Page 52 of Lyrical

Her lips curved and she lowered her head, adjusting the collar of her blouse. A part of me didn’t trust her worth shit, but until I had definite reason, I wouldn’t stoke the fire. Jillian already worried enough. Daniel was a big boy. He had every right to choose whom he wanted to date.

“I’ve kept you long enough from your class. I also need to get back and prepare for mine.”

Cassie focused on the stage. “Yes, definitely. Thanks for stopping by, Chase. It’s been nice. We haven’t had a friendly conversation in a while. I hope we can do it more often.”

“Have a nice day, Miss Randall.”

I turned to leave and she stopped me, placing her hand on my arm. “In all seriousness, I’m sorry for how I acted all those months ago. I got a little jealous over something I had no right to get jealous over. But that’s all behind us now. I know you love Jillian, and I really like Daniel. I want to see if anything comes of it, and hopefully, Jillian will be okay with that. Maybe you can put in a good word for me.”

She smiled and dropped her hand, going back to her students. She glanced over her shoulder. “You have a nice day too, Mr. Nolan.”

I went back to my room and leaned against the desk. My time with Cassie was nothing worth reporting. Nothing worth giving a second thought to. Daniel was my concern now. The other half of Jillian’s heart. Did I see him as competition? Fuck yeah. I wasn’t perfect. I couldn’t help how I felt, but I could control how I acted. I would not let that side of me take over. I’d get to know him better. I’d let him get to know me better. Then I’d put that rock where it belonged.

Meeting Daniel had gone much smoother than expected, but it was just the beginning. Accepting me as her boyfriend was not the same as accepting me as her husband, but I could be patient. Jillian and I had already come this far, and I was not about to fuck up everything we’ve worked towards by moving too quickly. She wanted that ring just as badly as I wanted it on her finger. And when our time came, we’d both get what we wanted.

She wanted forever, and I wanted nothing more than to be the one to give it to her.

“Are you pouting?”

“Is it that obvious?”

Chase laughed, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me back into his chest. He gave me a quick kiss on the side of the neck. “I’ll make you fajitas tomorrow. Promise. A double batch. Heavy on the Lunacy Sauce.”

“She doesn’t even like to cook,” I said.

“Isn’t that why Stephen’s grilling out?”

I felt like a three-year-old who had an ice cream cone waved in their face and then snatched away. Psych!

“Humph. He wouldn’t even need to do that if we’d just stuck to the plan.” I spun around, facing him. “I know. We could make them and bring them over.”

“That’s probably the reason why Perry wanted to switch places to begin with. Yes, we could make them, but they wouldn’t be the same without the heat.”

“Maybe that’s part of it, but she’s also scared of the wild turkeys in my yard. Says they’re mean this time of year and last time they tried attacking her.”

I didn’t know where the hell she came up with that stuff. But Chase was right about the fajitas. If I waited, I could have them exactly the way we liked. But my cravings were something fierce. I’d been looking forward to them all day. We’d invited Perry and Stephen over for dinner, but at the last minute, she asked us to come there instead.

“And here I was already planning on making something else just for her. Something bland and boring.”

He sat on the couch, pulling me onto his lap. “I think you’ll survive another night. It’s not as if I’m asking you to stay away from me.”

I smiled, snuggling into him. God, I loved this man. My son had been home for several weeks, and Chase and I still weren’t sleeping in the same bed. I missed him so badly, and I knew he felt the same. But he was being so patient about it. It made me love him all the more.

That night I’d make it up to him. I’d make it up to both of us. Daniel was in Chicago; he had a callback for a second interview and decided to make a weekend out of it. I didn’t ask, but I could almost guarantee that Cassie was suctioned to his side. I was trying very, very hard not to think about that.

“We could just skip this dinner altogether,” I said. “Lie in bed naked the whole weekend. If we get hungry, we can order in a pizza.”

“Just lie there? I’d rather fuck until we can’t move anymore.”

“Or that, please.”

I rubbed my thighs together. I swear he could just breathe on me and I’d get wet.

He played with my hair, twirling it around his fingers. “You think I wouldn’t take you up on that offer in a heartbeat? Fuck, Jillian. Of course I would. But I know you’ve been waiting for this. We’ll be home soon enough.”

“We could do it over the phone?”

“Perry said the news was big. Is that how you want to hear it?”

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