Page 73 of Chasing Forever

“The big boy wants to come out and play,” she said with a sexy smile.

Tracing her swollen lips with his thumb, he asked, “Do you want to play with me, Callie?”

He watched her squirm under his gaze, and she swallowed hard.

“More than I’ve wanted anything in a very long time.”

He let out a breath. “How am I going to make it until tomorrow?”

She trailed a finger down the middle of his chest and peered up at him through dark lashes. “The anticipation will make it even sweeter.”

“You think so, huh?”

She nodded. “It’s times like this that I’m happy I have such an active imagination.”

“I’m happy about that too,” he said, wiggling his brows.

Loud voices made him glance over his shoulder. A group of people was lining up to jump off the cliff.

“We should probably head back. Miranda will be wondering what’s taking me so long. Plus, she’s anxious to spend the day with you.”

Callie nodded, but then she leaned forward and gave him one more kiss, a G-rated one this time.

“What was that for?”

“For letting me vent and for just being you.”

He stood up and gave her a hand off the rock. Once she’d hopped down, he entwined their fingers together, and they walked back to the resort hand in hand.

Since when do I get so excited about holding hands with a woman? You’re such a wuss!

But he couldn’t stop smiling, and he didn’t want to. He loved the feel of her small hand in his, warm and strong yet vulnerable. He liked the idea of taking care of her—holding her, kissing her, feeding her, jumping off cliffs with her.

Jumping off cliffs. It seemed prophetic somehow. Wasn’t that what he was doing, figuratively speaking? He was taking a risk for the first time since Cass. But he’d already determined that being with Cass hadn’t been a true risk. She’d been a sure thing, at least in the beginning.

It was different with Callie. This felt real. This felt right. And it felt surprisingly like…forever.

Chapter 33

After a quick kiss goodbye, Callie and Chase went inside their separate units to change before spending the day together. And what a day it turned out to be! While they were kissing on the clifftop, Miranda planned a full itinerary, and when the three of them climbed into Chase’s car, she laid it out for them.

“Did you know Waimea Canyon is called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific?”

“I read that,” Callie said from the front seat.

Miranda had insisted Callie ride up front with Chase. It appeared that Miranda wasn’t just a fan of her books but of her and Chase being together too. She could easily envision herself becoming friends with his sister. They shared a love of reading and also of Chase. Wait a minute. What?

“It says here…”

But Callie had zoned out. Did she love Chase? How was that even possible? She hadn’t even known him that long. Sure, it happened like that in her books, but in real life?

At that exact moment, he smiled at her. Then he reached across the console, picked up her left hand, and entwined their fingers together. Such a simple gesture, yet it felt especially meaningful that he did so in front of his sister. It was like he was making a statement that they were indeed a couple.

Miranda continued from the backseat. “Let’s stop in the town of Waimea and get lunch to take into the park.”

“Um-hmm,” Chase muttered.

Callie noted the look of exasperation on his handsome face.