Page 45 of Master of My Life

Chase had suspected she was new to the area. Her accent was very different. He glanced at

Jayson, raising his eyebrows. His friend needed to talk to the girl if he was going to get anywhere

with her.

“Wh-what brought you to Boston?” Jayson asked.

She looked down then shrugged. “I wanted to get out on my own for a while. Needed to . . .

spread my wings, I guess.” A dimple appeared in her cheek as she looked at Jayson, eyes bright.

“You like it here?”

She nodded. “It’s nice to be on my own.”

There was a sadness in her eyes Chase hadn’t noticed before, and something else he couldn’t

quite pinpoint, but it made him feel sorry for her.

“I should get back to work.” She turned and walked away.

Jayson watched her and then looked at Chase. “That was weird.”

“She looks sad.” Jayson was a good guy and would treat her right. “You should ask her out.”

Jayson’s retort couldn’t be heard over the loud cheering from the crowd around them. Chase

swung his gaze around to look at the television in time to see his little brother, Joel, run for a

touchdown and score.

“Did you see those moves!” Chase exclaimed, pointing at the big screen on the wall. “That’s what

I’m talking about! If the coach would let him run more, they’d be mopping the floor with those

chumps. You can’t throw passes against Syracuse’s defense this year!”

Jayson rolled his eyes. “Whatever, Mr. Armchair Quarterback.”

The game ended with a hard-won 21-7 victory for Boston College, and Lia brought the check a

few minutes later. “Get her number and ask her out.” Chase pulled out his wallet and jerked his head

toward the bar where Lia stood waiting for a drink order.

Jayson made a face.

“Ask her out or you’re paying.”

Jayson peered over at the bill and stood. “Asshole.”

Chase chuckled as he watched Jayson stride, albeit not quite in a straight line, across the room to

where Lia stood punching an order into the computer. Her face lit up when she saw him. Jayson took a

deep breath and said something at which Lia laughed. He gave a sheepish grin. After talking for a few

minutes, Lia pulled out her order pad and wrote on a piece of paper before handing it to Jayson.

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