AllFreeNovel
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“There were a few other women, but they’ve all moved on. A few are married, one is engaged. Natalie was the only crazy one,” he quips.
“That’s good to know,” I quip back.
“You, on the other hand . . .” he jokes.
“Are there any Chase juniors running around I should know about?”
“God, no. I was always safe. That’s why when Natalie said she was pregnant, I immediately left Davis. I couldn’t figure out how that was possible. And we both know she faked the whole thing.”
“Nothing is one-hundred effective.”
He chuckles. “No, I don’t have any kids.”
“Good.” I take a sip of champagne as we continue to sail away from Key West.
“I thought this might calm you,” Chase murmurs.
“The sailboat or the champagne?” I ask, deadpan.
“Both.”
“They’re both helping, thanks.”
“I told you. I’ll do anything to make you happy.”
He says that, yet when I pushed him away, he didn’t fight for me. When the going got tough, he bailed. “Why didn’t you try harder?” I ask.
“Try what?” he cocks his head to the side, a puzzled look crossing his face.
“To fight for me, to get me to realize what I saw wasn’t real,” I say, unable to hide the pain in my voice. If he would have convinced me before, I never would have gotten back with Evan.
“I tried calling a million times, kept leaving message after message. Then I called, and Evan answered. If he made you happy, who was I to stop him?”
“You would have given me up, just like that?”
Dipping his head, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “It was hard. I’ve never felt hurt like that before. I was dying inside.” He looks up, pain hiding behind those rich blue irises. He takes another breath and continues. “In the short amount of time we were together, I found myself falling in love with you.” He pauses. “I am in love with you, but your happiness is more important than mine.”
Wait, did he just admit to loving me again? I want it to be true, but I still lack the conviction and confidence to believe that, especially since we come from two different worlds. How could he possibly want plain old me?
“That’s the thing. After I saw you with her, I felt so betrayed. You knew what happened with Evan,” I say, looking over the rail and watching the waves slowly lap against the bottom of the boat. “I didn’t think I was worthy of a love without flaws. It wasn’t until I saw you in my dreams that I realized I was settling. I didn’t think I was good enough to keep you.”
“Why would you think that?” he asks, sounding wounded.
“You have everything. I thought you would want someone more like you.”
“Please don’t tell me this is about money,” he says, his tone clipped.
“Not just money. It’s more of your lifestyle. I didn’t go to Harvard. My parents worked hard for what little we had. I didn’t grow up like you.”
“That is one of the many things I love about you.” He places his hand under my chin and tilts my head up. “You don’t take life for granted. You don’t expect anything. That’s why I want to give you everything,” he murmurs, his thumb delicately stroking my chin.
“I don’t want anything.” His touch, so warm and tender, causes me to momentarily stop breathing.
“I know,” he whispers.
“I just want you, but I need to take things slow,” I finally breathe. His lips quirk up into a sideways smile and the tension around his eyes eases.
“I can do slow. I can’t promise I won’t pull a string or two, it’s who I am,” he teases. “But seeing you smile makes me happy. You could light up a room and I would do anything just to see that.” He leans down and kisses me on the lips. “For you, I’ll try to tone it down a notch.”
