"What's that?"
"Your hotel."
Emma turned and stared out at the abyss of Chase's backyard. "Where? Like a couple of blocks away? Or just in that direction or something?"
His hand dropped down and he released an exasperated sigh. "No, my guest house right there in my backyard."
She turned back to the small white building that matched the exterior of Chase's house.
"Wait here."
There was a bit of amusement in his voice as he grabbed the bottle of wine and emptied the rest of it into their glasses.
"Oh, don't do that," she said. "I have to drive after this."
Chase rolled his eyes as if they both knew she wasn't going anywhere else tonight. "You done with this cake?"
"I guess?"
He stood up and grabbed the box and the bottle, leaving the two glasses behind as he disappeared into his house.
Emma turned back and stared at the small structure again in Chase's backyard. His guesthouse that he was offering her. This was probably a bad idea. She didn't want him to think that they were somehow closer than they actually were, and the guest house was really close. Physically close, sure, but there was also the mental closeness that was streaming through Emma's body as she looked at that guest house. She was trying so hard to not have Chase become an actual part of her life. He was the enemy after all, at least that was the way Emma wanted to think of him.
It would be harder to think of him as the enemy if he was letting her stay here.
"OK," Chase said as he walked back to their spot by the pool. "Come with me. Oh, and remember your wine glass."
"My lowball."
Chase shrugged and put his hand out for Emma to grab, but she didn't take it. Honestly, it was easier to pull herself up with both hands considering all the tulle she had to dig herself out of, but she appreciated his gesture. Then she reached over to grab the glass from Chase's hand that he had already picked up for her.
He nodded towards the house, and she picked up her shoes to follow him. The stone patio turned to grass before they reached a small concrete landing in front of the door to the guest house. Chase pulled a key out of his pocket and slid it into the lock.
"This sticks a little so you'll have to jiggle it around," he explained. "And it doesn't have themodern locks like the rest of the house. I hope that's alright."
"Yeah, I guess that's fine."
It was more than fine. Chase flipped on a few lights and the space became fully illuminated. Emma could only stare in awe. She thought it was just going to be a little shed or something with a tiny cot in a corner. But this guest house was huge, or at least bigger than some of the studio apartments she had been pricing out in Torrance before she found out about Nana's inheritance.
There was a bar-style kitchen along a back wall with a small fridge and a built-in electric stove top. There was a couch along the far wall that looked a little cramped for sleeping, but it would do for tonight. Opposite of that was a huge television mounted on the wall.
"Oh, almost forgot!" Chase walked over to a doorway and flipped on another light. "A full bathroom!"
Holy hell, it was a full bathroom. And it was modern and clean! Emma could've cried if she wasn't enamored by all of it.
"Oh, and fireplace."
Chase flipped another switch on the wall and a gas fireplace under the television sparked to life. She could really get used to this.
Or not. She could not get used to this. It was just for one night because Chase was trying to be a nice person, but none of this was because he actually liked her. It was because he felt sorry forher, because everything she owned was either in storage or in her car.
"So?"
She turned to see him looking expectantly at her. "So."
"You think you can stay here?"
"Yeah, this could work for tonight," she said with a small smile.
