Chase just makes that seem impossible.
“Thank you,” he whispers, pressing his forehead against hers.
The drive back to the city is smooth sailing. Chase asks Amber to guide him through the back way, intending to treat her to dinner at the lobster place she’d taken him to on the way up. Maybe he’s trying to prolong their time together. Either way, Amber doesn’t mind.
She’s not really in the mood to eat, but it’s a nice gesture so she goes along with it. She’s currently battling a war inside of herself: she wants to spend as much time with him as she can before they cross the state line and they have to go back to living like this whole weekend never happened, but she also wants to be home, right now, so she can tend to her heart and start building up the crumbled walls around it.
At the restaurant, they eat mostly in silence. She feels like she’s marching toward a guillotine that she set up for herself, ready to kill this budding romance between them, something she’s wanted for a while and found immense pleasure in. She tells herself that she’d probably wind up crying over him on Sasha’s couch at some point, so pain now is better than pain later, when she’ll be too invested to put an end to things as easily.
On the way back to the car, with their return to the city looming so close on the horizon, Amber decides she wants one last taste of him before she lets go. She takes his hand and lets him pull her body against his. Their lips meet in an electric frenzy as she wraps her arms around his neck and gently tugs against the hair at his nape. He groans into her mouth and she swallows the sound, wanting to keep it forever.
“What’s this for?” he says, smiling as he nips at her lips.
She kisses that sweet smile. “We’re still in Connecticut and I wanted a little memento to keep.”
Amber swears she sees his shoulders deflating. “Oh.”
She pulls her dress’s collar to the side so he can see her bra strap. “I’m wearing the lingerie,” she teases. She’s not sure exactly why she did it, put perhaps she subconsciously knew she couldn’t let go easily and would always want a little bit more.
Chase licks his lips like his mouth is watering, his eyes growing dark with want.
“We can drive to an empty parking lot and fool around in the back seat,” Amber suggests.
He pulls her in for a hungry kiss. “I want to,” he breathes against her lips. She backs away because she hears a but coming. “But the very last thing I need right now is a public indecency charge,” he says with a laugh, the words hitting her like a ton of bricks. “Maybe we could rent a room?”
This is fate pouring cold water over her horny little head. It’s saying, don’t do this, let go now, protect your heart.
“By the hour? Like a hooker?” she says as she looks at the ground, knowing she’s not being fair.
“Hey.” Chase cups her cheek, gently coaxes her to look at him. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I know.” She swallows hard, blinking back tears.
“You can come home with me,” he offers. “I want you there no matter what we do. This thing doesn’t have to end here just because we said it would. Things change, rules are meant to be broken.”
She wants nothing more in the world than to say yes. It kills her to say no. “I should probably get home to Sasha.”
He takes a deep breath and kisses her one last time. He lingers like he wants to say something after, but changes his mind. Instead he walks over to her side of the car and opens the door. She gets inside.
Her heart is breaking, but she can only be so upset about it. She’s the one holding the hammer, after all.
When Chase pulls to a stop in front of Amber’s apartment, she doesn’t wait for him to come around and open the door for her, she quickly hops out. It’s like the car is a bomb she’s waiting to explode. He pulls her luggage out of the trunk and sets them down on the sidewalk.
“Let me take these up,” he says, looking at her suitcase and bag. He’s being a gentleman like he always is. Normally she’d let him, but tonight? Tonight she just can’t. She needs a break. Now.
She tries to remember what it was like before she felt his body on top of hers, before she knew what it was like to kiss him, before she knew how her name sounded on his lips when he was inside of her. She needs a reminder of what life was like before this weekend so that she can get back to being that person.
“Thank you, but I’ve got it,” she replies with a smile that she’s not sure comes through. “Thank you for being chivalrous though.” Her attempt at teasing falls flat.
“You know that’s not what I’m doing, Amber.” He shoves his hands in his pockets, and she recognizes it for the frustrated gesture that it is. She’s not trying to hurt him, she’s just trying to protect herself. This was the whole reason why she set parameters on their hookup; return to the city, return to normal.
It seemed like it would be easy at the time, but she’d been out of her mind drunk on Chase. She’s beginning to realize how colossally stupid she’d been thinking she could get out of this thing easily.
“Goodnight,” she says, barely glancing at him before she reaches for the handle on her suitcase. She starts to walk away, but Chase catches her free hand. Her eyes flutter closed, then she turns around and looks at him, gently pulling her hand from his grasp.
“Are we okay?” There’s a franticness behind his eyes, a worry that they’ve broken what they had permanently. She doesn’t want to lose him entirely; she’s an adult, she wants to handle this like an adult.
She offers him the best genuine smile she can manage. “Yeah. We’re okay.” She’s not sure that’s true, but she’s going to try like hell to make it so. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
He smiles, and this one reaches his eyes. “Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow. Tell Sasha I said hi?”
“Of course.”
And then they part.
Coworkers.
Boss and assistant.
Nothing more.
