About Last Summer

With her thoughts on laundry, what she wanted for lunch, and did she remember to tell Patrick they needed detergent for the dishwasher, she headed for the kitchen. Rounding the corner of the dining room, she collided with a six-foot-one frame that nearly knocked her five-foot-six frame to the floor.

Instantly Chase put his hands at her waist to steady her. Heart racing, she pressed a hand against her chest. “You scared the hell out of me. I thought no one was here.”

“Sorry about that. I just came in, but next time I’ll try to remember to make a bit more noise.” His mouth tipped into a smile.

So he was poking fun at her, which was OK. A little humiliation was preferable to what she usually had to deal with in his presence. Although with his hands still at her waist, humiliation could be the least of her worries.

Needing to direct her attention elsewhere, she stepped toward the refrigerator.

“Have you had lunch yet?” she asked, her eyes searching the confined space. There was some leftover ham from dinner a few nights ago, and she knew the cheese was fresh having bought it just yesterday. She could make a couple of sandwiches, but her mind really wasn’t on food.

Chase had chosen to lean against the counter a few inches away. The trim fit of his jeans riding low on his hips brought back more than a few erotic memories that she didn’t need reminding of, and his nearness triggered a peevish urge to go elsewhere for lunch. After all, if he wanted to lounge he could have sat at the table, which was all the way across the room then she wouldn’t have to worry about making small talk with their bodies scant inches apart.

“I could eat,” he said, his casual demeanor suggesting he was unaware of how his nearness affected her. “Anything look good?”

Her heart jolted, but then she reminded herself he was talking about lunch. That was all that was on his mind, or least she was determined to pretend it was.

Needing a bit more breathing room, she backed away allowing him access to the open refrigerator. “Help yourself,” she said, also talking about lunch, as she turned to examine what was in the cabinets.

Feeling her thoughts slip deeper into the gutter, Natalie counted to ten. Thirty seconds in the man’s presence and she felt the need for a cold shower. And what was worse, all they had talked about was lunch.

And if that wasn’t enough to make her feel awkward, she suddenly remembered what she was wearing. A faded green T-shirt that resembled something that should have been taken out with last week’s trash, tattered jeans and, instead of taking the time to put in her contacts, she had grabbed her glasses. Throw in a sloppy ponytail and no makeup, and she was a candidate for one of those style makeover shows.

She put a pan on the stove for some soup as she tried to ignore her unappealing appearance. Chase took the ham and cheese out of the refrigerator, and while they put their lunches together he asked how the event planning business was going. She took a few minutes to explain some of the finer points of wedding planning, but she could tell the conversation had about reached its peak.

Discussing her career was OK for a little while, but if she went on for more than five minutes she usually ran the risk of putting her companion to sleep. Ten and she worried about the possibility of coma.

“So, Patrick tells me you were recently in Liverpool,” Natalie changed the subject.

Chase talked about his trip mentioning several sights he’d visited. He’d gone to the famous city for the funeral of an old family friend. As Chase talked, some of the awkwardness between them vanished. Gone was the polite, stilted conversation she’d endured over the past few days, and now they were chatting like old friends. Which they were, sort of.

But the irony of the situation was, this was how their former affair started. First a few innocent conversations, which graduated to a few simple touches, and before long they hadn’t been able to keep their hands off one another. Granted she probably hadn’t tried as hard as she should have on that last point, but given how Chase affected her she supposed she shouldn’t blame herself too much.

As she caught a glimpse of the clock above the stove she noted it was after one and she needed to get back to work. No point in tempting fate in Chase’s presence any more than she already had.

“Well,” she said, rising from the table and gathering up her dishes. “Duty calls.”

Chase also stood. “Uh, Natalie, before you go, can I talk to you for a minute?”

Chapter Two (#u08ae1b32-6cdf-5494-a63c-f4f524249783)

Natalie’s steps faltered then regained speed as she headed for the sink. “Sure. What do you want to talk about?”Chase registered her hesitation with a touch of dread. A moment ago their conversation contained the easygoing tone of old friends as he talked about his trip to Liverpool, but now the awkward politeness threatened to return. Although once she heard what he had to say that was liable to be the least of his worries.

