Page 39 of Her Elusive Cowboy Billionaire

“Believe me, I won’t take long.”With her heart beating a mile a minute, she wasn’t about to forget where he was.

He turned and left.

She unpacked in record time.Of course, she didn’t have that many clothes to put away.She discovered the attached bathroom with a separate shower and bathtub.The shower had two shower heads across from each other and a bench along the back wall.She couldn’t wait to try them all.But that would be later.

Meri hurried out to the living room and saw Chase sitting on the sofa holding a glass of red wine.

“I could use one of those.”She jutted her chin toward the glass.“Maybe it will relax me.”

“Sit and I’ll get you one.Do you have prescription meds you need to take?”

“I do.So, maybe I better stick to water for now.I’ll go with you.I’d like to look at the kitchen, anyway.”

He set his glass on the table and stood, then walked toward the kitchen.

And what a kitchen.It looked over the living room and the floor-to-ceiling windows with a subtly different view than from the living room.The counters were golden granite, polished to a high shine, with black streaks running through it.The cabinets were white with opaque glass in the upper doors.The island had four high-top stools with black cushions and the appliances were black and looked as polished as the countertops.Along with the double sink in stainless steel, the island contained more cabinets, a dishwasher and trash compactor.

“This is beautiful.The meals I could make here…” her voice trailed off.

He cocked his head to one side and smiled.“So, will you cook for me?”

She leaned her elbows on the island and looked across it at him.“I love it.If I hadn’t gone into art, I would have been a chef.I’ll have to prepare a meal for you while I’m here.”

He grabbed a water glass and then turned toward her.“I’d love that.I don’t like to cook, so I eat out most of the time.I have a few essentials, but that’s all.Let me know what you need and I’ll have it delivered.”

“By one of your employees, I assume.”Her heart pounded at the thought that someone could find her here and perhaps get by the guards through the guise of a delivery driver.

“Of course, I won’t allow anyone near you until we catch the murderer and put him behind bars.By the way, while you were in my facility, I talked to the police about my suspicions concerning the man and Paige’s murder.They didn’t give me much confidence that they would reopen her case, but they didn’t rule it out either.”

She felt her heartbeat resume its normal rhythm.“Well, that’s a hopeful sign.What do you intend to do?”

“I’m investigating on my own.I have to.I have to put this to rest.”

She rubbed her right hand up and down his left arm and then pulled him into a one-armed hug.“I have faith in you.”

He hugged her back.“Thank you.That means a lot.”He stood back and then gave her a small smile.“So, will you be cooking for me?”

She understood his need to change the subject and went along with it.“What kind of food do you like?”She snapped her fingers.“Wait, I was going to make you meatloaf before this all started.How about I do that here?”

He grinned as he filled the stemmed glass with filtered water from a pitcher in the fridge.“I forgot about that.I think that would be perfect.”Chase replaced the pitcher and handed her the glass.

She took a sip.“Mmm.This is so cold.It’s wonderful.”She eyed the wine with yearning.“Malbec.I’d love some of that.”

He picked up the bottle and gazed at the label.“This one is from Argentina.So far, I like those the best.”He set the bottle down and gestured toward the living room.“Let’s go sit on a sofa.It’s much more comfortable.”

“Sounds good, and then I can take this sling off.I need to stretch my arm.I don’t want the elbow to freeze.”She turned and headed back into the living room.She sat on one end of the sofa facing the windows and set her glass on the table.Then she removed her sling, picked up her water, and sat with her legs folded under her.Meri had her right elbow on the back of the sofa and held her glass with her left hand, careful not to make any big movements with that arm.The last thing she needed to do was re-injure her left side.

Chase sat on the other end of the sofa and turned to face her.“Tell me more about you.”

She laughed.“You already know more about me than I do about you.I want to find out what makes Chase Harper tick.What do you like to do when you’re not working?And hanging out with your artist doesn’t count, though I hope you like that, too.”

He grinned and folded his leg under him just as she’d done hers.“My artist?I like the sound of that.”

She smiled and ducked her chin.Do I want him to think of me as his artist?Yes, I believe I do.“You say the nicest things, but we’re getting sidetracked.What do you do with your time off?”

“I’ve never really had any time off.I travel, but that’s usually for work, and I play golf, tennis and basketball.But again, I’m on the job.I do whatever I need to in order to keep my clients safe.I do swim in the mornings just about every day.”

“I bet you don’t bring clients home.”She lifted a brow, daring him to tell her she was mistaken.