Page 29 of Mine Forever
I furrow my brow. “How did you meet Nate?”
“Ah, well. That’s a story better suited for margaritas and cheese dip. But long story short, his sister is my best friend. He came up for her birthday party and it went from there.”
A grin lights up her face. “Meeting him changed all my plans. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I swallow hard against the ball of emotion in my throat.
Once upon a time, I’m sure my face lit up the same way hers does when I thought about Chase.
Now the only thing that seems to go up where he’s concerned is my blood pressure.
“How long have you lived here?” I ask, wanting to hear her story so I don’t think so much about mine.
“Well, Nate’s been here a few years, but I moved here permanently about a year or so ago.”
She tilts her head, her eyes studying me. “Nate told me about meeting you and how you were here to see Chase.” One side of her mouth curves up. “Said it was quite the show.”
My cheeks warm and I look away, tapping a finger on the cart handle. “I’m a bit embarrassed by that. I don’t…”
Charley waved a hand. “I get it. Men can be a pain in the ass. Especially men that look like those two. Add in all that testosterone and the athlete thing?” She sighs. “Well, let’s just say I know I’m going to have my hands full the rest of my life.”
“Well, hey there.”
I look up to see Nate on the other side of the cart.
Just perfect.
“Hey.” I wave awkwardly.
“Chase still giving you shit?”
“Absolutely. But he’s letting me stay at his house since I’m homeless at the moment.”
“Well, that sounds promising. I mean, if he really hated you, he wouldn’t do that,” Charley says.
“I suppose…”
“Firefly…” Nate rubs the back of his neck. “Leave the poor girl alone.”
“Oh hush,” she says, patting his arm. “I’m just making conversation, babe.”
She winks and Nate rolls his eyes.
“I’m going to get beer,” he grumbles before walking off.
Charley giggles and directs her attention back to me. “So, you’ve known Chase a while? Before he was in the majors?”
“Yeah, we went to college together. But I haven’t talked to him in four years.”
The thought pains me, and yet I’m the one who’d run and put those walls up.
Looking back, it made sense at the time. It was an emotional time for him and we went too far.
When it comes to Chase though, my good judgment always goes on hiatus.
Her nod is one of understanding. “I get it. It’s hard with athletes. I work for the Bull Sharks, so I’m around them all the time. They can be…hard on the heart.”
My eyes start to tear up and I clear my throat of the emotions I don’t want there. “Yeah, I wish I’d known that a long time ago.”
