She took a deep breath and looked at him, really looked at him. This whole thing had been a lot, a strange experience that both of them were thrown into, but Chase stuck with her through all of it. She at least owed him an explanation. She owed him the truth.
"I'm still trying to process all of it and figure things out and the only thing that makes sense to me in all of this is you."
He took a timid step forward as if testing out how close he could get to her. He was trying to stick to her boundaries or whatever boundaries made sense anymore. But his trepidation was annoying her so she took the last step, threw her arms around his neck, and pulled him in for a kiss.
It took a moment for him to respond, which freaked her out even though his surprise was her fault. But he finally answered her kiss with one of his own, one of those kisses that was tender and perfect and told her so much about how he really felt.
Then he pulled away a bit, his forehead still resting on hers. "You're the only thing that makes sense to me too." He stepped away from her again, his eyes shimmering in the California sun as he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "So, would you like to move back to the guest house?"
"Not yet," she said quietly. "The guest house was nice, but I like my new place too and I've never actually lived on my own so I want to try that for a bit."
"This is really the first time you lived alone?"
"I went straight from college to Nana's place," she explained. "So I kind of like being by myself for a little while and learning what I like."
"And what have you learned so far?" he asked with a warm smile.
"Well, I like being close to the beach but not too close."
"How close are you to the beach?"
"Santa Monica! It's amazing." She could feel her smile getting bigger. "I like trees on my street. I found a better couch than the one in your guest house. It's red."
"Nice," he said cheerfully.
"I like making Nana's chocolate chip cookies."
"They were so good!" Chase remembered. "And she still never told me the secret ingredient."
"She told me," Emma said teasingly. "Oh, and I like tea cups and saucers."
"You like..." He looked at her as if he was puzzled for a moment, trying to process that confession. "Well, a red couch and tea cups sounds eclectic, and I mean that in a good way."
Eclectic. Emma liked that description. It was different than some of her things when she lived with Nana. It was definitely different than when she rented the guest house from Chase. It was her. It was what she had finally figured out she liked. Tea cups and tree-lined streets and Chase Warwick. She was sure that she at least liked those things. She could figure out the rest from there.
"So before you go back to your eclectic place, can I ask you a question?"
She pushed back a step, giving herself some extra room but still being close enough to Chase that she wouldn't let him get away again.
"Go ahead," she replied quietly.
He pulled her hand into his, his fingers warm against her skin. "Would you like to get some authentic Wisconsin cheese curds with me?"
"What?"
"Seriously, the best restaurant for Wisconsin cheese curds in Los Angeles is right around the corner, and they taste just like my hometown cheese curds," he said enthusiastically. "We could leave our cars here and walk over. Super simple."
Her laugh was back and it felt good to be that close to him and enjoying all that Chase Warwick meant to her. The challenge was about money, sure, but it was also about finding Chase, and that was the part of the challenge she had missed the most.
Although there was one detail she was ready to give up.
"We'll get some cheese curds, but you're picking up the bill."
"Nana said you have to pay for everything!" he replied incredulously.
"Not anymore. You're buying."
He pulled himself closer to her, his breath teasing her cheek, as he leaned in and whispered some of the sexiest words she had ever heard him say.
