Christmas Diamonds (23 page)

“We used to hang out,” Sheldon said tersely. “No big deal.”

“I see,” Chase said thoughtfully, regarding him. “Well, welcome to my home, and feel free to circulate. Drinks are in the great room.”

“We’ll find them.” Sheldon grinned. “C’mon, baby, let’s circulate like the man said.”

Paula watched Sheldon and Gail walk off holding hands, before facing Chase uneasily. She’d expected him to display jealousy or maybe admonish her for not talking much about her ex.

Instead, Chase flashed a smile. “Seems like a nice guy Gail has latched on to.”

“He can be when he wants to,” Paula said, leaving it at that. She preferred not to dwell on the near-stalker side of Sheldon, who had trouble leaving well enough alone. She hoped that was now truly a thing of the past.

Chase put his arm around her. “Well, that’s between them. I’m happy with the woman I’ve chosen to be with.”

Paula beamed. “I feel the same way about you,” she assured him. He kissed her, and she wiped lip gloss from his mouth. “We’d better get back in there before people start to miss the hosts.”

“You’re right. We wouldn’t want that, although I’m more interested in being alone with you later.” Chase grinned seductively.

“Me, too,” Paula said. She was looking forward to Sheldon leaving without making a scene. She wished Chase hadn’t encouraged him to drink, knowing that his tendency to overdo it could spell trouble.

Chase danced with Paula to some Christmas music, enjoying the way she moved with such grace. He noted that Sheldon and Gail were dancing, too, though Sheldon seemed more interested in Paula. Or was that Chase’s imagination?

He wasn’t prone to imagining things. The man was definitely eyeing Paula, who didn’t seem to notice. Neither did Gail. Chase considered that was a good thing on both counts, unless he began to see the women become uncomfortable.

He assumed Sheldon was one of Paula’s old boyfriends. Chase had no problem with this. After all, he hadn’t expected Paula to be a nun when they met. Most important was that she had put the past behind her, and so had he. If so, why did he suddenly feel that her past was not quite finished?

After the song ended, Virginia approached them. “Chase, can I borrow Paula for a minute?”

He gave her a brief smile. “Sure, but anything more than that and I’ll come looking for you.”

Virginia laughed. “I love him.”

“Don’t even think about it,” Paula said, playfully giving Virginia the evil eye.

“As a friend,” Virginia stated. “Plus, I see one or two men here who seem to be single. I just might go after one of them.”

“Give it your best shot,” Chase said. He watched as they headed off and then turned his gaze toward Sheldon. Gail was nowhere to be found. Sheldon seemed to be preoccupied with him. Chase wondered if it wasn’t the other way around.

“Son,” Sylvester said to Chase.

Chase turned to look at him. “Hi.”

Sylvester was holding two drinks and handed Chase one. “Hell of a party you’ve got going here.”

“I’m glad you think so.” Chase was satisfied with the turnout that included a few friends, some neighbors, people from work and those Paula had invited.

“I may have picked up a new customer or two,” Sylvester said enthusiastically.

“That’s great to hear, Dad.” Chase locked eyes with Sheldon.

Sylvester noticed. “What’s going on?”

“I’ll let you know when I find out,” Chase responded. “Will you excuse me for a minute?”

He didn’t wait for a reply, instead walking over to Sheldon.
Even then, Chase had no idea what he’d say, if anything. Only that he sensed the man had something to say to him. He might as well find out what it is.

“What’s up?” Sheldon asked tonelessly.

“Just trying to be a good host,” Chase said, wondering if he should back off right now.

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Sheldon scoffed.

Chase’s brows knitted. “Is there something you want to say to me now that you’ve got my full attention without the ladies present?”

Sheldon curled his lip. “What gives you that idea?”

“You tell me.”

Sheldon rolled his eyes. “I heard that you and Paula are tight.”

“We’re seeing each other,” Chase acknowledged stiffly. “Is that a problem?”

“Not with me,” Sheldon said with a cold edge to his voice.

“You’re sure about that?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Sheldon sucked in a deep breath, circling the room with his eyes before they landed back on Chase. “Gail mentioned that you’d had this room redecorated.”

“That’s right.” Chase wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but had a feeling there was more going on here than a battle of strong wills.

