Charmed by Chase

by Theresa Paolo

  “I doubt there are any unflattering pictures of you,” he said and the sweet tone of his voice caused heat to bloom in her cheeks.

  “You’d be surprised.”

  “Luckily, the people here aren’t so judgmental. They just like to know what’s going on.”

  “Did she tell you anything? I mean about me and what’s in the news?”

  “She mentioned a few things,” he admitted.

  Bex went silent. She couldn’t even run away to the middle of nowhere and hide from the chaos that was her life. People still knew about her, about the bad press and the horrible week that led up to her taking off. The fact that Chase still wanted to spend time with her made her like him that much more.

  She’d made some horrible mistakes, and she didn’t get to keep those to herself. Anything he wanted to know about her he could find with a simple internet search. Yet, even with his sister telling him bits and pieces, he still didn’t look into her. If he had, he was a really good liar.

  He came to a stop and eased her off of him, bringing her around to face him. “It doesn’t make me think any less of you,” he said. “People make mistakes all the time. You can’t be defined by them.”

  “Thank you for looking at me and not seeing my faults, but you have to know those stories, whatever she told you, they’re not all true. Well, they are, but they’re not. It’s just a big mess.”

  “You don’t have to tell me about any of it if you don’t want to.”

  She glanced up, catching his eyes dark with what looked like raw understanding and she didn’t want to hide anymore. “I want to, but it’s a long story.”

  His lip tilted upward. “Lucky for you, we still have a while before we get back to the truck.”

  She nodded but standing there staring at him, so full of empathy, she started to feel uneasy. Once she opened up and exposed her true colors, she was afraid he wouldn’t want anything to do with her. He said her mistakes didn’t define her, but he lived a carefree life and didn’t need to be weighed down by her drama. It was more than just what she did or didn’t do; it was who she was. Her life was a complicated tangle of webs, and most days she couldn’t find her way out.

  “Hey,” he said, “come here.” He took her hand and led her toward a tree that had fallen and become part of the terrain. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap. His thumb brushed the apple of her cheek as he cupped her face. “It’s just me,” he said, his words filled with tender comfort.

  She searched for the right words to start. “It’s…I mean I…” The words disappeared every time they reached her lips. No matter how badly she wanted to tell him the truth about her, she was afraid of how naïve she would sound.

  He took her hand and brought it to his mouth, pressing a kiss to her knuckles before linking his fingers through hers. The gentle reassurance and the warm comfort of his touch was the push she needed.

  She started at the beginning, telling him about the accident and how it led to her arrest. She told him about the awful pictures that she naively took a few years ago not thinking they’d ever wind up anywhere other than her ex’s phone. Then she told him about Calla Lily and her suspicions. Every little detail she never had the guts to admit poured out of her.

  “I know you must think I’m an idiot,” she finally said.

  His eyebrows rose, and he shook his head. “Absolutely not. You trusted the wrong people that doesn’t make you an idiot. Far from it. Maybe it makes you too trusting, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

  “Except when it gets me into a complicated mess and forces me to go off the grid and hide out in a tiny home.”

  “If that never happened then I never would have met you. So while you think it’s a misfortune I’m going to consider it a godsend.”

  “What are you going to do about Calla Lily? Is that really her name?”

  “It is.” Her parents named her that because the flower represented purity. If they’d only saw into the future and witnessed the irony they may have thought twice. “And I have no idea. I have no actual proof; it’s just something in my gut that’s telling me she was involved.”

  “Your gut is usually your best ally. You should trust it.”

  “I know you’re right. And I also know I can’t hide out here forever.”

  “Why not?” Chase asked the edge of his lips quirking slightly, his hands tightening around her waist.

  She put her hand on his face and smiled. “I wish I could.”

  His fingers linked through hers, and he dipped his head, pressing a kiss to her lips. He pulled back slowly, resting his forehead against hers. Their breaths mixed together, silence roaring in her ears as she reveled in this moment away from the crazy world she ran away from.

  “I’m going to have to face it eventually, but until then…” She kissed him this time as a desperate need consumed her. She turned in his lap and wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing against his growing erection.

  His hands settled beneath her thighs, and he stood up.

  She let out a squeak as he began to walk down the path. “Where are you going?” she asked.

  “That was my only condom,” he said, his fingers digging into the soft flesh of her bottom.

  “Oh.”

  “Don’t worry. I have more in the glove box.”

  “Oh!”

  Chapter 10

  Bex rested her head against Chase’s shoulder as he drove down the dirt road toward her place. After another round of amazing sex, she was completely satiated, her limbs and eyelids too heavy to hold up.

  “Almost home. I bet Willy will be happy to see you,” Chase said.

  Bex laughed. “He’s probably perfectly content without me.” He’d been sitting by the window, staring longingly outside before she’d left. She imagined he was planning his next escape route.

  The notifications on Bex’s phone started going off in rapid fire succession. “Must’ve hit a spot with service,” she said. When she wasn’t at the house her phone was basically a paper weight, but she’d hit a pocket every now and again where she’d get service just long enough to receive updates.

