“But—”He grabbed my hand
“No buts. I know you’re used to getting what you want, but this isn’t like that.”
“Can’t we be friends, at least?”
I sighed by sitting here talking to him I guess he got the impression that was an option. How easy it would be for me to hang in the friend zone with the very sexy, Chase. I could take him to parties and he could take me to dinner, and maybe we’d even kiss, and I’d be stuck in love with a man who couldn’t give me what I needed.
“Chase, we are friends, but we can’t be hang out and do everything friends do, okay?”
“Not for me,” he replied.
“Well unfortunately, it’s going to have to be.”
“Lucy, I—”
“It’s too hard for me, Chase.”
I left quickly so he wouldn’t see the big fat tears roll down my cheeks. Nope, I definitely couldn’t just hang out with Chase.
Cherie decided she was coming over for pizza and a movie. She looked like a model in her tight-fitting dress and stilettos, when she arrived, but moments later, she emerged from my bathroom in yoga pants and a hoodie.
“Don’t tell anyone I’m in yoga pants on a Saturday night. I have a reputation to maintain,” she said, taking the glass of wine I was offering.
“Your secret is safe with me.”
“So, last night’s date was a dud, huh? I can’t believe it.”
“Maybe when you see him, he’s trying to impress and be business-like, but after hours, he’s all Civil War all the time. He did call though, so I guess he’s also not selective.”
“That’s not true, Luce. He knows a good thing when he sees it. He may not know what to say to a hottie like you, but he knows it is certainly worth trying.”
“That’s me, the hottie that renders men speechless,” It was a ridiculous. “You’re nuts.”
“Lucy, you are a very attractive woman. Not so much in the work hair nets perhaps, but definitely the rest of the time. “She sipped her Pinot Gris as if it was the elixir of life. “Chase certainly thinks so.”
“We no longer care what Chase thinks.”
“Right. Except we do, don’t we?”
“Of course I do. But I can’t make the man fall in love with me.”
“Um, apparently you can.”
“What?”
“Well sure, he doesn’t know what to do about it, but of course he’s madly in love with you. He’s texting you and following you. He’s in love with you. Personally, I think your approach is solid; give him the cold shoulder, date other men… He’s bound to get jealous and see the error of his ways.”
“That’s not what I’m doing...” Actually, it was what I was doing, but not for the reasons Cherie thought.
“Well, that’s the result, my friend.” She sipped her wine. “What we need is another date for you.”
“I don’t think—”
“I know you don’t want to, but you should. It’ll make Chase sit up and take notice. I’ll send you on a date with my cousin, Mario. He recently broke up with his girlfriend and has no interest in dating either, but if he goes on one, it might shut up a few of the relatives. Everyone wins.” She was texting as she spoke. “How’s Tuesday night. A movie?”
“Okay. Fine. Whatever,” Even if it didn’t work out, I would at least not spend the night home alone.
She received a very speedy reply. Mario was as desperate as I was, though for entirely different reasons.
“I don’t think this will sway Chase any. He’s convinced he’s an utter bastard.”
“Then we also need to dissuade him of that notion.”
“Have you been reading Jane Eyre again?”
“Maybe.” She swirled her wine glass. “All I’m saying is there must be some way to prove to him that he’s not like his father and his grandfather.”
“Or his brother.”
“Or his brother. We need to how him how he’s different from them.”
“You mean like helping me out with the kids, being my fake fiancé, caring for his mother…”
“Yes, all that, but since those things didn’t get through to him, we need something bigger. More important. We have to come up with a plan.”
“I might have one, but if I tell you, I’ll be breaking a confidence.”
“So find a way around that because, coupled with the jealousy, or as I like to call it, showing him what he can’t have, I think he’ll come around.”
“It all seems rather manipulative.”
“People have done far worse for far less.”
I didn’t think that made it right or not. “No. I’m not going to resort to manipulating him. I’ll find some way for him to realize that he and I can work.”
Chase did leave me alone until Wednesday. Probably because Cherie had told him I had a date.
How was the date?
Fine thanks.
How fine? Does he get a second date?
If he calls.
Half an hour later, Chase was at the Pied Piper’s Pies kitchen again. Self-employment certainly made girl-chasing easy for him. I gave him my fiercest death stare, but the truth was, I was happy to see him because I missed him. And because it meant Cherie was right; the plan was working.
“You can’t just show up on a whim, Chase. I’m working.”
“I know,” he said.
“And yet here you are.”
Piper was on the phone in the corner and waved at him.
I was rolling pastry and I refused to let him break my rhythm. “I don’t like the idea of you dating other people, Lucy.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I really miss talking to you. Don’t you miss my company at least?”
I stopped. How could he even ask me that? “Chase, you said you couldn’t be with me. You made this decision all by yourself. I’m only going along with what you wanted. Of course, I miss you.”
“But you’re dating other guys.” His voice caught as he spoke.
“Because you don’t want to be with me. I’m not spending my life alone. I want to fall in love, have a family… all the usual stuff you say you don’t want.”
