Page 43 of Once Upon a Summer Night

“What are you grinning about?” Chase asked, his voice low and slow.

She shifted to find him watching her, both a pillow and an arm propped behind his head. “This. Us. Remind me why we didn’t do this years ago?”

He chuckled softly. “Probably good we didn’t. After an experience like this, I would have started burning a whole lotta gasoline, driving back and forth to get my fill of you.”

Hannah winked and snuggled back into her comfy spot. “Definitely in no hurry to get back to Illinois now.”

“Excellent.” Chase’s fingers brushed over her bare back. “My plan worked perfectly.”

“Oh, now you tell me.”

Chase chuckled softly, his chest shaking beneath her. “Right, like you didn’t know that was my plan all along.”

Was that his plan—to convince her to stay? Surely, he knew it wasn’t as simple as that. And while she knew deep down that she should be up front with him about her pending promotion, she didn’t want to ruin the moment with serious talk.

“I’ve got no idea what your plans are anymore. First you kiss me, then you convince me to order bourbon…”

“Whoa, hold up—you ordered that all on your own.”

They shared a soft laugh in the dark, and all felt right with the world.

“Oh, crap!” Hannah propped herself up on both elbows. “Did we even tell the others that we were leaving?”

“I caught Del’s eye as we were making our way to the door. She gave me a nod, so I think we’re good. Besides, I think they would have eventually noticed my truck was missing.”

“Oh, yeah.” She grinned and sank back down, savoring this new variation on snuggle time and refusing to feel guilty about it. There would be a time for thinking about the future, but right now wasn’t it.

His hand came to rest on her shoulder. “Did you have a good time tonight?”

“I did. Better than expected and it ended with quite the bang.” She shifted to meet his gaze. “Thank you, Chase.”

“For the grand finale? Anytime. Seriously.”

Hannah chuckled. “I meant for the invite and convincing me to come out tonight. With everything that’s been going on, I haven’t had much time to relax and just be…me.”

“My pleasure.” He brushed an unruly curl back from her face. “Unfortunately, some of us have to work on Saturdays, so I should probably be getting you home.”

Hannah glanced to his bedside clock and was shocked to see it was nearly one o’clock. “Oh, crap. Yeah, probably a good idea. Don’t want you falling asleep at Oak Barrel Farms later.”

“Del would not be pleased. Neither will your father if I keep you out much later. Hell, he might have already put out an APB.”

She dropped her head on a groan. “How embarrassing would that be?”

“It’s like being teenagers again,” he teased, tossing the covers back and giving her butt a teasing smack. “Gotta get you home before your old man hunts me down.”

“Pfft, like he would ever hunt down his golden boy.” She rolled away from him, skin still smarting as she began hunting for her discarded clothing items. Panties here, bra there. Now where were her…

“Looking for these?”

She looked up just in time to catch her capris with her face. “Gee, thanks.”

Chase’s smile widened in the darkness. “Anytime, angel.”

She gave him a flat look, but they both knew she meant nothing by it. Hannah loved that he teased her like he did, and that she could do the same back to him. It’s what best friends did.

Now, it was what lovers did, too.

Fully clothed—hopefully, everything was on facing the right direction—they returned to his truck and headed for the farm.

---