I brush by him.

“Doesn’t mean you have to.”

I jump as I feel his hand touch the small of my back. “Relax, Willow,” he says as we reach the front door.

Once again he opens the door, letting me walk in ahead of him. The hostess looks up and her eyes lock on to Chase.

“Seating for one?” she asks, grabbing a menu.

“Two, seating for two,” he tells her as he looks around the place.

The hostess’s eyes swing my way. She wrinkles her nose as she looks me up and down.

“We don’t have all day,” I snap.

“Right this way.” She scurries away from us.

Chase chuckles as he pushes me toward the table.

“What’s so funny?” I ask as I slide into the booth.

Chase sits next to me, making me raise my brows.

“You, you’re cute.” He winks as he picks up the menu.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to decide what to eat.”

I sigh. “That’s not what I meant and you know it,” I mumble as I grab my menu.

“What did you mean then?” he asks as he places his arm behind me, along the bench.

“Why are you sitting next to me?”

---