“I’ll bet you hired Paula to do the job, right?”

Chase saw no reason to deny it. “Yes,” he said unapologetically.

Sheldon ran his hand across his mouth. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Is there a point to any of this?” He was beginning to lose his patience.

“Yeah, there is.” Sheldon spoke brusquely. “I hired her to fix up a room in my house. Then we started dating.” He drew a breath. “I made the mistake of falling in love with her like you have. I can see it in your eyes.”

Chase frowned, not sure he liked the implication. “Look, I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you and Paula, but—”

“You should be sorry,” Sheldon cut him off. “That’s her pattern. Love ’em and leave ’em. If you’re smart, you’ll dump her before she dumps you just as soon as the next hot dude who needs an interior decorator comes along.”

“I think I’ve heard all I want to,” Chase spat, wishing it hadn’t left such a bad taste in his mouth. “I also think it’s time for you to leave my house.”

“Sure, whatever you say.” Sheldon’s nostrils flared. “I know the truth hurts, man. I had to learn the hard way. I’m just passing on that wisdom before you get too involved, only to wish to hell you’d seen her for what she really is.”

Chase bit his lip, watching as Sheldon went to talk to Gail. It was too late to turn back the clock now, as he had fallen in love with Paula for better or worse. Right now, it seemed to be for worse, as Chase wrestled with the implications of Sheldon’s parting words.

“What is he doing here?” Virginia asked with irritation.

Paula gulped as they gazed at Sheldon, a smug grin on his face. He’d just chatted with Chase, and Paula could only imagine what Sheldon had said to him about her.

“He came with someone who works for Chase,” she told Virginia. “I guess they’re dating.”

“And we’re supposed to believe this was purely coincidental?”

“Why not?” Paula tried to take the high road. “We both thought Sheldon had moved on, remember?”

“Yes, and I still want to believe that,” Virginia said. “But seeing him here of all places and talking to Chase like they’re buddies scares me.”

“I’m not too comfortable with it, either,” Paula confessed. “But the worst thing I could do is confront Sheldon, or ask him to leave when he’s here with Chase’s blessing as Gail’s date.”

“I’ll go talk to him,” Virginia said. “We can’t have Sheldon ruin the party.”

“I’m afraid it may be too late for that,” Chase said as he came up behind Paula.

“Chase,” Paula said, facing his eyes that were so hard it nearly caused her to take a step back.

“I just had a very interesting conversation with your ex,” he said sullenly.

Paula flinched. “What did he say to you?” she asked fearfully.

“Whatever it was,” Virginia broke in, “don’t let Sheldon get in your head, Chase. That man would say anything if it meant hurting Paula.”

“I can speak for myself,” Paula said firmly, appreciating Virginia coming to her defense. If there were issues on the table regarding her past, she had to clear them up herself and hope Chase would listen. She looked up at his face. It was as tense as she’d ever seen it, suggesting their relationship had been called into question. “Talk to me, baby.”

“Not here,” he said irritably. “Let’s go upstairs.”

“Okay.” Paula looked at Virginia.

“Go ahead,” she said. “I’ll help Isa keep the party running smoothly till you guys get back.”

Paula met Chase’s gaze and wondered if the party was over.

Chase could barely wait till they were alone to confront Paula. He didn’t want to believe that she had led him astray and couldn’t be counted on to hold up her end of the bargain when all was said and done. Yet that’s exactly what Sheldon had implied, though Chase had little doubt that the man was a vindictive bastard. That didn’t mean there wasn’t some truth in his words, cutting as they were.

Chase closed the door to his bedroom after Paula was inside. He studied her for a moment, trying to figure out just how well he knew the woman whom he’d been prepared to ask to marry him tonight. Maybe he didn’t know her very well at all. Maybe she wasn’t really in love with him the way he needed her to be in order for this work.

“Is it true that he was one of your clients before you hooked up with him?” Chase asked bluntly.

Paula seemed to fumble with her thoughts. “Yes,” she said at last. “Sheldon hired me to redecorate his breakfast room. He asked me out later, and I said yes. We ended up dating for a short while, until I realized he wasn’t what I was looking for.”

Chase cocked a brow. “So this is a pattern with you? You romance men who hire you and then move on when things get too serious?”

