Page 18 of Chase

Pulling open the door to the hallway, she stared at a vision of manly perfection leaning against the opposite wall.

“Lizzy.” Chase straightened and spread his hands. “Ready?”

She couldn’t swallow past her dry throat. Chase’s upper body was beautifully muscled. He should be on a billboard or at least a magazine. Him spreading his hands engaged the muscles in his shoulders and arms. How had she ever thought he wasn’t classically handsome? With that smile, his radiant blue eyes, and a body like that, he was the most handsome man she’d ever met.

She leaned against the doorframe. “Oh, my, gloriousness.”

Each of the four men she’d dated seriously as an adult had been large and strong, but none of them had reached this level of initial enticement. She was more drawn to Chase than she’d ever been to a man, and that wasn’t smart. Could he truly be as gentle as he appeared and Brandon, Madelyne, and Rockwell had claimed? She was certain she wasn’t his type, and they also lived in different states. It would be ludicrous to think they could develop some relationship. No matter how Madelyne and Brandon wanted to push that.

Any rational good sense didn’t register at the moment. Her heart raced as she stared at him. Was all that muscle truly used to protect and serve instead of to pull women in and then control and demean them?

Chase stepped closer, brow creased. “Are you all right?”

“I can’t. I just can’t.” She put up a hand to shield her eyes. “Please. I don’t want to gawk like a twelve-year-old, but … do you not have a T-shirt you could throw on?”

“I figured I’d just take it off when we got downstairs.” He arched a brow as if she should leave her T-shirt and shorts in the room too.

“That’s your choice and who am I to judge you for it?”

He chuckled at that.

She prayed he wasn’t judging her, but the look in his eyes said he was trying to figure her out.Good luck, buddy.She was messy inside and out. Her mom feared she had anxiety after the nightmare of Darren and Grady Worthen’s attacks last month. Well, who wouldn’t?

Instead of worrying about any of that, she smiled cautiously. Chase returned her smile. Oh, how he returned it. His smile was glorious—even more beautiful than his upper body.

They were instantly caught in a net of smiling that hit her deep inside. Could this be the man who would lift her up and love her like her mom and Janie prayed for daily? She sometimes got snippy with them, telling them she loved them but to stop praying for a man for her. She was perfectly content taking care of the children.

But a man like Chase had never been on the table, or smiling at her while shirtless.

Her cheeks filled with heat.

She broke eye contact and walked in front of him, trying hard to control her gait. She wished he’d walk in front of her, but she knew as a gentleman he likely wouldn’t. Unless she explained her condition. Which she wasn’t ready to do either.

Chase didn’t seem like the belittling type, but her other boyfriends hadn’t either at first. When they started making underhanded comments or getting annoyed with her disability when it slowed them down or embarrassed them, it had hurt much worse than someone she didn’t know staring or saying something. She’d trusted them with secrets and even imagined she loved a few of them. Darren had been the worst offender, sweeping her off her feet for a two-million-dollar paycheck and then turning violent when she dumped him.

She’d finally learned her lesson; she wouldn’t give her heart away again.

Clinging to the railing, she used her upper arm strength to help her navigate the steps without looking too silly. Maybe. She probably looked incredibly silly. She glanced down. At least her arms looked good as the muscles popped smoothly while she gripped the handrail for support. Small blessings.

“Wait just a moment,” Chase said when they reached the main level.

She paused and turned to him, wishing again she could shield her eyes and not become even more drawn to him. He strode toward the kitchen area, and she studied everything from his broad and muscular back down to his striated calf muscles. She didn’t want to objectify him, but he was definitely ‘eye candy’ as Janie would say.

If only Janie were here. She’d help Lizzy laugh about this crazy situation, or more likely she’d push her to fall for Chase.

Her cheeks flared red at the thought. She hated that she blushed so easily.

Chase opened the fridge, looked inside, and then glanced back at her with a smile. “Do you prefer flat water, sparkling water, a Coke, juice, or a fruity water of some sort?”

She couldn’t resist walking over to look at the open fridge. “They really have all those varieties of drinks?”

“And more.”

She reached the stainless steel fridge, and he stepped aside so she could look. Their arms brushed and she tingled from the simple touch. She also instinctively flinched away from him. She felt bad about her reaction, but it was conditioned.

The industrial fridge was massive, with a separate freezer next to it. It was stuffed full of fresh fruits, vegetables, cheeses, eggs, condiments, and prepared meals as well as all manner of pop and juice flavors, Propels, Gatorades, and other electrolyte beverages.

She reached in and grabbed a berry Propel. “Thank you.”

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