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“Have you ever had an office fling?” I asked, tilting my head.
I could see a million questions run through Chase’s mind. He wasn’t sure how to answer. Smartly, he settled on the truth. “I have.”
“So have I. It didn’t work out too well.”
He held my eyes, not backing down. “Shame. You know the old saying, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again.” When his eyes moved from mine down to my mouth, and he licked his lips before they finally returned, I knew it was time to change the subject.
Abruptly, I stood. “How about a tour of the house?”
“Absolutely. There’s one room in particular I’d like to show you.”
Chapter 13
Reese
I was exhilarated after spending the day working, almost high. It was only me and Josh left sitting on Chase’s rooftop deck—and Chase, of course. The other four, including Lindsey, were gone. Josh and I had stayed to have a beer now that work was done.
I was sporting a ridiculously large smile. “At the risk of sounding like a complete goofball, I need to tell you, today was amazing. I can’t remember when I’ve enjoyed working on anything this much. I’m not sure I ever have.”
Josh tipped his beer in my direction. “It did feel good. Damn good. But I think you have a lot to do with that, Reese. You being new to the group seemed to bring out something in all of us—Chase especially.” He shifted his eyes to Chase. “I haven’t seen you this fired up in years. Today felt more like a new product launch than a rebranding campaign. Everything seemed new again.”
Chase was sitting back in a lounge chair. He wore dark sunglasses, but I could feel his eyes on me nonetheless.
Nodding, he said, “It felt right. Been a long time since anything felt so right.”
After a few more minutes, Josh guzzled back the rest of his beer. “Gotta head out. Elizabeth is making me go to a cake-tasting party tonight. Since when did everything about weddings turn into a damn event? I’ve had to go to a food tasting, a band showcase, and a floral-presentation party. Vegas is sounding better and better.”
“Just wait.” Chase stood. “Anna had a bridal shower, a pregnancy-announcement party, and a gender-reveal party. You’re just getting started, buddy.”
“What the hell is a gender-reveal party?”
“The parents-to-be give a sealed envelope that contains the sex of the baby to a bakery, and the baker puts pink frosting inside the cupcakes if it’s a girl and blue if it’s a boy. Then they have a party, and everyone finds out at the same time, including the parents-to-be. Pure. Fucking. Torture. Whatever happened to the kid popping out and the doctor giving it a smack and yelling it’s a boy over the thing crying?”
“Thanks. More to look forward to.”
Chase slapped Josh on the back as we walked to the stairs. “You’re welcome.”
Arriving on the first floor, I eyed the mess we’d left in the living room and dining room. Chase had dinner brought in, and there were dishes and balled-up papers from our work session all over the place.
“Where you heading, Reese?” Josh asked. “I’m going to grab a cab downtown if you want to split one.”
“I’m cross town. But I’m going to stay for another minute and help Chase pick up a bit.”
Josh looked over my shoulder, seeing the mess for the first time. “Crap. Thanks. I owe you one, Reese. See you Monday.”
Before Chase even returned from walking Josh out, I had the place halfway cleaned. I picked up the garbage, and I was rinsing dishes and loading them into the dishwasher when I felt Chase come up behind me. He gently placed a hand on my face, and I stopped what I was doing.
“Keep going.”
At first, I thought he meant to continue loading the dishwasher. Then I realized I’d been humming. Smiling, I continued with my tune. Luckily, he was no Owen. I would have been mortified had he guessed the song I was humming.
“’Thinking Out Loud’, Ed Sheeran.”
“Not even close.” I laughed.
“’I Don’t Mind’, Usher.”
I shook my head. “You do realize those two songs sound nothing alike?”
I finished loading the dishwasher while Chase moved the furniture we’d rearranged back. We glanced up at each other as we worked.
“Plans for tonight?” he asked.
“No. I wasn’t sure what time we’d be done. You?”
“Nope. Wanna share another beer with me?”
“Sure. Why not?”
He grabbed two Sam Adams bottles from the fridge, and we sat down on the living room couch. Opening one, he took a sip and handed me the bottle, setting the other unopened one on the end table next to him.
I took the bottle. “I didn’t realize you meant literally share a beer.” I sipped and then offered it back to him. Raising my fingers to my wet lips, my instinct was to wipe away the beer remnants. But then I realized it wasn’t just beer on my lips—it was Chase on my lips. His eyes followed the path of my tongue as I instead licked the wet spot off. The way he looked at me sent tingles of arousal through my body, hitting certain places more than others.
