Page 110 of Lead Me On
A pause. She was probably imagining who else would be at the most popular breakfast place in town. “I already had breakfast,” she mumbled.
“Okay, then. Brunch. Or coffee. Or a piece of toast.”
“Chase… I can’t… You practically shaved your head, for God’s sake! And I knowthat’swhy you did it. You did it as achallenge.To see if I’d still go out with you!”
Chase ran a hand over what was left of his hair. “I thought it was time for a change. I also thought my tattoo might attract the interest of other complicated girls. I seem to have been deserted by mine.”
“You’re thirty-four years old, for crying out loud. And you look like you’re the lead singer in a punk band.”
“Yeah, I’m clear on my age. I’m also clear on the fact that I’m a grown man who runs his own company and wipes his own nose, and I can do whatever the hell I feel like doing. You should try it sometime, Jane. It’s called living your life.”
“Screw you,” she muttered halfheartedly.
“Sorry, but that gravy train is off the tracks.”
The line clicked dead in the middle of her vicious growl. Jane had hung up on him. Chase chose to take it as a victory, even if his heart gave a startled yelp of pain.
He was trying not to take it personally, but, truthfully, sometimes it hurt like hell. She’d never beat around the bush. Jane’s message was simple: you’re not good enough for me. Even when he told himself it had nothing to do with him… Shit, it still stung, and he had to wonder how long he’d give her.
A week? A month?
He thought of the way her sweet body had cuddled against him in her bed.
Probably a month. Something about her proud and prickly nature pushed all his buttons. The good, pleasurable buttons, not the bad ones. Jane Morgan was like dynamite. On the surface she looked safe and stable and easily managed. But beneath the surface calm she was contained danger that left him shaking. He loved it.
Still clutching the phone, Chase let his arm fall across his eyes to shut out the ruthless sunlight, so he was startled as hell when the phone rang right next to his ear.
“Hello?”
“Can you meet me in half an hour?”
Chase grinned at the sound of her grumpy capitulation. “At The Stube?”
“Yes.” The word was bitter and hard, but he’d take it.
“I’ll see you there, darlin’.”
She hung up again, but this time Chase didn’t even flinch. A month. Ha! In her dreams.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
JANE CLUTCHEDher too-hot coffee cup and watched Chase exchange a few words with the older lady at the hostess stand. Good Lord, he was a beautiful thing. When he moved toward Jane’s table, the hostess turned to look at his tattoo with wide eyes, but then Jane was too distracted by his smile to notice the rest of the world.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he said, leaning down to give her a quick kiss before she could stop him. When he moved toward his chair, Jane glanced around to see if anyone had noticed. Nobody was looking their way. Nobody but Chase, whose warm blue eyes cooled at her panicked look.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, not sounding sorry at all. “Were you going to pretend I was just a friend?”
She shook her head, even though that had been exactly what she’d planned to do. “No.”
Chase scowled and picked up his menu without saying another word. The waitress stopped by less than thirty seconds later, but he was ready. Jane shook her head when the girl asked if she’d decided to eat, but Chase ordered an enormous amount of food, plus coffee and orange juice.
“How’s your dad?” she asked when she couldn’t stand the silence anymore.
“He’s good.”
“That’s great! Maybe he really is on the road to recovery. If he—”
“Actually, I lied. He’s not good. He called me up drunk last night, which probably gives you another reason not to get involved with me. Grandparents’ Day at the kids’ school would be a real bitch. Which grandparent would be the least embarrassing? Hard call.”
