Page 33 of Just A Little Chase

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself,” he said, and he meant it.

A sly grin replaced her languid smile, and a mischievous look sparked in her eyes. “Speaking of which, let’s go dance.”

He adamantly shook his head, because this was where he drew the line. “Yeah… no. I don’t dance. But I see your girl cousins and friends out there dancing together, so you go and have fun.”

“I don’t want to leave you by yourself.” She pouted, and as endearing as the gesture was, it did nothing to change his mind.

“I’ll be fine,” he insisted, and jutted his chin toward the dance area. “Go.”

One of her cousins called Lauren’s name and waved her over, and she finally gave in and joined them, letting loose her inhibitions on the dance floor.

Chase might not like to dance, but he quickly learned that he loved watching Lauren move her hips and shake her ass to the beat of the music.

Chapter Fourteen

Much to Chase’s surprise, the next few hours passed quickly and enjoyably. While Lauren danced her little heart out, he nursed a drink and chatted a bit with her father, Dale, and a few of her male cousins. He honestly thought the time would drag on, or he’d feel out of place, but that wasn’t the case. Lauren’s family was warm and welcoming, and when he wasn’t conversing with someone, his date completely captured his attention.

She spent most of her time out on the dance floor with her single friends, her face flushed from all the physical activity, and her hair a bit of a disheveled mess, which only made her look sexier. But her eyes were bright and she was laughing and smiling as the group of women, along with Ashley, did the Macarena, which involved more of that hip swiveling and an enticing bounce of her breasts as she jumped in place then clapped her hands before starting the choreographed moves all over again.

So, yeah, he was far from bored. In fact, dare he say he even had a perma-smile on his face, that’s how much he was enjoying himself. Shocker.

“A little shy at the garter toss earlier, wouldn’t you say?” her gramps asked, sidling up to where Chase was standing at the far side of the room.

He’d been so mesmerized by Lauren that he hadn’t seen Lee approach, but he turned his head and smiled at the older man, who had a speculative gleam in his eye. Of course the wily old man would notice his reluctance, and had no qualms about calling him out on it.

Chase shrugged nonchalantly. “I don’t need to catch a garter to know when and if I’m going to get married.” Which had always been a hard never for him.

Lee chuckled. “Fair enough.” He glanced out to the dance floor, grinning when he saw his granddaughter now rocking out to the cult classic “Tequila” song, and yelling out the one-word lyric, “Tequila!” with everyone else on cue. “I have to say, my girl looks happier than I’ve seen her in a very long time.”

Chase had taken his suit jacket off a while ago and now he pushed his hands into the front pocket of his slacks. “It’s the whole wedding thing,” he said to explain away Lauren’s emotional and mental well-being. “It puts people in a festive mood.”

Lee scoffed and narrowed his gaze at Chase. “Don’t sell yourself short. There is no doubt in my mind that you’re the reason that smile of hers has finally reached her eyes. I was worried it was gone for good, but it just took the right man to bring it back.”

Chase swallowed hard, hating that tight feeling in his chest, because he was far from being the right man for Lauren. No, he was all wrong for her, because she deserved someone who was whole and complete and not emotionally unavailable like him. A man who didn’t have the first clue how to make a relationship work and last, and would probably fuck it all up if he tried and ended up hurting her.

There was no denying they shared a strong connection, but it was hard for Chase to fathom that he could be responsible for all that joy she exuded, or even a fraction of it. Then again, wasn’t she the reason he felt lighter inside?

Not wanting Lee to start asking questions Chase didn’t have the answers for, he instead diverted the conversation before it became any more personal. “Would you like a beer or something else from the bar?” he asked, watching as Lauren walked off the dance floor with one of her cousins and headed toward the ladies’ room.

“No. Beer is for pansies, and all they have at that bar is the cheap crap that tastes like piss. I brought the good stuff.” Lee reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and retrieved a silver flask.

The corner of Chase’s mouth twitched with amusement, because Lee was right. The alcohol the bar was serving was far from the top-shelf premium liquor he was used to drinking. “The good stuff?” he asked, curious to know what the older man had smuggled into the reception.

Lee nodded. “Yep. You can’t go wrong with Elijah Craig, barrel proof.”

Definitely a higher-end bourbon, and one Chase had appreciated more than a few times himself. “You have good taste.”

“Of course I do,” Lee said, and chuckled. “But don’t tell Penny that I snuck some into the reception. A man has to have a few vices to live for.”

Chase grinned as Lee took a swig of the liquor. “Not a word. You have my promise.”

Lee smacked his lips and after recapping the flask, he tucked it back inside his jacket. “So, have you taken Scouty to that fancy restaurant she’s been wanting to go to in the city? In Manhattan, I think it is.”

The older man was looking at him expectantly, like Chase ought to know what he was talking about, but of course he didn’t. “Which restaurant would that be?”

The lines between Lee’s brows crinkled as he tried to remember the name, and then his eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers. “Elysian Heights,” he finally said. “Some top chef on a cooking show runs it. She said it just opened in the past year but it’s nearly impossible to get a table. Just thought you would have been able to pull some strings and make that happen. I mean, you are a partner in an investment firm in New York City, so that ought to come with some kind of perks.”

At least the old man hadn’t called him a fancy pants this time, but the inference was there just the same. And there was no way Chase was going to admit that he’d taken a client to Elysian Heights just a month ago because Chase had an “in” with the owner of the restaurant, another client of his. “I didn’t realize Lauren wanted to go there,” he said, which was the truth.

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