  Apparently, a lot had happened since Chase came and picked her up.

  She glanced down at her phone. She had sixteen missed calls, not that she was surprised. Though, her personal assistant called eight of those times and that was unlike Annie. Annie was the only person she told she was going away, even if she didn’t tell her where exactly that was.

  Once they got to the house Bex would call. It was probably nothing. Annie worried entirely too much. The poor girl was going to give herself an ulcer.

  The truck didn’t dip and bounce nearly as much as her rental. She checked a few notifications on Instagram, but when she saw a nasty comment on the first post she clicked, she turned her phone off.

  She just had an amazing day, and she wasn’t going to let anything or anyone ruin that.

  “Who is that?” Chase asked as he pulled up to the property and came to a stop. He nodded to a car. Bex’s eyes scanned toward the house, the woman sitting on the rocking chair unmistakable.

  Bex closed her eyes and mumbled under her breath. So much for not ruining her day. She slid back to her side of the truck. Now she knew why Annie was calling. She was calling to warn her. If she only had service, she could’ve prepared Chase for the nightmare that was Jill.

  Chase looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

  “It’s my manager,” Bex said. “She can be a bit intense.”

  “I fight fires for a living; I think I can handle her.”

  “She’s more deadly than a fire,” Bex said, and with a deep breath, she got out of the truck.

  “It’s about freaking time,” Jill scoffed, standing from the rocking chair and walking down the porch steps in her designer heels. Her black blazer sat over black pants and a black shirt. She always looked like she was going to a funeral. And right now, with her brown eyes focused on Bex, Bex felt like she might be going to hers.

 
Jill’s dark hair was arranged in a perfect side part and sat just above her shoulders. “I’ve been calling you for days!”

  Bex met her icy stare and retreated into herself. She had a million things she wanted to say, but none of the jumbled thoughts in her head could get past her lips.

  “Hello?” Jill said with a snap of her fingers. “I’m speaking to you. Why haven’t you answered my calls?”

  “I don’t have service here,” she said, her voice no more than a pathetic whisper.

  Jill had an undeniable way of making her feel like the smallest person on the planet.

  Jill lifted her hands palms up. “Because you’re in the middle of freaking nowhere. Did you even think before you took off?”

  All that came out of Bex was a stutter of indecipherable sounds. She couldn’t tell Jill the truth, that she’d been purposely ignoring her calls. Jill would call her childish and unprofessional and Bex didn’t want to hear it especially not in front of Chase.

  Bex understood she hired Jill to manage her career, and she was amazing at her job, but she didn’t hire her to manage her life. Bex never kept the two things separate, but being here she was beginning to realize that, she needed to. She was constantly being pulled in a million different directions, and she needed to draw a line in the sand. It was time.

  “How did you find me?” Bex asked.

  Jill froze, glaring at her with indifference, but Bex refused to wither. “What’s the difference? I’m here.”

  “I’m not going to ask again, Jill. How did you find me?” she demanded.

  Bex had been careful. She made sure to leave out the back entrance of her building. She had car service pick her up in an unidentifiable car and then at the airport she flew coach, never once taking her sunglasses off.

  If someone had seen her, it would’ve made the news by now. She wouldn’t still be “missing,” so how in the world did Jill track her down?

  She was sick of having to feel like a runaway teenager. She was an adult, damn it, and if she wanted a vacation she shouldn’t have to answer to anyone else but herself.

  Jill shrugged. “It wasn’t that hard. You had an email with directions to this…this...I don’t even know what you would call this,” she said, waving her hand toward the house.

  “It’s a tiny house.”

  “There are studio apartments in New York bigger than this.”

  “That’s besides the point. How did you get access to my emails?” Jill might have controlled all aspects of Bex’s life, but she didn’t have her email information. The only person that had it was…

  “Your assistant doesn’t take well to threats. She cracked much faster than I anticipated.”

  Bex’s jaw clenched. Every part of her body filled with tension. Annie was as sweet as they came, a transplant from Kentucky with dreams of her own. Bex hired her on the spot after their first interview. She had proven herself time and time again to be loyal and trustworthy. Unfortunately, she was no match for Jill. The poor girl tried to warn her, too. Bex really needed to call her before she worried herself into a frenzy.

  Bex met Jill’s glare. “I don’t know why you bothered to come. I have time off in between films, and I’m taking a break for myself before I have to be back on set in a few weeks. And after filming back to back films and not having a second to myself for over a year, I think I deserve it.”

  “Is that what you call running away from your problems? Most celebrities check themselves into rehab and claim exhaustion. You would have been better off taking that route. At least we could have spun that.”

  “Well, I didn’t.”

  “Because you never stopped to think about anyone but yourself.”

  Bex scoffed. “All I think about is everyone else.”

  “Then don’t forget who made you,” Jill snapped, finger pointing. She lowered her hand and took a breath, adjusting her blazer. “You need to come back to L.A. and do damage control. I’ve been in touch with your publicist. I made dinner reservations for you at the Chateau; their grand opening is this weekend, and it’s set to be the next hotspot. Having you there secures that title and gives you a bit of positive PR. The next day is a charity event—something with animals. I know you liked the last few you did. From there, make a trip to the local children’s hospital and read to a few sick kids. People love sick kids, and it’ll put you back in their good graces.”

