Page 63 of Things Good Girls Don't Do

Leaning down, he kissed her shoulder and said, “Jared’s cool. They all are.”

“But ...”

He kissed up her neck and tickled her skin with his scruff. “But nothing. I had a good time.”

She cupped his cheek, and he looked up at her so warmly, her heart skipped a beat. “Me too.”

Smiling, he crawled up and pulled her over until she cuddled against him. “You’re pretty awesome, Firecracker.”

I might be falling in love with you.

Probably not the right response to so casual a statement, so she just nuzzled against his side and whispered, “I think you’re pretty great too, Chase.”

His grip on her tightened, and they lay there quietly until she heard his breathing even out. Lazily, she drew little hearts on his stomach with the tip of her finger until she finally drifted off to sleep too.

KATIE HAD GONEto work as usual on Monday and Tuesday but had been surprised when most of her clients had canceled. Usually she was booked pretty solid, but apparently word had traveled around that Katie had kicked Mrs. Andrews off the fireworks committee. At least, that was what her son, Mitchell Andrews, had said when he’d called to cancel his appointment, though he was in dire need of a haircut. Once Mitch’s hair got to his ears, he started to look like Shaggy fromScooby-Doo.

“I’m sorry, Katie, but you really hurt Mama’s feelings, and I can’t have her mad at me. Maybe if you apologized ...” Mitch said.

Katie had hung up on him. She wasn’t going to give in to Mrs. Andrews or any of her cronies. If she wanted to act like a schoolyard bully and drag all her friends into their business, that was fine. She could take whatever the old rag dished out.

But by Wednesday, Katie was done. The new gossip column had done a piece on her “feud” with Mrs. Andrews, and how it had all started over some rather harsh words about Chase. Katie didn’t know where the writer got her information, but it was dead on. If she ever found out who Miss Know It All was, she was going to give her a piece of her mind about respecting other people’s privacy.

Madder than a kicked hornets’ nest and with nothing to do, she left the shop by noon. Deciding to walk down the sidewalk to clear her head, she passed by Gregg Phillips and Ryan Ashton’s photography studio, glanced inside for a second, walked two steps, and stopped. Backing up, she stared inside at Chase, perched on a desk, holding out some kind of magazine to Ryan.

Up until just before Valentine’s Day, Ryan had dressed like a librarian and was rumored to be just as dull. She had only moved to Rock Canyon two years ago, but after she had made friends with Gracie McAllister, she’d shed her dowdy clothes to reveal a lush figure and vibrant coloring that had caused quite a stir. But on Valentine’s Day, she and Gregg had gotten engaged, and they were supposed to be getting married in a few weeks.

So why was she taking the magazine from Chase with a wide smile and wrapping her arms around Chase like foil around chicken?

Stop acting crazy. Chase told you; he had a vague interest in her, nothing more.

Besides, Katie didn’t have the right to be jealous. It wasn’t like he was her boyfriend or anything.

Forcing herself to move away from the window, she kept walking. She could wait by his chopper, but then he might think she was being stalkerish and ...

“Hey, I thought that was you.”

Katie whirled around in surprise as Chase came out of the studio and picked her up around the waist, holding her up to kiss her mouth. When he pulled back, she was a bit dazed and he was grinning. “What are you doing over here? Don’t you have clients?”

Katie didn’t want to tell Chase what was going on with Mrs. Andrews, mainly because she didn’t want to hurt his feelings. He was sensitive about the way people perceived him, even though he said he didn’t care. Too many people had made him feel bad about being who he was, and she didn’t want him to think that what was happening with Mrs. Andrews was because of him.

“Oh, I was just wound a little tight, needed to stretch my legs. Clear my head.” She tried to sound casual as she asked, “What were you doing?”

“Just dropping off a wedding present. Ryan’s a bit of a comic nut, and I found this limited-edition cover she wanted and had it signed for her.” Chase ran his hands over her waist as he set her down and asked, “So, do you want to get some lunch?”

“Sure, love to.” With his arm wrapped around her waist, she let him lead her toward the parlor. Before she could stop herself, she asked, “So what did you get Gregg?”

“What?” he said.

“Well, you got the comic for Ryan. What did you get Greg?” she said.

Laughing, he said, “A gift card to Target.”

“Oh. How come you didn’t just get them that?” she asked.

Stopping in front of the chopper, he gave her a funny look. “Is there something bothering you, Firecracker?”

Besides the fact that you gave a girl you were only slightly into a personal gift?

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