Page 84 of When the Fake Snow Falls

My phone buzzes on the counter somewhere nearby, but I ignore it and keep eating. I laugh as he misses my mouth and some of the egg lands on my upper thigh. My phone buzzes again as he leans down to eat the food off my skin, his tongue slowly trailing over the spot after, licking me clean. Chase reaches for a blueberry, popping it into my mouth, and my phone buzzes again when I take his fingers into my mouth and suck. I palm him outside his sweats, feeling him hard and ready, and my hands grip his hair as he slides one finger inside me, then another.

Buzz.

Buzz.

Buzz.

Chase takes a break from devouring my neck to pull backand look at me, breathing hard. “Maybe you should check that.”

I kiss him, not wanting any of this to stop. “It’s probably just Miles,” I say against his lips between kisses.

Chase pulls his fingers out of me, and I whimper in protest. “Well, tell him I’m not done with you yet.” A dangerous smirk flirts at the corner of his mouth as he sucks the same two fingers.

He has me in a trance because that might be the hottest thing he’s ever done. When I don’t move right away, he nods toward my phone. “Go on, gorgeous. We’ve got things to do.”

I blink, remembering where I am. “Right.” Reaching behind me, I locate my phone face down on the counter. It’s weird for Miles to text me this much, but if he’s excited about this, I wouldn’t put it past him.

Turning my phone over, my face falls. Yes, a few messages are from Miles earlier, but the bulk of the notifications are from Nicolette. I swallow hard before swiping my phone open. This can’t be good.

thirty-nine

Before I can even readthe slew of messages, my eyes dart to Chase. “It’s your boss.”

He pauses before taking another bite. “She texted you?”

My eyes widen as I scroll to count how many messages I’ve received in the span of a few minutes. “Only six times.”

He sets his food down before walking over, so we can read them together.

Nicolette:

Last night was appalling.

Coming to a work function for my office? With my colleague?

I don’t know if Chase made you aware, but he and I have had this sort of back-and-forth thing going on for a very long time.

He probably hasn’t told you about our plans in January.

The girls would hate to know our hairdresser got in the way of that.

I’m sure they’d be devastated to have to find someone new.

I gape at Chase to find him more serious than I’ve ever seen. His jaw and eyebrows are set as he stares down at the phone. “She’s threatening me,” I say in disbelief as I set my phone down to wrap the blanket around my shoulders again.

He picks up my phone. Reading and rereading the messages with his elbows propped on the counter next to me. “She’s out of her mind is what she is.”

“What is she talking about in January?” I doubt Chase agreed to date this woman, considering how desperate he was to have a decoy for the Christmas party, but she obviously thinks something will happen after the New Year.

“Nothing,” he answers adamantly, still glaring down at my phone. When I wait for more, he looks up at me, his eyes softening. “Nothing,” he says again. “She kept asking when I’d get drinks with her, and since she doesn’t seem to understand me when I turn her down, I told her it might be better to figure that out after the promotion when I’m no longer her subordinate. I didn’t agree to anything. It was just a way to get her off my back.”

Hopping down from the counter, I wrap the blanket around me tighter. “Well, if you don’t go now, there’s a good chance she’ll blame me.”

He stands up straight and runs a hand through his hair. “And that’s a problem?”

I give him a sad smile. “I was still working two jobs before she referred all those new clients for me. If she takes them away all at once?” I shake my head. “I don’t know what I’d do.”

He nods, looking deep in thought. “So, what do you want to do?”

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