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“I hope so, lady,” he whispered, his eyes lingering on her mouth. Reaching forward, he placed his hands on either side of her waist and drew her nearer so that she stood facing him, close enough to feel the heat from his body, smell the liquor on his breath, see the shadows in his eyes.
She had to swallow and lick her suddenly dry lips. “So, why are you here?”
He shrugged, but his gaze never left her face. “I thought maybe I’d take you and Cody to dinner. You know, as sort of a peace offering for trespassing on your land earlier in the day.”
“Cody’s at a friend’s for the night.”
“Too bad.” But his grin widened.
“I can see you’re heartbroken,” she mocked.
“Don’t get me wrong, I like your son . . . but I can’t knock the chance to be alone with you. Since Cody’s already gone, how about just you and me?” He reached up and brushed a wayward strand of hair from her
cheek. “Maybe it’s time we got to know a little more about each other.”
“I thought you said that you were partners with Caleb.”
Chase frowned. “I still am. Whether I want to be or not. Does that brand me?”
She wanted to smile but couldn’t. “In more ways than one, I’m afraid.”
“How about what happened at Caleb’s house this afternoon?”
She tried to pull away from him, but his fingers closed tightly over her waist “I’m not sure I understand what happened.”
“I found out that Caleb tried to cheat you.”
“Is that the evidence you were talking about at the creek,” she said and then stopped. “No, it was the water samples. What do they have to do with Caleb trying to buy out my property?”
“I wish I knew,” he admitted. trying to put together the pieces of the strange puzzle. “Maybe Caleb is just playing games.”
“With my water?”
Chase’s eyes grew cold. “Believe me, what’s happening with your water isn’t a game,” he said. The lines around his mouth deepened into sharp grooves. Unless it was a deadly game and if it was, Caleb would have more than Summer Ridge to worry about. . . .
“Chase . . .” Dani’s brow was puckered, her eyes concerned. “What is it? There’s something you’re not telling me . . .”
Deciding that worrying her needlessly would cause more harm than good, Chase tried to forget his suspicions, at least for the night. He offered Dani a lopsided grin and touched his nose to hers. “There’s a lot I haven’t told you,” he said. “And a lot you haven’t told me. Let’s discuss everything over dinner.”
“I don’t know—”
“Afraid to fraternize with the enemy?”
She lifted a shoulder and grinned. “Something like that”
“Just once,” he said slowly, his eyes delving into hers, “I want you to let all your defenses down. Okay? Forget that I have anything to do with Caleb Johnson or that Johnson even exists.”
“That’s a pretty tall order.”
“Come on, Dani. Just take me at face value.”
She looked at the lines of honesty creasing his skin near the corners of his eyes and mouth. She studied the hard but clean angles of his face. And she stared into his eyes. Dear God, those vivid blue eyes would be her downfall; they seemed to cut clear to her soul. On looks alone, she couldn’t doubt him, and for the first time since she’d met him, she didn’t try.
“All right,” she whispered. “I’ll give it a shot.”
He laughed, a warm sound that echoed through the still night.
“Bad choice of words,” she admitted, her eyes crinkling at the corners and her lips lifting into a graceful smile that Chase found irresistible.
