The problem was that he was struggling to separate his passion for his career from his growing feelings for Serena and was unsure which compelled him to stay more. That would be another benefit of his upcoming trip. A few days away from her might help solidify in his mind his reasons for wanting to extend his time in Cedar Hill.
* * *
Tuesday afternoon, Chase sat across the desk from Mitchell, his foot tapping the floor. These shots weren’t like Chase’s normal photographs. They didn’t depict war and poverty and the tragedies of the world. It was a simple selection of dogs, for crying out loud. Why, then, was Chase perched on the edge of his chair, waiting for Mitchell’s response?
Mitchell dropped the photos on his desk and sat back in his chair. Whew. Chase knew that look. He had nothing to worry about. “Well, you’ve done it again, Chase. You took something as simple as a calendar photo shoot and really brought out the emotion of adopting a pet from an animal shelter. These photos tell a story. I have to say, I think these calendars will sell very well.”
“And what about the photo of Serena?” He held his breath. Serena wasn’t one of the models sent by the agency. But that made the shot of her even that much more genuine. “I’d still like to include it. I think it will be really compelling to print her story about her animal shelter with that photo on the back of the calendar. That should make for more sales, wouldn’t you think?”
Mitchell pursed his lips and his brows darted in as he studied Chase for a moment. “There is something about this girl, isn’t there? I’ve seen you get involved with the subjects of your photos, sometimes a lot more than I would advise. You like to say that you don’t, but you can’t help it. It’s who you are. You can’t sit by and see something wrong in the world and not want to do something about it, but I dare say that it’s different with this woman.”
Chase wasn’t sure how to respond. Mitchell was giving him the perfect opening to discuss his future with the magazine. A future that may involve spending more time in Cedar Hill. Much more. But something held Chase back.
“Ah, I thought so. I should have known when it took you almost two and a half weeks to finish a project that could have been wrapped up in a day or two, tops.”
Chase knew exactly how long he had until the calendar deadline. He’d made sure of it before he left for the shoot in Cedar Hill. And yes, he had taken every moment of that time with Serena before he brought the photos to New York. “Serena’s different than any woman I’ve ever met before.”
Mitchell settled back in his chair and propped his foot on his knee. “Tell me about her.”
Chase debated how much to share with Mitchell, but in the end, decided to lay his cards on the table. “Do you remember that girl I met back when we were first working together?”
“The teenager on the Steel Pier?”
Chase nodded
“It’s her? What are the chances of that?”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
“What did I say to you when you brought her up back then?”
Mitchell’s words were etched on Chase’s memory and he’d run them through his mind over and over when he would stare at Serena’s picture and wonder what she was doing with her life. “You told me that it would be dangerous to derail what promised to be a successful career for a woman, a girl, that I’d only met for a few hours on the boardwalk.”
“And I dare say that I was right in that assessment. You’re at the top of your career. You can write your own ticket with any publication you want.”
“But what if I want a change? What if I can’t keep doing what I’m doing? I have more money than I know what to do with, than I could ever need in two lifetimes. But why is it that I’ve had such an easy life taking pictures of others who have so little? There’s something not quite right about that.”
“If that’s how you feel, then why don’t you do something about that? Take all that money and put it to good use?”
“You mean like a charity?”
“That’s exactly what I mean. You know what’s out there in the world. Where the needs are. As I said before, you have a good head for business and the name recognition to build a kick-ass donor list. I warned you when you first started taking photos for me that the devastation gets to everyone eventually. Why don’t you consider redirecting that passion of yours into helping others the way your photos have all these years? Speaking of which…” Mitchell pulled a folder out of his desk drawer. “Here are the details for the shoot in Los Angeles. There is a list of the larger tent cities that have popped up on the outskirts of town and some research on the working poor situation that has developed out there.”
The shoot in L.A. The one he’d been putting off deciding about. Was he really ready to take another assignment, one halfway across the country from Serena, when they found each other again?
He had never had an intimate relationship like this before. The reality was, it was Serena he had been searching for all that time. Now that he’d found her, was he ready to leave her behind to chase his next Pulitzer-prize-winning photo?
“Does it have to be now? What about next month?”
“I understand that it hasn’t been that long since you’ve been back from Africa, but they are getting ready to evict several of the tent cities. To force them to vacate the premises they have occupied. We want to capture this event as it’s happening. I’ve got Jennifer ready to hop on a plane with you and write the story to go along with your photos.”
Chase had worked with Jennifer before. She was a consummate professional. She’d tell a compelling story to accompany his photos on what was really happening to the rest of the population while the one percent grew richer and richer. Like his father. “How about this? I’m heading back to Pennsylvania for the weekend. Book me on a flight to L.A. out of Philadelphia on Sunday.”
Chapter Fifteen
The rest of the week leading up to Justin’s cookout was torture for Serena. Chase had left Tuesday morning for New York and he couldn’t tell her when he’d be back. Is this how Mom felt when Dad would go out of town on his unexplained business trips? When he was really off with one of his girlfriends.
Serena shook her head. Chase wasn’t out carrying on with another woman. He was away on legitimate business.
