Page 107 of The Meeting
The next morning,Chase and Kailynn packed their bags and said their goodbyes to his family before Derek drove them to the airport, and they boarded their plane to California. Despite the family drama, he felt like the trip ended well.
When they arrived in California, it was still early afternoon. Chase drove them back to their apartments and carried Kailynn’s bag to her door. He waited while she unlocked it and then she turned toward him.
“I think I’m going to try to get some work done,” she said.
“Are you stressed?”
“Honestly, a little. I’ve been away for four days and didn’t work on anything while we were gone.”
He brushed hair behind her ear. “Just relax, babe. You’ll be fine. Go get some work done. I should probably run into the office anyway to sort through everything that landed on my desk.”
She gave him a grateful smile and then stood on her toes to press a kiss to his lips. “Thank you for understanding.”
“Of course.”
They parted ways, and Chase let himself into his apartment. He sent his parents a text message telling them he made it home, and then unpacked his bag. He wasn’t ready to go back to the daily grind just yet, but he forced himself to get back into his car and drive the short distance to his office.
One step into the building and he knew it had been busy. Eileen looked up at him and sighed in relief.
“I’m so happy to see you,” she said.
“I take it it’s been busy?”
She nodded her head toward his office door. “See for yourself.”
At least ten new case files were stacked on his desk, and that didn’t include his current workload that hadn’t been finished yet. He sat down in his chair and powered on his computer before pulling the first off the stack.
It was going to be a long week.
26
They had gone to Montana only one week prior. Kailynn sat on her couch and pulled her legs to her chest, lost in thought. She had barely seen Chase since they had gotten back. He was swamped with work and she had suddenly had several new ideas for projects she was trying to implement. The distance had been nice—it gave her time to think. But then it made her wonder if maybe she was thinking too much.
Chase was wonderful—there was no denying it, but something felt off. Had they been moving too fast? His divorce only ended eleven months prior and his family had made more than a few comments about how quickly he moved on.
It was a constant reminder of how fast they met and started everything. Originally, they couldn’t date, so there was no fear of anything ending, and the sexual tension between them was incredible. It was thrilling. She had wanted him so bad, but now she wondered if it had more to do with the fact that she couldn’t have him. Because it was against the rules.
No. She cared about him. She knew that much. But she couldn’t help but wonder if the excitement would wear off.
A knock on the door sounded before Chase popped open her front door. They had finally agreed on meeting for dinner to make time for themselves, but she suddenly did not feel up for it.
“Knock knock,” he called out.
“Hey babe,” she responded.
He walked in and closed the door behind him before settling on the couch beside her.
“Hey sweetheart. Are you ready to go to dinner?” He looked at the sweatpants and sweatshirt she still wore. “Are you okay?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“What’s going on?”
She rested the side of her face against her knees to look over at him. “Do you ever feel like we’re moving too fast?”
“Where is this coming from?”
“It’s just something I’ve wondered about.”
