"Sure thing, handsome."
There was a low growl from Chase that made the hairs on the back of Emma's neck stand up. Damn, that sound from him was amazing. But there was no way she was going to tell him that.
Instead, she followed him to a set of sliding doors along the wall of his living room that opened out on to a patio with a pool surrounded by grass and a small building in the far corner. Well, not really a small building per se. It was more like a guest house with the curtains drawn over the windows so Emma couldn't tell what was inside. Maybe it was Chase's yoga studio or something. He seemed like someone who would have a yoga studio in their backyard.
Emma walked out and looked down at the water below. She loved the beach, sure, but there was something about having a pool in a backyard that just seemed so decadent. Her feet were hurting in these stupid expensive shoes already, so she figured she would just slip one off and dip her toe in. Who cared what Chase thought?
The water was the perfect temperature, ofcourse, and she wondered what it would be like to live in a place like this. Maybe she could buy a house with a pool if she was ever able to get Nana's inheritance.
"You like that?"
Chase came sauntering up with the cake in one hand and the bottle of wine in the other. Emma hadn't really noticed how big his hands were until now, and she was going to try her best to forget that.
Instead, she just gave him a flippant smile. "It's a nice pool."
"Right?" he said with a huge smile.
She watched as Chase put the cake box and bottle down on a table and pulled two cushions off the chairs sitting there. Then he walked over to the edge of the pool where she was standing and put them down.
"Here, sit down."
"What?"
"Sit down. Put your feet in."
She wasn't going to object to someone inviting her to sit on the edge of his pool, although she was a little worried about getting this dress wet. It wasn't cheap after all. But she decided to be a trooper and hiked up as much of the tulle as she could. Surprisingly, it was pretty easy to mash all of it down around her and let her legs dangle over the edge.
She looked around to see the fabric pooled in a circle around her spot on the edge of the poolwhile her legs were sticking out, dipping into the warm water. She had to admit the night wasn't turning out so bad. She felt like Cinderella, but she had to remind herself that even Cinderella had an expiration date. At midnight, Emma's coach was going to turn back into an old Toyota Corolla and she was going to have to find an attic to sleep in for the night.
But she wasn't going to worry about that now. Because now, a gorgeous man named Chase Warwick was sitting down next to her with wine and cake.
"Lucy! Can you play my Lyonheart Part Two playlist on the speakers by the pool?"
"Sure thing, handsome."
The opening bars of "Under the Milky Way" by The Church came filtering through speakers that Emma couldn't see. It was the perfect song for winding down outside by a pool at night.
"I like your taste in music."
"I'm impressed." He smiled as he carefully set down the cake and forks to avoid all the tulle from her dress. "Not many people know this song, but I've been trying to get it added to the soundtrack to one of the next Project Lyonheart movies."
"Oh, Nana would've loved that. It was one of her favorites," she said quietly.
Sometimes these little moments when she could remember happier times with her grandmother would help soothe her soul. Although right now, she also wondered what Nanawould think about her sitting on the side of Chase Warwick's pool in an expensive dress.
"So you ready for this 'famous' chocolate cake or whatever?" he asked as he handed Emma a lowball glass filled with wine.
"Ready as I'll ever be I guess."
She was trying to be blasé about this and not act like it was a big deal, especially not in front of Chase, but she was really excited about this. The slice on the dessert cart at the restaurant didn't seem like that big of a deal, but it was twenty dollars! So there had to be something fancy about it that she missed, right?
Chase handed her a fork with a dramatic flair, and then he started to slowly open the top of the box.
"Holy shit," he muttered. "This thing is huge."
"That's what she said."
Chase's laughter was so loud that some dog started barking in the distance, and it made Emma feel a weird sort of warmth because she was able to make him happy like that. "You're the best."