“It’s not like that,” Paula insisted, frowning. “I never set out to have a romance with Sheldon. It just happened, and he soured when I got out. That’s normal and has nothing to do with how I feel about you.”

“That’s not the way I see it.” Chase sighed. “Seems to me you’re not really sure how you feel. I don’t know if it’s something about eligible men you work for and becoming attached to, or a fear of commitment when it comes down to the nitty-gritty.”

“I don’t need to be psychoanalyzed about how I feel,” Paula said, her lips tightly drawn. “I haven’t made a habit of attaching myself to single clients, and I don’t fear commitment to the right man—you.”

Chase was less than convinced, going against his strongest desires. “How do I know you aren’t just telling me what I want to hear?” he questioned.

“You’ll just have to trust me on that,” she responded tersely. “I don’t take such words lightly.”

He bristled. “Trust you, huh? Should I really? Did you ever consider Sheldon to be the ‘right man,’ before unceremoniously ending things with him?”

Paula glared at Chase through watered eyes. “I never told Sheldon I loved him, if that’s what you’re wondering. I would
only
say that to a man if I really meant it.” She slowly put her arms around Chase’s waist. “Can’t you see that Sheldon’s simply trying to drive a wedge between us as payback because his ego couldn’t handle being dumped?”

Chase didn’t doubt that for one second. He knew how men got when trying to deal with rejection, especially when they were in love with the woman. It was similar to losing a loved one through death. He could understand how Sheldon wanted to strike back when the opportunity presented itself, but that didn’t make it right. Chase didn’t want to feed off the man’s parting shot, but he couldn’t deny that it had had an effect on him, whether he wanted it to or not.

He closed his eyes, allowing Paula to continue holding him while refraining from doing the same. He could feel her heart beating rapidly. The closeness between them reminded Chase of why he had fallen in love with Paula. He wished with all his heart that they could just put everything in their pasts behind them and live happily thereafter. But this was the real world, and he needed to reassess their relationship before things went any further and he wound up making the biggest mistake of his life.

Chase moved away from Paula, favoring her with a bleak stare. “Look, I think we need to take a step back.”

Her eyes widened. “What are you saying?”

He looked away. “Things are moving too fast between us.”

“If this is about—”

“It has nothing to do with your ex,” Chase said, trying to convince her if not himself, “other than it made me realize that I’m not ready to take this to the next level yet.” He forced himself to meet her eyes. “If you decide to break things off, I’ll understand.”

“I love you,” Paula said, her eyes watering. “I don’t want to break things off. You mean too much to me. If you’re getting cold feet about our relationship for whatever reason, just say so.”

Chase wanted to back down and carry on with the evening as planned. He checked himself from succumbing to emotions, believing it wouldn’t be fair to either of them to pretend that doubts had not surfaced, real or imagined.

“My feelings about you haven’t changed,” he told her
candidly. “Let’s just give this some time and see how things go. Are you willing to do that?”

“Whatever you want.” Paula dabbed at her eyes. “When you realize that there’s nothing phony about what I feel for you, give me a call.”

Chase felt a chill as Paula peered at him before marching out of the bedroom. He stood there for a moment, wondering if he had unwittingly sabotaged their relationship, or if he’d just suspended a marriage that he’d thought was inevitable. Chase took the box out of his pocket, opened it and regarded Isabelle’s customized engagement ring that he had planned to give Paula tonight with family and friends surrounding them. Now he had to wonder if it would ever happen.

Chapter 22

“C
all him,” Isabelle urged Paula, the sternness in her voice clearly evident. “It’s the only way to get things back on track with Chase.”

“I can’t,” Paula said stubbornly a week after Chase’s party had ended on a dour note. It was the last time they had spoken, and she was frustrated that Chase had chosen not to call. She feared that the relationship they had carefully built was slowly slipping away.

“And why not?” Isabelle’s eyes narrowed as Paula lay in bed feeling sorry for herself.

“Because I’m not the one who decided to slow things down,” she said snappily. “Chase has my number and can call me anytime he wants.”

“I know that, but sometimes you have to be the bigger person. Moping around the house isn’t the answer, not when it’s as plain as the nose on your face that you still love Chase.”