Page 39 of Beyond Reach

He felt heat in his face and knew he’d gone red. “At first I didn’t take any of it seriously. I was angry with you one day and longed to talk to you the next. My pride got in the way a million times and kept me from chasing you. The day Marcella orchestrated running into me—”

“She planned it?”

“I’m pretty sure she did. The stumbling and turning her ankle, falling into my arms…”

“Ew, that’s so cliché. She couldn’t think of something more original?”

He shrugged. “I hope you won’t think badly of me. I used her at the beginning, so I can’t be angry at her for using me as well.”

“Yes, you can. You said you love her. At some point, your feelings changed. Hers didn’t. All she cared about was one thing—to hurt me. I didn’t give her the satisfaction when she emailed me to ask about dating you. She decided to try again harder when she invited me to be in the wedding.”

Anger stirred in him. He shouldn’t hold anything against Marcella. “I don’t like her doing that to you. She never once displayed that kind of attitude toward me. I wonder how she could maintain the ruse for so long.”

“Or for not falling for you for real.”

He grinned at her. “Is it so hard to resist falling for me?”

“You’re fishing.”

“And that’s bad how?” he teased.

She smacked his hand and rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. “Never mind.”

“Chanda.” He squeezed her hand gently, and she looked up at him. “I want you to consider spending time with me. We can go slow and get to know each other again as mature adults. When and if you’re ever ready, I’d like us to take the next step.”

Her breath seemed to catch in her throat. “The next step?”

He nodded but didn’t articulate what he meant. Not yet. He didn’t want to move too fast. Partly because of family and friends and also because he didn’t want to scare Chanda away. He still didn’t understand her running away from him the first time, and he dared not do a thing to cause it to happen again.

Chanda looked thoughtful.

“What are you thinking?” he asked. “I might be able to allay some of your worries.”

“It’s not that. Anyway, I’m game if you are. I want to take my time too because I feel like we’ve fallen back into all those old rollercoaster feelings—at least I have. They might be just memories and not the real deal.”

He ran a hand along her cheek. “I’m convinced I could love you more deeply than I did before.”

Fool. You said you would keep your cool.

A tremor seemed to pass through her. He jerked his hand away. “I mean eventually. We’ll take it very slowly.”

She agreed, and they decided on the next activity.

Chapter 16

Chanda opened her eyes and jerked in surprise. It wasn’t a dream. She pulled the covers up to her nose and peeked out over the sheet. Not even a foot away from her Garner lay on his back sound asleep.

What the heck happened to taking it slow?

She jetted out of the bed as quietly as possible, scooped up her discarded clothes, and shut herself in the bathroom. What was she thinking sleeping with him? Not that she regretted it. Her belly clenched as she leaned against the wall, still holding her clothes and looking at herself in the mirror. Boy oh boy had it been good lying in his arms, feeling like he loved her.

She stopped cold. Love? Did he love her? Or was it just about attraction and just old times? They connected. She knew that much. They’d talked for hours before coming back to his place.

After jumping into the shower, she considered her weakness. Talk about bold, how could she give an excuse to any of his family or hers if any of them showed up? “It’s not like that,” she chided herself in a nasally tone. “It was an accident. I slipped and fell into bed with him.”

She almost laughed. Who would believe she hadn’t come to Arlington with the express intent on stealing Garner back from Marcella? She frowned. No, that woman didn’t deserve him, and Chanda wasn’t trying to steal him.

“Ugh, stop making excuses,” she told herself.

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