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“Hell if I care. You’re the boss.”
“I could get used to that.”
He looks at our hands and then back up at me. “My parents enjoyed meeting you. Mom said you were sweet enough to give her a toothache. I know it doesn’t sound like it, but that’s actually a compliment.”
“Whew, meeting them was pretty nerve-racking. I didn’t really know what to expect.”
“I told you I’m not going to let anyone give you grief, and I meant it. But you didn’t need to worry about it anyway. They’re excited to have another grandbaby.” He pulls me closer and puts an arm around me. I rest my head against him, drawing on his strength and warmth. Now, the silence of the house is peaceful, relaxing. “You’re doing okay here?” he asks quietly.
“Yeah,” I reply just as quietly.
“Emily has an appointment in Denver on Friday. You going to be okay around here on your own?”
“Of course I am.”
“All right. We’ll be back before Willow gets out of school. She’ll be staying the night with my parents on Saturday. I thought you and I could hang out just the two of us. You know, have a little date night.”
“A date night?” I ask cautiously.
“A friendly meeting? A platonic outing? We can call it whatever you’d like as long as it involves you and me spending time together.”
“Are we ready for that? To start calling this dating?” We talked about taking things slow and not rushing into a relationship out of convenience, but at the time, I wasn’t sure what to expect when moving into a house with Chase and Emily. It probably could have ended in disaster, but instead, I’ve found the transition remarkably easy.
The Chase I knew on vacation was quiet, moody, and overwhelmingly sexy. The Chase I know now—the father, the head of a household he’s volunteered to care for—is responsible and kind, hardworking to a fault, and still overwhelmingly sexy.
I’m getting to know him on a deeper level than most women get to know their significant others at the start of a relationship, and it’s only amplified the feelings I have for him. The unorthodox blooming of our relationship should make me question my sanity, but somehow, I feel like for the first time in my adult life, I’m right where I’m supposed to be. Maybe it’s time to start exploring things between us.
“I’m not asking for anything but your time, Addison. There are no expectations. You don’t even owe me a kiss at the end of the night. I’d just like to spend some time with you.”
“Okay,” I say, looking up at him. “Date night Saturday, then.”
* * *
The lively Willow I’ve come to know is missing from the one sitting in front of me now. Her eyes are cast down to the kitchen floor, and a deep frown is plastered on her face as she perches her chin on top of her fist.
It doesn’t look like the first day of school went well.
Emily planned to be awake when Willow got home from school, but she’s still not up, and I didn’t have the heart to wake her. Chase is at work. So I guess that leaves me to handle this situation. I’m already breaking out in a sweat as I sit down across from her. As a peace offering, I pop open a can of root beer and slide it across the table to her.
“Hey, Willow. What’s up?” I ask tentatively. She doesn’t respond right away, but she at least acknowledges me by moving her eyes to mine and thanking me for the drink. “How was school?”
She drops her elbow from the table and sighs. “Not very good.” Then she takes a few long gulps of her soda, leaving behind a slight root beer mustache when she pulls away.
“What happened?”
She hesitates to answer, eyeing me cautiously like she’s trying to decide if I can be trusted.“I don’t really want to talk about it.”
“Okay.” I drum my fingers on the table for a second, thinking through my next move. “How can we cheer you up?”
She only shrugs.
“Do you want to go get ice cream?”
She shakes her head.
Wow, this is harder than I thought.
“Well, you like to cook. We could do that.”