Amber spends a couple of minutes in the hallway outside her front door, willing herself not to cry. She wants to walk into her apartment cool, calm and collected. Sasha has this weird sixth sense about her that detects human misery. She’ll hone in on it the second Amber walks in, that’s for sure. Amber knows there’s no way of avoiding that, but she’d like to at least be able to believably brush off any concerns so that Sasha doesn’t start digging.
If Amber goes in there weeping, her sister will be like a dog with a bone. She just wants to keep this fresh heartache to herself tonight if she can.
After taking a few deep breaths, Amber opens the door.
Sasha is on the couch, curled up under a thick blanket. She’s watching some romance movie on TV. Amber walks in right as the man is in the middle of saying something grand and romantic, if the sweeping score and the dopey look on his face are any indication. She fights off the urge to take off her shoe and throw it at the screen.
She has no idea how her sister can watch stuff like this; Amber avoids it like the plague. She’s seen the cold hard reality of the end of relationships too many times to buy into these fairy tales. She has no idea how Sasha can bear it after what she’s been through.
The prospect of a long-term, successful relationship should be dead to her now. Amber hasn’t even been cheated on, but she’s so hell-bent on not even taking the risk of going through it that she just shut down the possibility of happiness with the only man she’s ever been in love with.
Great, now she wants to cry again.
“Hey,” Sasha says, her brows knitting together as that sixth sense kicks in. She obviously knows something’s up, and Amber’s heart sinks. “Do you want to tell me why you look like you’re about to burst out crying?”
“No,” Amber replies, her voice shaking.
Sasha pulls back the blanket and opens her arms. “Wanna come over here with me?”
Even when they were younger and they both still lived with their mother, sometimes nothing comforted Amber quite like a
hug from her big sister. She nods weakly, sniffling, and shuffles over.
She breaks down in Sasha’s arms.
She doesn’t ask her what happened or tease her about Chase; she just holds her and lets her cry.
Chapter Fourteen
As Chase is getting ready to head into work the next morning, he gets a call from the doorman. He picks up the receiver on the phone hanging by his door and cradles it against his shoulder as he buttons his cufflinks.
“Hello?”
“Mister Jennings, there’s a Miss Reid here to see you. Shall I send her up?”
Chase nearly drops the phone. “Send her up,” he replies.
He paces in the foyer as his heart pounds against his breastbone. What would Amber be doing here this early in the morning? His mind starts racing with possibilities. Maybe she’s changed her mind about being in a relationship and doesn’t want to wait another second to tell him. That’s what happened when she said yes to going on the retreat with him, right?
Maybe they’re broken to the point that she’s changed her mind about working for him, and she’s coming over to tender her resignation. He swallows down that bitter taste in his mouth, not wanting to dwell on it until he has to.
Maybe whatever she’s here for is unrelated to what happened this weekend.
When he finally lets his mind settle and he can form a coherent thought that isn’t the absolute worst case scenario, he remembers that Amber always calls him when she gets here and hassles him about the doorman.
Is she formalizing things? Does she still want to work for him but decided to formalize things between them to keep a respectable distance?
Maybe it’s her sister.
There’s a knock on his door in what feels like record speed. He pulls it open, not really surprised and somewhat relieved to find Sasha standing there.
She looks a lot different than she did the last time he saw her. Instead of red-faced and snuggled under a blanket, she’s dressed like she’s heading in to work.
She doesn’t look angry, which he supposes is a good sign.
“Sasha,” he says warmly, happy to see her. “Come on in.”
She walks inside and Chase closes the door behind her.
“Would you like to sit? I can make you some coffee, or…”
“No,” she replies with a smile. “I don’t think I’ll be here long, I don’t want to take up too much of your morning.”
“Not at all.”
“I’m really sorry to come by unannounced. I had to do a little snooping in Amber’s things to find your address, so please don’t be mad at me for coming here behind her back.”
Chase grins. “I don’t think I’m the one you have to worry about in this scenario, but your secret is safe with me.”
“Good. Thank you.” She purses her lips together as she gathers her thoughts. “Also, before I get to the point of why I came here in the first place, I wanted to thank you again for the care package that you sent over. I used it for some much-needed pampering, and it helped me have a much nicer weekend than I would’ve anticipated given…recent events.”
“I’m glad I could help,” he tells her. “And happy that you enjoyed the gift. I was happy to give it.”
She gives him a quick smile before she says, “I take it that you didn’t have as nice of a weekend as I did?” The question is tentative, as if she’s unsure whether she should be asking it or not. Chase isn’t thrilled about Amber’s sister asking him about their relationship—or lack thereof at the moment—but she’s obviously here for a reason, and if it will help him figure out how to help her come around to the idea that they could be happy together, he’s going to try it.
“We had a great weekend. It was productive, we landed the deal we went there to get…”
“It’s not my business,” she explains. “I know that, and I’m not trying to overstep, but…just to be frank here, I know that you’re in love with my sister, and I know that she’s in love with you.”
“Okay. That is…frank.”