She snuggled further into the super soft, faded blue T-shirt that Chase had left behind. She’d found it after he’d left her cottage, and pulled it over her head to sleep in, his scent surrounding her. She’d taken to sleeping in it each night and hadn’t bothered to change out of it when she sat down at her kitchen table to tackle some much overdue paperwork this morning.
She wondered if he’d left it here on purpose, as a reminder he was coming back. She didn’t know for sure, but for now, that’s what she chose to believe. That he was thinking about her as much as she was thinking about him.
As if her thoughts prompted it, her phone buzzed. She picked it up and swiped to find a text from Chase. Hey, beautiful.
Her heart raced and heat built in her belly. Much like she felt when he turned his heated gaze her way, and right before he entered her, but she was surprised that a text from him could have a similar effect. She dashed off a quick response. Hey, yourself. What are you up to?
Heading in to a meeting with my agent and business manager. Are you ready for this weekend?
The cookout. Meeting Rachel’s family. She drew in a deep breath. She had this. She was the happy, amiable member of the Harper clan. I will be. Have to make my famous pasta salad and buffalo chicken dip before then.
Sounds delicious.
He didn’t say anything else. She stared at the phone. Would he tell her when he’d be back? Whether he’d be here in time to go to the cookout with her. Before Chase, she never would have said she needed a man’s support for anything but even after only being with him for such a short time, the thought of having him by her side at the cookout was comforting. After another minute, she gave in to her insecurities, and typed another question. Do yo
u know when you’ll be back?
She stared at the phone while it flashed three dots for a long time. Way too long. Like he was contemplating his response. It should be easy enough—he was on the road by Saturday morning or he wasn’t. Had a few days away from her made him come to his senses. Realize that he’d jumped into something way too quickly. Since he’d been gone, she’d been wondering the same. They went from zero to sexy in no time flat, but it didn’t feel too quick to her. It felt like ten years in the making. Besides, who said there was a prescribed amount of time before you could fall in love with someone?
Fall in love? She wasn’t falling in love, was she?
She collapsed into her chair, the realization rattling around in her head. She was falling in love with Chase.
The phone buzzed in her hand and she glanced at the device, afraid of Chase’s response, only to see his face flash on her screen. He was calling her. Did he want to let her down easy? Was he thinking that they’d be better off apart?
Stop it, Serena. She’d gone completely off the rails. She swiped to answer the call. “Hey.”
“My agent was wrapping up another meeting. I had a few minutes and wanted to hear your voice.”
Damn that man. The sound of his husky timbre had her heart racing and her palms sweating. “I’m glad you called. How has your trip been?”
“Busy. Good, but busy. I’ll tell you all about it later.”
“I miss you.” Serena wished she could take back the words as soon as she’d said them. As open as Chase was about his experiences overseas and how they had impacted him, they didn’t talk about their feelings for each other. Sure, he told her how sexy she was, and how good it felt to be with her, but nothing about how he felt about her. But she couldn’t keep it from him anymore. Not that she had really been hiding it very well anyway. She was so tired of holding it in. He may not want to talk about his feelings, but she did.
After a prolonged silence, he cleared his throat. “I miss you, too. More than I can say.”
She couldn’t have scripted a more perfect response.
“Will you be back in time for Justin’s cookout?” She’d almost said home, but hesitated. This wasn’t Chase’s home. He didn’t have a home. Not really. He’d said his publisher put him up in a corporate apartment when he was in New York and that most of his belongings were stuffed in a storage locker somewhere in Queens. But that wasn’t a home. Not really.
Chase cleared his throat and then drew in a deep breath. “I don’t know yet. I have a few more things that have to be wrapped up here before I can leave. Listen, my agent just walked in so I have to go. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“I’ll talk to you…” the phone clicked off before Serena could finish her thought.
She stared at the darkened screen long after Chase’s voice had faded from her mind. Did she really want a relationship with someone who flew all over the world? Well, too late for that. She had a relationship. The question was whether she could continue or whether it was better for both of them to end it before she got too attached.
Serena spent the rest of Friday with the animals. They always seemed to calm her when she was excited, tuned in to her moods and responded accordingly. Friday night, she was up to her elbows in spinach, garlic, and orecchiette noodles for her pasta salad and chicken, blue cheese dressing, hot sauce, and cheddar cheese for spicy hot buffalo chicken dip. Busy work, mainly. She could easily have prepped her food Saturday morning, but she’d used cooking to try and distract herself from missing Chase.
On Saturday morning, she dragged herself out of bed, fed and exercised the animals in the shelter as well as Roscoe and Rascal, and then showered and dressed for the cookout. After collecting the food she prepped last night, she took one last look at her phone. Still nothing from Chase.
She couldn’t wait any longer. She was going to be late as it was.
Shoving down her disappointment, she slipped her phone in her pocket, gathered the bowls and casseroles in her arms, and snatched her keys off the counter with one finger. She fumbled her way to the door and managed to turn the handle.
Chase stood on the other side, his hand raised to knock. “Great. You’re still here. I thought I’d missed you.”
She was incredibly happy to see him, to know that he had come back to her.
