Ready To Love Again (31 page)

Why haven’t we sat down like this before?

They never talked about Katie and Shawn or if she would apologize. Chase knew they’d have to face it soon, but for now, she was his little girl and he was her dad. Making up for lost opportunities seemed more important.

Chapter 16

Chase’s fears that Katie was avoiding him were laid to rest when they set up a date for the following weekend. Gina told him he worried too much and assured him that when she’d seen Katie at work, nothing seemed unusual about her behavior. Even with Gina’s encouragement, Chase hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.

By the time Friday evening rolled around, he was desperate to see Katie so he could ease his doubts and suspicions. She answered the door, and Chase smiled at how beautiful she looked. A little black dress hugged her curves, and half her hair was piled on top of her head, while the other half spilled in waves over her bare shoulders. With a shy smile, she invited him in. His earlier anxiety evaporated when she took his hand and led him to the couch. Eyeing the gift in his hand, she pulled him down to sit with her.

“We need to t—”
 

He handed her the package and smiled. “Open it.”

Katie stared at the gift, and her reluctance to unwrap it concerned him almost as much as her detachment over the last week had done. Her hand shook when she pulled off the bow. His smile faltered, and he noticed the dark circles under her eyes that she’d tried to camouflage with makeup. Before she peeled back the paper, she looked up at him. He wanted to ask if anything was wrong, but she spoke first.

“You don’t have to buy me presents.”

“I know. I wanted to get you this. Please, just open it.”

She smiled and turned back to her gift. Bubble wrap and tissue paper still protected the treasure when she opened the lid. With a reverence that made his breath hitch, Katie picked up the object hidden within. A corner of her lip curled up when she pushed away the last of the tissue to reveal the glass dolphins she’d shown him in the window on the wharf.

“I could see how upset you were when you talked about Shawn breaking the one you had before, but that’s not the only reason I bought them.” Tears rolled down Katie’s cheeks while Chase tried to explain the significance of the gift. “That evening we saw a pair of dolphins in the harbor, and it was our first unofficial date. Then when we were on the boat with the kids, they were there.” Chase shrugged his shoulders and looked away, feeling self-conscious. “I thought you’d like them.”

Katie touched his arm, and he dragged his gaze to her deep green eyes. They reflected such intense emotion that he found himself holding his breath while he waited for her to speak.

“Chase, I—” Her voice broke, and he couldn’t resist the urge to touch her. Bringing his hand up to her face, he cupped her cheek and searched her eyes for something to reassure him.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Chase smiled, satisfied that she liked the present he had put so much thought into. He pulled her onto his lap and brushed his lips across hers. One of her tears landed against his cheek, and a warning bell sounded inside his head.

Were the tears over the gift, or was something more going on?

He sat back and wiped at the wetness on her cheek with his thumb. “What is it? Talk to me, please.”

She took a deep breath and shook her head. “Can we stay in tonight?” More tears welled up in her eyes. “I just want to be with you. No distractions. Please?”
 

Chase’s resolve to talk about the rift he had felt over the last week crumbled with her desperate plea. That conversation could wait. Right now, she wanted him, and that was all that mattered.

He picked up Katie and walked to her room while she buried her face in his chest and inhaled his warm scent, trying to memorize everything about him. Chase loosened his grip on her, and she slid down the front of him until her feet met the floor. They stood, staring at one another. She knew she needed to tell him, but the urge to be with him overrode her conscience. His hand gently wrapped around her neck, and his thumb glided over her cheekbone.
 

“Katie,” he whispered, and her heart shattered a little more at the longing in his voice. “Please tell me what you need.”

She brought her hand up to his and closed her eyes before turning her face into his palm and kissing it. “Just you.”
 

When Katie turned her face back to his, there was more emotion in his eyes than just lust and desire, although those were clearly present. For just one night, she wanted to feel like Chase loved her as much as she did him, so she let reality go and latched on to the desire of her heart. “Make love to me, Chase.”

His lips hovered over hers for a moment before he gently took her top lip in between his and kissed it softly. Katie wrapped her arms around his waist and melted into him while his arms slid around her back. Chase continued to lick and nip at her lips while his hands deftly lowered the zipper of her dress. When he had it undone, his hands ghosted around her waist and over her breasts until his fingers found the straps. He pushed them off her shoulders, allowing the dress to pool at her feet.

His kisses trailed across her jaw, burying his face in her neck and taking a long breath. Her fingers worked on the buttons of his shirt while his hands ran up and down her naked back and his lips roamed over her neck. Katie pushed his shirt off his shoulders and went for his pants, but he grabbed her hands.

“This is about you, honey,” Chase said against her ear while he brought her hands up to his neck.
 

She wound the soft hair at the nape around her finger and tugged him closer.

“Let me be what you need,” he whispered against her mouth.
 

His words struck the last defense she had left. Everything Katie needed was right there, loving her, and it would all go away as soon as she let reality back in.

The tears welled in her eyes as his kiss turned passionate and hungry. She pushed down the sorrow and tried to treasure every moment of his warm skin under her fingers while she helped him shed his clothes. When Chase laid her on the bed, her memory took a snapshot of him kissing each hipbone before he pulled her panties down her legs. She filed away the memory of the look in his eyes when he slid into her with tenderness and care. Katie cherished every endearment he whispered in her ear while he slowly brought her body to pleasure.

Only after they were spent and Chase had fallen asleep did she let her fantasy slip back into reality. Silently, she wept in his arms until she drifted off into a restless sleep.

