Page 32 of Legal

“Nice.” He handed over two chips. “It says here you can get extra points and take the win if you sing one of her songs.”

“It does not say that.” I tried to grab the card, but he yanked it back.

“You’re really going to pass up the chance to take me down?”

Before I knew it, I was belting out “Leather and Lace.” I’m not sure why I picked that song, especially because it was meant as a duet, but I’d always loved it. I had a lot of fun with it, making it part of the game, but when I finished, the silence was deafening.

Did I miss something here? Why is Chase gaping at me?

“Holy fuck, Jillian. You told me you didn’t play an instrument.”

“That’s because I don’t.”

“What do you call that set of pipes?”

I shrugged. I knew I could sing halfway decent, but so could a lot of people. “I was just playing the game.” I smiled wide. “I win.”

“Hell, yeah, you do. I want to learn more about that secret weapon of yours.”

“It’s a voice, Chase. And there’s not much to say about it.”

“You looked like you were lovin’ the hell out of that song. Now that’s what I mean about passion. How often do you use it? I can’t picture you singing every day to the suits.”

“You’re right about that.”

“You already admitted you don’t love what you’re doing. Why didn’t you pursue what youdolove?”

As if it were that easy. His youthful idealism was showing, blatantly whacking me on the head. “Because that’s not always realistic, Chase. I was in the music program at UWM for a couple years but had to drop out because of… responsibilities. That’s the way life works sometimes.”

I was starting to feel uneasy. I never had these types of conversations with Mike. He thought it was frivolous to continue studying something he considered impractical to daily life. We had a family to raise, and we didn’t sit around talking about passions and chasing after personal dreams.

Chase looked like he wanted to say more but kept quiet. I was thankful for that until he advanced closer, ending up on my couch.My couch. What was wrong with his? It was perfectly comfortable. The heat from his body radiated over, and my heart rate took a flying leap. It must have gotten stuck on the ceiling because it was not coming down.

“You want to kiss me right now,” he said.

“What?”What?

“Fact or bunk?”

“I already won the game,” I said with a barely-working mouth. I looked at his lips without intending to, then trailed up to his eyes, making two mistakes in a row.

“Fact or bunk?” he asked again.

I was not drunk but wished I were. I wished I were so blitzed that I was passed out cold. I was pleasantly tipsy, and that was the worst thing to be right now. Not that stone-cold sober had worked too well in my favor either. I had the feeling that nothing short of complete avoidance would save me from Chase Nolan.

“Why are you doing all this?” I whispered. “Why didn’t you just leave it at one night? Why did you make me want to give you my number?”

I could have gone on and on…Why do I feel something for you? Why didn’t I say no to dinner? Why did I invite you over, and why did I want to? Why do you have to be so young?

And why do I want to kiss you so freaking badly?

He touched the side of my face with the backs of his fingers, so lightly it burned. I felt the sensation travel down, and I closed my eyes, heat searing through me.

“I didn’t leave it, Jillian, because I didn’t want to. And after seeing you again in my classroom, I knew you felt the same. Do you know how easy it would have been for me to get your correct number? I could have checked around, but I didn’t want to do that. I wanted you to be the one to give it to me.” He took his hand away. “Now I believe you owe me an answer.”

I had one more chance to keep it together. He already said the next kiss was up to me, so if I didn’t agree to it, he wouldn’t do it. I nibbled on my lips. I was afraid how much I wanted it; I craved so much more than his lips against mine. It would start with one kiss, but it wouldn’t end there.

“Fact.” His body was achingly close. “But does wanting something make it right?”

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