He reached for her keys and one of the bowls. “Here, let me help you. I guess you’re on your way?”
“Just. When did you get back in town?”
“Right now. I’m sorry I couldn’t get here earlier, but there was a delay… well, a delay that held me up. But I’m here now and excited to go to the cookout. That is, if you still want me to go.” Chase ran his fingers through his hair while he waited for her to answer.
She grinned. “Do I want you to go? Of course, I do.” She’d been afraid to hope, especially after he’d been elusive when she asked him, but now that he was here, it was all she could do not to leap into his arms.
“Great.” He guided her out the door, closed it behind her, and then led her to her car.
After settling her casseroles onto the floorboard in the back seat, she climbed into the driver’s seat and eased her car down the path leading to the main road.
Chase smiled at her from the passenger seat, and then linked his fingers with hers. As happy as she was to see him, she sensed that something was wrong. Maybe he’d learned something in New York that was troubling. Or maybe his publisher had given him his next overseas assignment and he was looking for a way to let her down easy. Whatever it was, she couldn’t worry about that now. He was here to support her and meet her family and that was good enough for her. For now.
And she needed that support as she pulled up in front of Justin’s house. Chase squeezed her hand and met her gaze. “Are you all right?”
She drew in a deep breath. “I will be. I’m nervous, is all. I’ve met Rachel and she’s wonderful. I shouldn’t be anxious about meeting the rest of her family, but it’s hard knowing that she didn’t grow up with us. That she had this whole other life and other family.”
“I’m sure that’s difficult for you. But I think if you focus on the fact that she’s had a good life and has a great family … and now even more family to love her… it should be enough. Let the rest of it go for today and focus on that.”
For someone who claimed to have a shitty childhood, he sure knew exactly the right thing to say in this situation. “You’re right. I know you’re right. Thank you for being here with me today.”
He leaned over the console and pressed his lips to hers. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Are you ready to do this?”
She drew in another deep breath. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
He leapt out of the car before she had a chance to second guess herself and a few minutes later, with food in hand, she and Chase rounded the corner of Justin’s house into his back yard.
Where they were confronted by a whole lot of people.
Picnic tables had been lined up in the middle of the yard and mom was fussing over the paper tablecloth she was attempting to unfold. Alexis grabbed hold of the edge and finally they wrestled it into submission.
Justin was standing near his grill, delicious smoke pouring from underneath the cover, talking with Rachel and her fiancé Sawyer and two men with dark brown hair and broad shoulders. These must be two of her brothers. One of them had a baby perched on his arm like a football and swayed back and forth as he laughed at something Justin said. The other leaned over to a dark-haired woman who was sitting in a chair with her back to them and kissed her on the cheek.
Up on Justin’s deck, Izzy was in a huddle with a redhead who held a toddler on her hip. Beside her, a blonde woman yelled to a mini-me little girl running around the yard with Justin’s kids while Izzy’s step-daughter Hayley watched from the sidelines like she was supervising. Maddie stood close by watching her son and foster daughter as they played with the blonde’s little girl, talking with Tanner and another man.
“W
ow.” Chase let out a huge breath beside her.
“You got that right. This is crazy. I knew that there would be a lot of people today, but I don’t think I quite got how many until right now.”
Justin spied her across the yard and raised his hand and yelled. “Hey, Serena. Come on over.”
“I guess it’s showtime.” With Chase by her side, she crossed the yard, dropping her pasta salad off on one of the folding tables Justin had set up, handing off the dip to Maddie to slip into the oven.
Serena stepped up to her brother and slid her arms around his waist. “Hey, Justin. Thanks for hosting. Everything looks great.”
He squeezed her tight, like she expected from the older brother who had been her and Alexis’s protector from the day they were born. He leaned back and looked down at her, his head tilted in question.
She nodded and stepped away. “You remember Chase? From the photo shoot?”
Justin extended his hand. “Yeah, man. Welcome.”
“Thanks. Glad to be here.”
Serena wrapped her arms around her new-found sister. “So good to see you again, Rachel. I’m so glad you suggested this cookout.”
Rachel dabbed at her eyes and Sawyer wrapped his arm around her waist. “Thanks so much. I have to admit, it’s been a bit overwhelming, seeing everyone here today. I thought I was ready, but…”
“Yeah, I know what you’re saying. My family can be a bit overpowering. I choose to take them in small chunks, so it’s not too much at once.” Serena chuckled at her own joke. She loved her siblings and wouldn’t have made it through the past couple of years without their support.
Rachel laughed. “Trust me, you don’t hold the monopoly on overwhelming. All of my brothers and their wives and kids. Mom and Dad had to add an extension to the kitchen table to fit everyone.”
That sounded a lot like Serena’s Mom’s house, the table growing more crowded as Justin’s family expanded and Izzy added Tanner and Hayley and soon-to-be new baby. Would Serena ever have someone beside her at family dinners? Could that person be Chase? She snuck a look at him and caught him staring at her. She smiled at him and linked her fingers with his.
Chasing Trust: A Small Town Steamy Romance (Harper Family series Book 3) Page 17
