Page 6 of Bullet Unleashed

Shit.

“I’m good,” he continues. “Imagine running into you here of all places. It’s been years.”

“Yeah...years. Imagine that.”

This isn’t awkward at all. Nope, not at all. Not in the slightest. There’s no awkwardness here.

“Well, I’m going to get out of here before the awkwardness drowns us both,” he comments with a laugh.

I laugh too, and the levity breaks the tension. It’s a very smooth move on his part.

“Thanks again for this,” I say and point to the antiseptic. “I couldn’t reach it and they didn’t have any on the bottom shelf. It’s like stores don’t realize not everyone is over six feet.”

He smiles at my joke, and it’s so sexy it’s making me tingle in all the places I know I shouldn’t. Not with Chase.

“I get it,” he says. “If you don’t mind me asking...”

“Shoot.”

He furrows his brow and pauses for a second as if contemplating something beyond whatever it is he’s about to ask. Then he shakes his head and continues. “What do you need the antiseptic for?”

“Oh,” I say with another chuckle and wipe my forehead. “Whew, for a second there, I thought you were going to ask me something hard. Like what I’ve been up to since we last saw each other.”

Chase laughs, but I hear nerves more so than amusement. “No, nothing like that. I already know what you’ve been up to.”

“Come again?”

“Relax, Hope. I’m not stalking you, though I’d be very good at it if I wanted to.”

I scratch the side of my head with a finger. This is turning strange.

“Channel Nine News, remember? You led with that like I was a fan.”

Fire rushes to my cheeks. “Oh, yeah. That.”

He smiles at me, but it’s not the same brilliant, sexy smile as before.

“Um, I need it for my knee.”

“Need what?”

“The antiseptic,” I answer and point to the box.

“Oh, right. I forgot I asked.”

This is awful. Am I fucking things up again?

“Why do you need antiseptic for your knee?”

“I fell and scraped it.”

“Oh, really? Fell like you’re in elementary school?”

Okay, now he’s the one fucking things up.

“No, Chase. I was on assignment and some asshole ran into me and knocked me over.”

“Oh, shit. Sorry,” he spluttered. “Sorry. Let me see it.”

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