  Bex wanted to rip her hair out at the suggestions. All of those things—except for the restaurant—Bex did because she wanted to give back. She wasn’t going to make a circus out of her volunteer work all to get the public to forget a few misunderstandings. She was a huge advocate for charities and refused to use any event for her own personal gain.

  Jill could book as many things as her heart desired, but Bex would be damned if she got on a plane to fulfill the obligation.

  “I’m not leaving,” Bex said.

  Jill’s eyes rolled up, eyebrows arched. “Don’t be ridiculous. We’ve worked too hard for you to throw it all away because you couldn’t keep your tits covered.”

  Bex had never slapped anyone in her life, but she was very well tempted to smack Jill. She suppressed the urge and looked away, almost completely forgetting Chase was there. His eyes were focused, unamused.

  She had told him about the pictures, but hearing Jill say it in that way made her feel dirty. Her mind filled with self-deprecating thoughts as Jill continued. She glanced at Chase again, embarrassed about everything he was witnessing. He had stood back, but his hands were clenched at his sides as he overheard everything Jill was saying.

  “If I found you, it’s only a matter of time before the media does.” Jill’s eyes darted to Chase. “Do you really want to ruin this boy’s life with the drama that follows you?”

  ***

  Chase stepped forward, unable to stand back and listen to this woman speak for him. He swore if he had to listen to her talk to Rebecca the way she was for another second, he was going to pull Rebecca into the house and slam the door in the woman’s face. Damn his manners to hell; this woman grated his nerves. She seemed like she cared about Bex’s career, but Chase didn’t give two shits about her career. All he cared about was Rebecca.

  “First of all,” he said, “and I mean no disrespect, but I’m not a boy. I’m a man who can make his own decisions. I’m sure you mean well, ma’am, but in all honesty, it’s none of your damn business.”

  She laughed. Her upturned nose rising even higher. “None of my business? Listen buddy, once word gets out that you’re involved with Bex Shepard your business will not only be my business, but it will be everyone’s business. Your little life that you have here will be turned upside down. Every secret you ever had, every incriminating story will be dug up and spread across every newspaper from here to California. And, if you’re really lucky, it’ll be picked up internationally. When you choose to be with her, you choose to give up your privacy. Is that a sacrifice you’re willing to make?”

  Chase wanted nothing more than to put this woman in her place, but her words managed to break through his wall and infiltrate his thick skull. He and his family had been through a lot in their lives, most of which they didn’t speak of. If somehow the media dug into his life, they would know about his father, about the rough year Chase had in school before Sam came into his life, about how his family constantly struggled. Brooke would be mortified, Layla would no doubt feel like a failure, and Chase would have no idea how to handle being so exposed.

  “I should go,” he said.

  “No, don’t,” Rebecca said, reaching for him. The desperate plea in her eyes was almost too much for him to bear, but he needed a second to think, and he couldn’t do that here with this woman barking in his ear.

  “I actually start my shift in an hour. I’ll see you later,” he said, and without meeting her gaze, he walked away, got in his truck, and took off.

  Chapter 11

  At the firehouse Chase walked in acting as if nothing was wrong, but as soon as Mig
uel spotted him the twenty questions began.

  “I thought you needed tonight off?” Miguel asked, looking up from the zombie movie he was watching.

  “I did, and now I don’t,” Chase said, hoping if he was as vague as possible Miguel would let it go.

  He should have known better. Miguel didn’t take hints. “You look like shit. Trouble in paradise? Word around town is you’ve been spending time with Bex Shepard…which you should be thanking me for because I could have gone on that call and you never would have met her.”

  “I think you need to shut up before I knock you out.”

  Miguel laughed. He knew damn well Chase would never intentionally hurt him.

  “Seriously, though,” Miguel said. “Is everything okay?”

  “Everything is fine.”

  Miguel’s dark eyebrow rose into his hairline. “If I had a dollar for every time my wife told me she was ‘fine.’”

  “I’m not your wife.”

  “Thank god for that.” Miguel slapped his knees and pushed up. “Well, if you’re here, I’m going to head home and have sex with my wife.”

  Chase shook his head and was about to make a sarcastic remark when the alarm went off. “Looks like you got here just in time,” Miguel said, patting him on the back.

  Sam poked his head into the room, his blue eyes settling on him. “What the hell are you doing here? I thought you bribed this knucklehead into taking your shift.”

  “Change of plans,” Chase said.

  “Problems in paradise,” Miguel said, and Chase went to punch him in the shoulder, but Miguel was quick and jumped out of the way.

  “Whatever,” Sam said. “If you’re on then grab your gear. We have an out of control bonfire out on Cherryville we have to head out now. Dylan and Wyatt will meet us there.”

  This was exactly what Chase needed. He cleared his mind and jumped into action. He stepped into his pants and boots, pulled them on, then grabbed his coat and helmet before meeting Sam in the truck.