Page 4 of Degrees of Acceptance
“Baby, we’ll find him. It’s a small world,” he says, trying to console me.
“No, you don’t understand, Chase. He can’t know I exist, or my mom could be in danger.”
“Why would that put your mom at risk?” he asks, lifting my chin to meet his eyes. “Trust me,” he says.
“Chase, my mom told me everything when I was in the hospital. She left him and ran away because she learned he was the eldest son of an East Coast crime syndicate. My mother told me that he put a hit out on two people, and she overheard the conversation. That’s why she ran, and if members of the syndicate find her, they will kill her,” I say, looking into his eyes, trying to gauge his reaction.Will he still want to be in a relationship with me?
His eyes are hooded and controlled giving nothing away. “Katarina, I’m going to want to talk to your mom. We can go for a visit or have her come to Chicago, but I’m going to need the details.”
“I don’t know how she’ll feel about that,” I say warily. How can I explain to him that she only told me because I confided in her that I thought Chase may be a criminal? She left my dad because she found out about his criminal activities, but never stopped loving him and didn’t want me to make the same mistake with Chase, so she broke her own vow of silence and told me.
“Your mom probably needs to talk to you as much as you need to speak to her. Call her, Baby,” he urges.
CHAPTER TWO
I awake the next morning, early, unable to sleep. He gave me the perfect opportunity yesterday, and yet I couldn’t tell him how I feel about him. He’s sleeping peacefully, and I manage to slip out of bed, find running clothes and brush my teeth without waking him. It’s barely four a.m., and I briefly contemplate going for a run without security but quickly abandon it at the thought of Chase’s reaction.
I text a message to Jay’s phone and am surprised by the immediate response.
Message:Is it too early for security to go with me for a run?
Reply:Nope… five minutes. Can you take the lakefront route?
MessageSounds good. Thanks, Jay.
Reply:You bet.
It takes a few moments for my breathing to sync, but I’m soon running at a good pace, with only the music and my thoughts. I contemplate the night’s discussions and replay them in my head. Is he right, do I not trust him? Is that why I can’t yet tell him how I feel? What if he doesn’t feel the same? Maybe that’s why I feel insecure. Do women just fall in love faster than men?
The park path along the lakeshore is dark and quiet this morning. A scattering of seagulls is scavenging for food along the edges of the blue-grey waters which appear relatively calm. My cool down song comes on, and I walk the remainder of the way, enjoying the briskness of the fall day against my skin. The doorman greets us with a friendly “good morning,” as we enter the high-rise. Chase is in the kitchen cooking when I enter the condo and seems quite at ease with himself. “Are you hungry?” he asks, grinning widely at my look of surprise.
“I am ravenous, and it smells delicious,” I say, dragging my eyes from him to the meal he is preparing. Chase in the kitchen with lounge pants, no shirt and no socks on is hot.
“I’m making omelets with peppers, onions, mushrooms and ham. It’s one of the few things I know how to cook. I thought you might be hungry, you’ve been running for over an hour,” he says.
“Did I wake you? I was trying to be quiet,” I say.
“You didn’t wake me. Jay let me know you guys were on the move early,” he replies, sliding the omelets onto a serving dish.
“I thought you would be mad at me if security didn’t come with me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have woken him that early.”
“I would have been furious if you went without them and you wouldn’t have been able to sit down for days,” he says.
“Hmm, is that all it takes?” I tease, my eyebrows raised in mock inquiry.
“I’m sure some sort of punishment for your disruption of securities’ sleep is in order,” he says, mouth upturned with amusement as he puts a plate with an omelet, piece of toast, and muskmelon in front of me. He pours us each a cup of coffee as I try my first bite.
“This is superb, Chase. You can cook for me anytime,” I tease in between bites.
“My dad will be at Prestian today, and I want you to meet him. He just flew in from New York and would like to take us to dinner. Do you mind staying in the city tonight?”
“No, of course not. Does your dad work at Prestian, too?” I ask.
“He has a suite of offices in the tower, but he and Brian spend most of their time in the New York offices. Dad met Emily last year, and I think they’ve grown quite fond of each other. She lost her husband about ten years ago, and her children and grandchildren live there, too,” he says.
“So you don’t get to see him much?”
“We often talk and travel between Chicago and New York frequently. I’ll take you with me on one of the next trips so you can meet Emily. She wasn’t able to make it this time,” he explains.