“Amber came home upset last night, and she didn’t want to talk about it. I managed to figure out that it was something that had to do with you, so I came over here for two reasons.”
Chase shoves his hands in his pockets. “You definitely have my attention.”
“First, I wanted to make sure that you hadn’t broken her heart and that I’m not going to have to murder you in your sleep to make you pay.”
Her bluntness surprises a laugh out of him. “No murder required. I meant it when I said that we had a great weekend. It’s probably the best one I’ve had in years. I care about your sister, Sasha. I would never willingly or knowingly hurt her. I think…I think that a nice weekend is all that your sister is able to give at the moment.”
That answer seems vague enough to not be too personal or revealing, but also gives Sasha a good idea of the answers Chase is sure she’s over here to get. He decides to add, “I would like more than that, but I don’t want to pressure her, and I don’t think that I’ll get to the place I want to be by not respecting her wishes.”
The bright look of approval in Sasha’s eyes lets Chase know he’s said exactly the right thing. It’s quickly replaced by a sad smile. She runs her fingers through her hair and blows out a long breath.
“Did she ever tell you what happened with our parents?”
He nods. “Yes.”
“I always knew that Dad cheating on Mom affected her deeply, but she’s never really talked about it. She’s never let herself have a long-term relationship; I just figured that would change when she met the right person.” She looks at him meaningfully. “I thought maybe she was coming around, but what happened with Trey probably reinforced her ideas. I probably shouldn’t be telling you all this, but I want her to be happy. I don’t want her to go through her life closed-off and alone…please be patient with her. Don’t…please don’t give up on her.”
He smiles what he’s positive is a dopey, lovesick grin. “After she told me what happened with your parents, I started piecing things together myself. I know I don’t have the kind of track record that would compel her to take a leap of faith, but I want to prove myself to her.”
She breathes a sigh of relief, then taps him on the arm. “I always knew there was something there.”
“I was too stupid to see it at first, and then too scared to do anything about it. I’m not going to make that mistake with her again.”
“You’re a good man, Chase Jennings. I better get going before I make us both late.”
“Sasha?” he asks as she turns to leave.
“Yeah?”
“I promise never to give you a reason to murder me in my sleep.”
She laughs. “Thank you.”
When Chase arrives at the office, he thinks he’s beat Amber. He pulls out his phone, ready to send a text teasing her for her tardiness. As he gets closer to her desk though, he notices that her cardigan is missing. She’s definitely here, and he’s pretty sure he’s going to find her in his office.
She’s arranging his folders for the day. Her hair is loose and flowing across one of her shoulders. She’s wearing one of his favorite dresses on her, a purple one with flowers that shows off her amazing ass. She’s at an angle where he can see the swell of her breasts, and the sight makes his mouth water.
He remembers the taste of her skin, the way she arched her back and cried out when he gently bit her nipples. She catches him looking, and he knows that she knows what he’s thinking.
The air is charged and awkward for a moment, then she coughs and Chase is determined to play it off.
“Good morning,” he says, testing the waters.
She smiles at him like it’s any other day, like this weekend didn’t change everything and nothing at the same time. “Good morning.”
He’s a little hurt by her non-reaction, but he can’t say he’s too upset about it. He’d rather have her here and pretending that nothing happened than not here because they were irrepa
rably broken after one of the best nights of his life.
Normally he’d ask her if she had a good night, but he already knows the answer to that, and doesn’t want to rip the Band-Aid off of that fresh wound. He finds himself a little off kilter, unsure of how to adjust to this new reality where he doesn’t know how to make small talk with her the way he did before.
He walks over to his desk, his hand itching to glide along her lower back as he passes. He makes sure not to touch her, not to cross any lines here at the office. It’s killing him. Every nerve in his body sings when he’s around her, every cell pushes him in her direction. This attraction was difficult to ignore even before he knew what it was like to be with her, to have all the love in her eyes directed at him, to have the weight of his naked body on top of hers.
He wonders how she’s doing it.
“You have a ten o’clock, the red folder is for that. There’s a meeting upstairs at eleven, and they’re going to provide the materials. I asked for them ahead of time but they’re still being prepared. I’m going to harass them to see if they can give them to me early. When they do, I’ll put them in purple. You have lunch with Jason at noon, and the rest of your afternoon is clear.”
“Thanks.” He watches as she walks toward the door, her perfume lingering in the air. “The lunch with Jason is to celebrate the Pearson deal,” he explains. “There wouldn’t be one if it wasn’t for you. You should come.”
She bites her lip in that way she does when she wants to say yes, but is figuring out a way to say no. He figured she wouldn’t come; spending her lunch hour celebrating this weekend would probably be too much for them to do together at this point in time. Still, he wants to extend the invitation just in case.
“Thanks,” she says with a sincere smile. “I better not. I have plans tonight, so I need to leave at seven. I better stay here.”
He somehow manages to not ask her what she’s planning on doing tonight. His persistence pays off, because she offers up the information freely.
One Night With The Billionaire Too Page 10