“I do want those things but—”
“Back to the but again. Look, Chase, you’re not like your father, and I know a way you can prove it to yourself.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Meet me at O’Shaunnessy’s after I finish work and I’ll tell you what I think will fix this for you, because I don’t think you’re broken, Manhattan.”
A wide grin spread across his handsome face. “Fantastic , Luce, see you there.”
“Now go,” I said, shooing him out of the place.
Piper hung up the phone after he left. “Well he looked awfully happy.”
“Let’s hope I can find a way to make us both awfully happy.”
Chapter 23
Chase was sitting at the bar with all the regulars when I arrived. He was, despite my initial impression of him as a spoiled brat, actually a chameleon. Everywhere he went, he seemed to fit in and be liked. He was as comfortable in his own skin as any person I’d ever met. I tapped him on the shoulder and he pulled me into a big hug. He was warm and firm, and I wanted to give him everything he wanted on whatever terms he liked if he’d agree to hold on like this forever.
I didn’t say it though. I couldn’t. I owed it to myself not to.
“I’ll be in the booth,” I said, extricating myself from his embrace.
I’d slipped on jeans and a white t-shirt with a simple red cardigan, and my favorite red chucks.
“You look cute,” he said from behind me.
“Thanks. Thought I’d lose the hairnet.”
“Good choice.”
I slid into the booth opposite him and tried to be casual. Being close to Chase never felt casual to me, though. It always had my heart pounding.
“You want a beer?”
“No thanks. I’m pretty tired…”
“From your date?”<
br />
“From my life. I’ll have a soda and fries.”
He ordered and then smiled at me, leaning forward to take my hands. “I’m sorry your life is tiring. I thought it might be easier without the kids.”
“It is, but I miss them, and my whole life has turned on its head in the past few weeks. It’s hard to find new footing.”
“And I guess I’m not helping. I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re not helping and you’re not sorry, either. You love being a pain in my ass.”
He grinned. “True. I suppose I can be sorry for that at least.”
“Well, gee, thanks.”
“So your plan? Am I going to like it?”
“Probably not,” I said as our order arrived. I took a big sip of my soda.
“Shoot.”
I let out the breath I was holding. “You need to see Saffron and meet your sisters and make it right. That will prove you’re a better man than your father and your brother.”
“But my mom… I don’t think I can.”
“CeCe isn’t hurt because of those girls. She’s in a wheelchair because your brother is a coward and your father was a sneaky cheat. Those girls are just like you and CeCe: victims of other people’s choices and bad behavior.”
“I don’t know if I can. I can’t see my mother hurt again.” His voice was low and quiet.
“She already knows those girls are out there. They’re your sisters, Chase. A good man would meet them. You want to be a good man, right?”
He didn’t look as chipper as when I’d arrived.
“I don’t know.”
“If you go. I’ll go with you. I’ll hold your hand.”
“And if I don’t?”
We both knew the answer. “If you don’t go, you’re right; you’re exactly like the other men in your family. It’s up to you.”
I slid out of the booth and leaned in to kiss his cheek. “You think about what you want, Manhattan.”
If I had imagined that Chase would have followed me down the street and demanded we leave for California on the spot, I would have been disappointed. As it was, by Friday, I was more anxious than anything. I hadn’t had any texts and no one else had heard from him either.
As I slipped my apron over my head that afternoon, I was beginning to get worried. Maybe he wasn’t ready. Maybe this whole idea was going to blow up in my face. I waved Piper farewell and headed up the steps to the apartment. Still, I’d had to give it a shot; I’d had nothing to lose.
I could hear my father’s voice saying, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” He was clearly a man who liked a venture if running off to the circus was any indication.
Then my phone rang. It was a number I didn’t recognize.
“Hello, Lucy speaking.”
“Lucy, darling, its CeCe here, Chase’s mother. How are you?”
“Fine. And you?”
“I’m just fine, but do you think you could possibly come visit me? I have something I need to discuss with you.”
So me and my junker of a car, the one that had brought Chase and I together the fateful night of the party, drove in rush hour traffic out to Chase’s home. I hadn’t thought to ask if he would be there, but I hoped not. Maybe I was gutless, but I’d said yes to CeCe for more than one reason.
First, I was curious. Second, maybe I’d catch a glimpse of Chase because I missed the texts and the phone calls. , And third, I may not have been brought up in a castle like him, but I knew better than to say no to a woman in a wheelchair.
There was no way to tell if Chase was there. It wasn’t like his car would be parked at the front step. CeCe buzzed me in and met me at the front door in her chair. There was a slight misting rain as I got out of the car and I could hear the ocean pounding the rocks behind the house.
“Looks like we’re in for a storm. So glad you beat it to me.” She clasped my hands in hers. “Come in, come in.”
She wheeled her way through to the kitchen.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m in the mood for champagne.” She was in charge, whatever she wanted...
“Sounds lovely.”
