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Lily kicks at her food container, indicating that she’s hungry, so Summer scoops some food into the dog’s bowl and then takes my hand and leads me into the living room where she sits on the couch.
“I don’t want to sit,” I tell her, and then she stands and paces to the window.
“Me neither, actually. I told you that they came to my shop. My parents. Well, Evan was with them. Evan is the reason they came to town in the first place. He said it was a surprise for me.”
Her laugh holds no humor as she turns my way and shakes her head.
“They wanted me to leave work right then to join them for lunch, but I said no. I didn’t want to go to dinner tonight either, but I decided to so I could shut them all down and remind them that I’m a freaking adult, and I’m not moving back to Helena, and I’m absolutely, unequivocally not marrying Evan, for fuck’s sake.”
“Whoa.” I hold up a hand, and she stops talking. “He proposed to you?”
“No.” She shakes her head and waves me off. “No, at dinner, my parents told me that I would sell the business and move back home—what a joke—and that once I married Evan, I wouldn’t want to make flower arrangements anymore anyway.”
My eyes narrow. My blood runs hot. The thought of Summer moving away is unimaginable, but marrying another man? Marrying fucking Evan Spencer? Not if I have anything to say about it.
“And then, I made it very clear that I have no intentions of doing any of that. Bitterroot Valley is home. And Evan is absolutely nothing to me. I’m in a happy, loving relationship. Why don’t they respect that? Why can’t they just let me live my own life?”
I cross to her and pull her against me, frame her face, and close my lips over hers, kissing her until neither of us can breathe, and I have to back away to take in air. She frowns as she stares up into my eyes and grips onto my biceps.
“Jesus, Chase, you have to know that I would never—Evan is—God, I would never betray you like that.”
“You didn’t tell me he would be there.” I tip my forehead to hers and feel myself settle for the first time since I saw her sitting at that table. “It gave me a bad moment when I saw you.”
“I was so focused on getting there, on telling them all off and standing up for myself, I guess it didn’t occur to me to mention him, and I’m sorry for that. Earlier, at the shop, he didn’t hurt my feelings. My mom did. She made my shop seem small and…icky. And I didn’t really think of him. I never think of him, Chase.”
“He had his hand on you.”
“And I shrugged him off. You don’t have to worry about him or anyone else, ever, because in case you’ve missed it, I’m so fucking in love with you, all I see is little puffy red hearts above my head all the time.”
“Okay, then.” I plant a kiss on her forehead and then realize that Lily is hitting the back door. “I’ll go let her out, and you grab your things.”
“I can do that,” she replies, but her eyes don’t leave mine. “Chase, are we okay?”
“Yeah.” I wrap my arms around her and hug her close, breathe her in, relieved that the storm has passed. “Yeah, we’re good, sugar.”
Lily hits the back door again, and I grin.
“I’ll take her out.”
“Thank you.”
Lily rushes out the back door ahead of me to sniff around the yard and do her business. It occurs to me that she hasn’t been here in several weeks, so she has to take her time, checking out every nook and cranny. But that’s okay because it gives me a chance to take a deep breath and settle my nerves.
I’m not typically a jealous man, but seeing Evan next to Summer in that restaurant tonight is something I don’t want to relive any time soon.
Finally, once Lily has finished, we return to the back door and walk inside, and I hear voices.
Lily growls, and she never growls.
“Easy, baby,” I murmur to her and instinctively push her behind me as I hurry out to the living room and find Evan standing on the porch, his face red with anger. Summer’s blocking the doorway so he can’t come inside, and I stay out of his sight but in Summer’s peripheral vision so she knows I’m here.
“You have got to be kidding me,” he demands, and Summer holds a hand up to me on the other side of the door where Evan can’t see as if to say, I’ve got this.
So, with my hands fisted at my sides, I wait and watch. But if that fucker makes one wrong move, I’ll have him on the ground.
“You’re giving up a spectacular life for what, exactly? For a goddamn flower shop? For fucking Chase Wild? You’re nuts, Summer. Do you even realize the opportunities that your parents can offer you? That I can offer? You don’t have to work; you don’t have to struggle. Jesus, you should be shopping and primping and volunteering. Having fun. I can send you shopping in all the best shops in the world. You won’t have to slum it in Polly’s place anymore.”
“Number one, she’s my best friend, and I love her shop, and number two, that sounds so incredibly boring and ridiculous.” Her voice is calm, and she’s not visibly reacting to him at all.
