Page 10 of Just A Little Chase

“And technically, you aren’t a stranger, because my parents think we’ve been dating for a while now,” she added with a smirk. “I’ve already told my family all about you, Chase Gossard, and that I’m bringing you home for the weekend. So, yeah, that’s why I bought a bachelor, and now it has to be you who takes me.”

He dragged a hand along his jaw and swore beneath his breath, knowing he’d be a real asshole to refuse after hearing how personal this was for her. “Fucking great,” he muttered.

She tipped her head to the side, regarding him curiously. “Why did you agree to do the bachelor auction for Billie if you had no intentions of following through?”

It was a fair question, but his reasons were personal and private and between himself and his half-sister. “I thought I’d followed through spectacularly,” he said in a droll tone, then shook his head. “Do you know how many women would kill for the kind of weekend I offered you?”

She shrugged, causing his traitorous gaze to drop to the rise and fall of her breasts beneath her silky blouse. “I’m not just any woman.”

“Clearly,” he said, realizing she was the complete opposite. An anomaly for him when he was used to females expecting those lavish things his money could buy.

“Answer my question,” she said softly, refusing to let him off so easy. “Why did you agree to do the bachelor auction for Billie if you had no intention of following through?”

Her pretty eyes stared directly into his, and he shifted his backside against the desk, bracing his hands on the edge in order to resist the insane urge to grip her hips and pull her forward. Toward him, until her figure molded against his—just to feel how her curves aligned against his body. Everything about her was so authentic and natural, from her full lips and those freckles across the bridge of her nose and cheeks, to her small but firm breasts, to the perfect swell of her hips. She didn’t rely on collagen, or silicone, or any artificial enhancements to amplify her beauty and he found that incredibly refreshing and attractive.

She was waiting patiently for him to reply. Considering how open and honest she’d been about her own uncomfortable predicament, and how genuinely caring she seemed about his answer, he decided to share a part of himself he normally wouldn’t.

“I agreed to stand in as a replacement bachelor because Billie rarely asks me for anything.” Of course, his reasons went a helluva lot deeper than that superficial explanation, but divulging even that much of his relationship with his half-sister with anyone was huge.

“And…” He exhaled a breath and opted for even more honesty here. “I guess I just didn’t think through the whole ‘weekend’ thing, and spending it with one woman. I don’t date. I’m not… personable and charming or one to show a woman a good time outside of the bedroom,” he said, giving her his own smirk in return. “And I’m self-aware enough to know it’s wrong to lead any woman into thinking I’m something that I’m not, or that I’ll give them more than just… companionship for a night or two.”

Her brows rose, and he didn’t miss the awareness swirling in the depths of her eyes. “Well, at least you’re honest. But that doesn’t let you off the hook. You weren’t my first choice of a bachelor, but I’m stuck with you, so I’d appreciate it if you’d accompany me to my sister’s wedding.”

She said it with a soft, teasing smile, the earlier tension between them all but dissipated, and damn if that playful look on her face didn’t make his own defenses crumble a bit—what the hell was up with that? When she’d walked into his office, he’d been so adamant about doing whatever it took not to spend a weekend with her, and now, after learning she was trying to save face at her sister’s wedding to her ex, his attitude had shifted.

It was true that he didn’t want to disappoint Billie if she discovered he hadn’t followed through on what was expected of him, but he realized that he also didn’t want to let Lauren down, either, because shockingly, he genuinely liked her. And it didn’t hurt that there was true chemistry between them, which couldn’t be said for the other women he’d dated lately.

As he’d said, he wasn’t anyone’s knight in shining armor, but Lauren wasn’t asking him to be one. She just didn’t want to show up to an unpleasant situation alone, which he could understand. Playing her pretend boyfriend was a simple enough thing to do. It was one weekend out of his life, and then he could consider his obligation to Billie, and to the Future Fast Track bachelor auction, and Lauren, paid in full.

“Okay, I’ll grant you your weekend and play the part of your boyfriend,” he said, doing his best to dedicate himself to the ruse, even if it was something outside of his comfort zone. He wasn’t a man who half-assed anything once he committed himself. “Where do we go from here?”

Her shoulders fell, her relief nearly palpable. “The wedding isn’t until next month, so we have a few weeks to figure out the specifics. Why don’t we set a day and time to meet up and discuss things more in detail?” she suggested. “Maybe get to know each other a little better so we can sell the whole relationship thing and we don’t look like two total strangers who just met?”

He nodded in agreement and did a quick mental rundown of his schedule. He had a business dinner this Saturday with an out-of-town client, but he was free the following weekend. “How about dinner at my place next Saturday?”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “Your place?”

He shrugged. “I figure we’ll both need time to learn some things about each other to make this fake relationship look authentic. We’ll have more privacy at my apartment, we can take whatever time we need, and we don’t have to worry about anyone listening in to our conversation.”

A pleased smile curved her lips. “Okay, next Saturday it is.”

He pulled his cell phone from the front pocket of his slacks and used his fingerprint to unlock the screen. “What’s your number? I’ll text you from my personal phone so you can reach me directly, instead of going through my assistant.”

She flashed him a cheeky grin. “Well, now I feel special.”

An unexpected chuckle escaped him before he could stop it. “You should.”

Her grin remained as she rattled off her number, and he shot her a quick text message so that she now had his. As soon as he tucked his phone back into his pocket, she stepped right up to him and enveloped him in a hug before he realized her intent.

Shocked by the warm and endearing gesture because he was unused to that kind of open display of affection outside of Billie, he felt his body stiffen as she wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing all those sensual curves right up against him as he’d envisioned only minutes before. He forced himself to relax, and tentatively, his own hands slid around her waist, instinctively returning the hug.

Or maybe he just selfishly wanted to be close to her, to soak up her vivacious, accepting personality, despite his attempts to keep his guard up. His hand slipped down to the slight indentation at the base of her spine, much lower than was probably appropriate, and he inhaled a deep breath. God, everything about her was so warm and soft and fragrant. Heat shot through his veins, along with something far more intimate. The lust and desire was a given, but the connection he felt in that moment with Lauren was unprecedented and threw his equilibrium off-kilter.

The embrace only lasted a few seconds before she released him and stepped back. “Sorry, I’m a hugger,” she said impishly, clearly having sensed his initial discomfort. “But you need to get used to being touchy-feely with me, if we want to make us look believable to my family.”

She’d put him through such a range of emotions in such a short span of time, and his head was still spinning from that embrace, that all he could manage was a grunt as a response.

She laughed softly, as if understanding. “Thank you for doing this for me, Chase.”

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