She opened the fridge and pointed to the expensive bottle of choice. It was the sort of champagne people reserved for anniversaries or a proposal, not a casual drink. “You’ll have to do the honors, I’m afraid. I had Maria get us some flutes out before she left. She’s such a dear girl. Unlike the others, I think she might actually like me, or she’s worked out I speak Spanish.”
I chuckled. “I’m sure she likes you. And I’m equally sure she’d have blown your cover if she knew you spoke Spanish.”
“You’re probably right. Sometimes, I get a bit paranoid cooped up here.” She waved her hand. “And I know what you’re going to say, which is what Chase says. That I need to get out more. You’re both right, of course, but I’m stubborn. Maybe that’s where Chase gets it.”
“Maybe,” I said as the cork popped out.
“Then again, his father was half-goat, half-mule, so I can’t take all the blame.”
“Just all the credit. He’s a good guy.”
“Yes. This leads me to why you are here.” She held up her glass. “But first, a toast. To Fridays.”
“Yes, cheers to Fridays.” I took a sip of the champagne and let the bubbles dance across my tongue.
“So, Lucy, you have to tell me what has my son holed up in his turret like a hermit. I can’t stand another day of it.”
“It’s not really my tale to tell.”
“Of course it is. He left here all excited to see you and came back with a cloud over him that hasn’t lifted all week. Now I know you two like each other, so there’s a complication, but I thought if I knew what it was…”
“Right, Mother, because what I really want is my mommy fixing my problems.” Chase’s voice came up behind me, sad and low.
When I turned, he looked as scruffy as I’d never seen my clean-cut, all-American prince look. He had at least four days’ worth of growth and the paleness of someone who hadn’t been outside for several days.
“Oh darling, you two don’t seem to be fixing it on your own, now, do you?”
“Mother, this is none of your business.” He practically growled at her.
“If I have to live here with you—”
“You really don’t have to.”
“Well, I can’t leave with you like this.” His mother continued.
“Chase, why don’t you tell her? Let her decide.” I was pushing him.
He shook his head.
“Thanks for the drink, CeCe.” I guzzled the rest then headed for the door. They could argue it out amongst themselves. Chase needed to be ready to tell her on his own.
Chase caught my hand as I passed him. “Lucy.”
I looked him in the eye. “You have my terms.”
“I can’t—”
“Won’t, not can’t,” I said. “I understand, but I gave you a choice.”
“What choice?” CeCe called from behind us.
“Mom.” He turned back to her.
“What choice?” she demanded to know. She was wheeling up behind him now.
“You should tell her, Chase. She has a right to know.”
“Know what?”
He let out a sigh and his shoulders slumped. “I really don’t think—”
“Tell me.”
“Tell her” I echoed her.
“Fine. But don’t blame me if you don’t like it.”
“I would never.”
“I can do it,” I would if that was what he wanted. He shook his head.
“Let’s all sit down and have some champagne while we sort out whatever this is,” CeCe said.
So we sat down at the table and Chase poured himself a flute of champagne and refilled mine.
“As you may have noticed, Mom, the men in this family are, generally speaking, not that honorable.”
“Well, yes, that does seem to be a trend. But you are the exception, darling.”
�
��I don’t feel like the exception. I feel like I’m one bad decision away from being another in a long line of jerks. So even though I really like Lucy, I decided it would be better if we didn’t take things to the next level because I want to do the right thing by Lucy, even if it is painful for me.”
“Well, that’s honorable but also wildly impractical if you actually might love someone.”
“Yes, so we’ve discovered.”
“So Lucy suggested there was a way to prove to myself that I wasn’t a coward or the sort of guy who shrinks from responsibility.”
“So do it whatever it is,” CeCe said.
“You don’t even know what it is, mum.” he said.
“I’m sure she didn’t ask you to put out a hit on someone, or give away all your money, or some other foolish thing.”
“You’re right; I didn’t.” I looked down at my empty teacup.
“She said I should contact my half-sisters because they are family.”
CeCe paused for a moment and took a long sip of her champagne. “And you haven’t done this because of me?”
He nodded.
“Darling, I don’t mind about those girls. I mean, I did mind because I minded that your father had kept that a secret and the fact he was obviously carrying on with that young woman under our roof, but I don’t blame the girls.”
“But the accident…”
“Oh, Chase.” She patted his hand. “We can’t blame the girls for that. That was Malcolm’s fault. He was upset and irrational and loaded. And we can blame me because I knew all that and still got in the car.”
“That wasn’t...—”
“Of course it was. How many years had I spent trying to fix your brother to no avail? How was my getting in the car and putting myself in danger helping the situation? And then the despicable way he has behaved since… I was the fool to do it in the first place. Not you.”
“I didn’t want to upset you, Mother.”
“Darling, I’ll be far more upset if you sit in that turret moping and letting love get away than I will be if you go and meet two little girls who I’m sure are perfectly sweet.”
“Really?” I saw the relief on Chase’s face and my heart melted for him.
“Well, then.” He turned to me with a big grin. “It looks like we are going to California, Lucy.”
Any Way You Dream It: An Upper Crust Novel - Book 2 (Upper Crust Series) Page 17