Deciding to use the bandage removal approach – do it quick and get it over with – he maneuvered around the table. “I want to ask you a favor.”

Standing at the kitchen sink, she adjusted the water temperature and asked with a hint of suspicion, “What kind of favor?”

Reclining against the counter next to her, he crossed his arms. The spray of water splashed against the sink with some vigor, and Natalie hastened to lower the pressure. “Do you remember me mentioning someone by the name of Drake Henderson?”

She nodded, as she swiped at a fly that had landed on her nose. “Isn’t he the guy you usually buy local properties from?”

“That’s right.” Just ask her. The worst she can say is no. “Anyway he’s asked me to meet him for dinner.”

“And what does that have to do with me?”

“Um, well, he thinks you’re my girlfriend.” There, he said it.

“What?” Natalie’s spine straightened, as her eyebrows rose. Water continued to sluice over the dishes.

Quick to apply damage control, he hastened to explain. .“The thing is Drake has a niece, and he wants me to take her out. I’ve told him no a number of times, but he’s become more persistent. Finally, the only way I saw out of it was to tell him I was dating someone.”

“So you told him you and I were dating.” She squirted a measure of dish washing liquid into her soup bowl, and swiped a sponge over the moistened surface.

“Not until recently. He called a few days ago and suggested dinner. I would have put him off, but he has a piece of property I want to buy, and he’s agreed to discuss the details over dinner.” Given she had yet to tell him to take a flying leap, he continued, “I really want to buy that property, but if I hadn’t told him I wanted to bring you along, he would have brought his niece.”

“Well, that is a dilemma.” She continued washing dishes, the suds lathering around her hands, her neutral response giving him no clue as to what she might be thinking.

Her placid features suggested she wasn’t mad. It was more like she was weighing her options. Which was certainly understandable. He had his own reservations about them masquerading as a couple, but considering the alternative taking Natalie to dinner was the lesser of the two evils.

Taking a shot at tipping the scales in his favor, he said, “Look, I know this is crazy, and you have every right to not want to go, but I hope you will.”

“So, when is this dinner?” she asked, rinsing a handful of flatware.

“Tonight.” Then he added somewhat apologetically, “I know it’s short notice.”

“I don’t know, Chase,” she said, shutting off the water. “Won’t Patrick think it’s kind of strange for you and me to go out together?”

“I’m sure we can figure out something to tell him.” She still didn’t look convinced, but he hadn’t played all of his cards yet. “It’s just for a few hours, Natalie.” He paused briefly then said, “Unless you’re afraid to be alone with me.”

His challenging taunt must have done the trick as she rolled her eyes. “That’s hardly the problem.”

“So, what’s the problem?”

Natalie reached for a dish towel. “It’s just things have a tendency to get out of hand whenever we’re together. We took enough risks last year. I don’t like keeping secrets and I especially don’t like keeping them from my family.”

“I know,” Chase said. “But I’m not suggesting we pick up where we left off, nor am I suggesting we keep our going to dinner a secret. There isn’t any reason why Patrick should have an issue with us going out to dinner as friends.”

“But your friend will think you and I are a couple,” she reminded him.

“Well, yes, but I just told him we were dating to keep him from bringing his niece along, and in a few weeks I’ll tell him we’re not dating any longer.” Chase did his best to make the evening sound as non-datelike as possible and there was little likelihood of romantic consequences.

However his inner voice whispered there might be more to it than that. Chase had thoroughly enjoyed the time he had spent with Natalie, and seeing her again reminded him of how much he had missed their time together. He knew it was stupid. Being with Natalie meant risking his friendship with Patrick, and Chase had enough uncertainty in his life, but he couldn’t forget how being with Natalie made him feel.

Indecision wrinkled her brow as she carefully arranged the dish towel on a silver towel ring. “So if I agree, it will be just dinner. We go out, have a meal, and then come back home.”

“Exactly.” Chase paused. Natalie’s demeanor suggested she was on the verge of agreeing, that is if he didn’t say anything stupid.

She hesitated, carefully arranging the dish towel just so. Silence stretched, suggesting her decision could go either way, and just when he began to suspect she wasn’t going to agree, her shoulders lifted in a careless shrug. “Sure. I suppose there’s no real harm in it. What time are you supposed to meet him?”