Page 16 of Worth the Chase

“No, it’s fine. Just wondered if any stood out to you or not. You didn’t even tell me your preferences or give me anything to go on, so these were ones I thought you might like.”

She handed the stack to me, and I took them, my fingers gliding against her hand. Just touching her skin made me wantto stop moving, but I pulled the stack away, breaking the subtle contact that hadn’t seemed to faze her in the least.

“I trust you,” I said, and that got her attention.

“We don’t even know each other anymore, Matthew.” It was all but a whispered confession, but it hurt like hell to hear.

“You know me,” I countered.

“Well, you don’t know me.”

I was about to argue, tell her that I damn well did know her, but she was right. Did I really know who she was anymore? It had been years since I’d last seen her or had a real conversation with her.

“What, no witty comeback?” she sassed.

“If you don’t stop tempting me with that smart mouth of yours, Bells, I’m going to kiss you just to shut you up.”

It was a warning.

One she heeded because she snapped her red lips closed as she put the car in gear and started driving toward the gate. She suddenly slammed on the brakes and I lurched forward, almost hitting my head on the dash.

“Put your seat belt on,” she demanded.

“Only ’cause you might kill me if I don’t,” I said as I snapped it in place.

The gate swung open, and she stepped on the gas once more.

“Tell me about you, Bells. What have you been doing since I left?”

It seemed like an easy enough question. Something that could get us started on the right path, but she stayed quiet for way too long, and I started wondering if I’d done something wrong. I always seemed to be rubbing her the wrong way.

“Bells?”

She whipped her head to look at me quickly before she stared straight ahead, her eyes focused on the road while mine werefirmly focused on her. “I don’t know. Going to school. Working. Living with my parents up until Anna came home last summer.”

I grinned. “Do you and Anna live together?”

I remembered Anna, but only because she had been at the Sanchez house almost as often as I was.

“We do. It’s fun.” She actually smiled. “But I know it won’t last.”

I shifted in my seat. I was way too big for this damn car. “What do you mean?”

Bells shrugged. “I don’t think she’ll stay here for very long. And when she figures out what she wants to do with her life, she’ll leave and go do it.”

“Won’t that put you in a bind? I mean, if your roommate leaves, who will you live with?”

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it,” she said as if she’d never even given it a single thought, and I started stressing out for her.

“But…” I stumbled before deciding that stressing about her financial situation wasn’t my place. “Never mind. What about you then?” I asked.

“What about me what?”

“Have you figured out what you want to do with the rest of your life?”

“I’m doing it.” Her tone was so confident and resolute that I believed her.

“The real estate or the bartending? Do you like one more than the other?”

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