~*~

Chase felt a sudden jerk against his chest, waking him from a dreamless sleep. He squinted while he tried to adjust to the blinding light that filtered through the curtains in Katie’s room. His focus landed on the top of her brown curls, and he smiled. Her hand clutched at the comforter when she jerked against him.

“Katie, honey.”

He trailed his fingers down her arm, trying to rouse her from her dream. She turned her head until he could see her beautiful face. Her eyes opened halfway, and then she snapped them shut again.

“What time is it?”

Chase glanced at the clock on her dresser and groaned. “It’s seven-fifteen. I need to pick up the boys and head to the field by eight-thirty.”

A grief-stricken look crossed her face before she composed herself.

“What’s wrong? I know something’s going on, and it’s killing me to see you so upset.”

He continued to run his fingers up her arm, hoping she would open up to him. Shaking her head, Katie gave him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“We don’t have time. We’ll talk later, after the party. I promise.” Giving him a quick kiss, she sat up, and his mind went blank when the sheet fell to her waist. “Are you going to take a shower here or wait until you get home?”

Hoping to tease her out of her mood, Chase bolted upright and snagged her around the waist, making her squeal at his sudden movement. She smiled down at him and let him pull her on top of his bare chest. “I’ll take one here, and you’re joining me.”

Katie shook her head but continued to smile. “You’re going to be late for the most anticipated game of the season if you don’t let me go.”

He nipped at the flesh below her ear. “We’ll finish this later,” he said before kissing her neck. Her dark mood seemed to return as she rolled off. She gave him a hesitant smile before she turned for the bathroom. Perplexed by the sudden change, Chase pulled himself out of bed when he heard the shower turn on.

As he reached the door to the bathroom, the phone rang. “Could you get that? I’m already soaked,” Katie asked.

He grumbled under his breath about a wet, beautiful, and naked woman waiting for him before he made his way to the kitchen to grab the annoying interruption.

“Hello?”

“Who’s this?” said the low, yet demanding, voice on the other end of the line. The hostility surprised Chase.

“Why don’t you tell me who this is, and then I’ll reciprocate.”

“This is Victor, Katie’s husband.”

“Ex-husband,” he corrected. Victor grumbled, and Chase smiled smugly to himself.

“Who the hell is this?” Victor barked, which made Chase’s smile widen.

“Chase. The boyfriend.”

“Put Katie on the phone.”

“She’s in the shower.” Chase couldn’t resist sticking the knife in a little further and twisting. If the man hadn’t been such an ass, he would have reconsidered what he said next. “Waiting for me.”

“Where the hell is Shawn while you’re screwing my wife?”

“Wow, such the gentleman. No wonder Katie left you.”

Victor laughed, but it sounded anything but amused. His voice turned cold. “Tell Katie my flight comes in at one on Shawn’s last day of school, and I plan on taking her and Shawn to dinner at her favorite restaurant since she 
offered
 her home to me while I’m in town.” His words dripped with innuendo, and Chase clenched his fists. “I thought she deserved to be pampered.”

Chase’s mind raced at Victor’s taunting.
Why didn’t she tell me he was coming? Maybe it slipped her mind. Is this what’s bugging her? She offered him a place to stay?
Why would she do that?

“Didja get that, Chase?” The way Victor sneered him name made him want to reach through the phone and yank out his tonsils—without anesthesia.

“I’ll tell her,” he said before he slammed the phone on its base. Chase stared out the window, trying to curb the anger that raced through his body. He growled again at the way Victor had implied Katie invited him for something more. Although he didn’t think she wanted her ex-husband, the lingering doubt and strong tug of jealousy were still present.

“Who was on the phone?” Katie asked. He felt her soft lips press against his spine, and he turned in her arms.

“Victor.” He watched her face for any sign of deception.

She looked surprised. “Oh?”

“He said his flight lands at one on the fifth, and he’s taking you and Shawn to dinner.” Chase didn’t like the accusation he heard in his voice, but he could still feel the sting of Victor’s insinuation. That, combined with the way she’d been acting, left him feeling uneasy and more than a little paranoid.

The emptiness that met his gaze struck him to the core. “You need to get ready to go,” she murmured. With her quiet dismissal, Chase couldn’t help but wonder why she hadn’t told him that Victor was coming.

He expected her to deny, or at least explain, the arrangement, but Katie didn’t say a word, leaving him to guess what was going on between her and her ex-husband. Chase gave her an abrupt nod and left her standing in the kitchen.

Letting the water run down his back, he tried to soothe the green-eyed monster that had reared its ugly head. It took him several deep breaths and a shot of cold water before he calmed down enough to think rationally about the situation. Chase knew Katie would never go back to that loser, but he also knew history was hard to erase. After warring with his emotions and convincing himself for the tenth time that he had nothing to worry about, he climbed out of the shower, feeling ridiculous for entertaining the idea that Katie would get back together with her ex.

Once he’d dressed, he found her in the bedroom, pulling the sheets off her bed. He strode over and pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. He pushed my buttons, and I let him get to me. Forgive me, please?”

Katie looked up at him with sad eyes, and he felt like even more of a jerk. With a small nod, she pressed her face to his chest. Chase wasn’t sure if her reaction was about his stupid jealousy or something else.

“Katie, sweetheart.” He tilted her head back until she looked at him. “I don’t like to see you like this. Please, tell me what’s wrong.”

She gave him a sorrowful smile. “We’ll talk after the party.” This was the second time she had said this, and Chase had a nagging feeling this talk would redefine their relationship.

Nodding, he kissed her once more before he grabbed his things and walked out to his car. Katie stood on the porch and waved while he pulled out of her driveway.

~*~