“How long have you been coming here?” I ask, trying to divert my thoughts.

“My family has had a summer house here for as long as I can remember, since before I was born. When we go out, this is one of the places we frequent.”

“I have driven through Bridgehampton a few times but never actually hung out here.” I never saw the fascination with the Hamptons. The beaches are the same except there is waaaaay more traffic out here. The one road in, one road out is not fun when you’re stuck in traffic for hours. All to catch a glimpse of some famous person trying to enjoy their vacation.

“I don’t spend too much time out here. Too many rich snobs,” he whispers conspiratorially, a giant smile on his lips. I can’t help but laugh. The waiter comes over with our lunch and once again disappears.

“Looks fantastic,” he says, pleased with his macaroni and cheese. Mine looks fabulous too. The roll is huge with lobster falling out of it. Chase laughs at me as I try to figure out how to get it in my mouth.

“They do know how to make a good lobster roll here,” he says with a chuckle, sipping his wine. I finally take a bite out of my roll. It tastes as good as it looks.

He glances over at me mid chew with a shy smile. He puts some macaroni on his fork and brings it toward my mouth. He cocks his head to one side, his eyes twinkling. I open my mouth. With care, Chase places the fork past my lips. Tentative, I take a bite. Wow, it’s yummy. I savor the flavor as watches me. His look is smoldering, his eyes on fire. Just watching him watch me makes me blush. I grab my wine and take a quick sip, then staring down at my plate, pick at my lobster roll.

Every few bites, I peek up at him and catch him watching me eat. His face is impassive, and it’s hard to tell what he’s thinking. I start to feel a little less uncomfortable the more time I spend with him. It’s strange eating out at a restaurant and not being with Evan. I try not to think about it as I attempt to finish the ridiculous amount of food still in front of me.

I eat until I feel like I’m going to explode. “I am so full. I can’t eat anymore,” I say putting down my fork. I made it through half of my lobster roll and some of the fries. He managed to finish his whole lunch. The waiter appears to clear our plates.

“Did you want dessert?” Chase jokes.

He must be kidding.

“No, thanks. I’m so full,” I moan. The waiter comes b

ack to see if we would like anything else. Before I realize what he’s doing, Chase pulls out his Black Amex card. Black card?? I have never actually seen one; I always thought it was a myth. Only the ridiculously rich carry that card. He hands it to the waiter without even seeing the check.

“Black card, huh?”

“It’s the family business card. All three of us carry one.” His lips twitch up into a smile. Of course they do. The waiter brings back the card and the receipt. Chase signs and hands it back to the waiter. “Ready?” he asks.

“Whenever you are.” Chase picks up his phone and makes a call. “Ready,” he says into the phone and then stands up. Comes around to my side and waits for me to stand so he can pull my chair out. Charles comes out from inside the restaurant.

“How was everything, Mr. Remington?” He sounds a bit nervous.

“Fabulous as always,” he answers jovially. I can see a wave of relief sweep across Charles’ face. They shake hands, and he retreats inside the restaurant. We walk over to the sidewalk, and the Town Car appears from wherever it was hiding. Chase opens the car door for me, and I slide in.

Back on the boat, Paul navigates it westward toward Davis. Chase and I take seats toward the back of the boat on the U shaped couch. The bay is calmer now so there is less of a bounce. You can barely feel the waves as the boat glides through the water.

“What did you think of Bobby Van’s?” he asks, searching my face for a clue as to what I might be thinking.

“It was very nice.” I frown. “I still felt underdressed, though.”

“Next time, I will give you plenty of warning.”

Next time?

“That’s good. I hate surprises.”

“Surprises are fun.” His grin gets bigger. No, I don’t like surprises. The last surprise I got was finding Evan and that tramp. Nope, I can do without surprises. “How long until we’re back?” he shouts over the engine to Paul.

“Fifteen minutes or so,” comes the response.

Chase turns back to me. “Is there anywhere else you would like to go?”

“No, thank you. This was lovely.”

“Are we still going to meet up for drinks later?” He reaches over and places his hand on mine, running his thumb up and down my fingers.

“I’m exhausted. Can we make it tomorrow?” I can curl into a ball right here and sleep.