Page 55 of Lead Me On
“Are you serious?”
“Dead serious. It’ll be a blast. Get it? A blast?”
“Ouch! Yes, I think the kindergartner next door got it, too, and she didn’t even hear it.”
Laughing, Chase squeezed the handle of his coffee cup in nervousness. “So it’s scheduled for ten this morning. You probably have to work…?”
Jane cleared her throat. “I don’t, actually. Mr. Jennings gave me a few days off. But won’t you get in trouble?”
“What do you mean? Because of safety? We’ll watch from off-site to keep the insurance company happy.”
“No, I mean with your boss.”
“My boss?” He slipped his feet off the coffee table and sat up straight. “What are you talking about? I am the boss.”
“Okay.” She sighed. “What about the owner, then? Surely he wouldn’t want you bringing—?”
“You really do think I’m just a big piece of meat, don’t you?” He actually heard her teeth snap shut, and the sound made him laugh. “You little snob. It never even occurred to you, did it?”
“I don’t understand what—”
“Iown Extreme Excavations, Jane. It’s my company. I may not play the part of respectable business owner very well, but looks can be deceiving.”
“You’re the owner?”
The breathless shock in her voice pushed a little twinge of annoyance into Chase’s nerves, but he shook it off. “Yep. I started EE from scratch about six years ago.”
“I had no idea.”
“Maybe that’s because you were too busy using me as a birthday present to ask any questions.”
“Oh…well…”
Chase decided the guilt in her voice was a nice hint at weakness and he jumped on it. “So I’ll come by and pick you up in half an hour?”
Thirty minutes later Jane was climbing into his truck.
Before he’d pulled up, Chase had felt sure he had the upper hand on this date, but her appearance shocked him speechless. Not because she looked outrageous, but because she lookednormal.Jane Morgan was wearingjeans.And a T-shirt. And shades. Her ponytail bounced when she hopped in and took a seat. Chase wouldn’t have recognized her if he’d passed her on the street. Maybe that was the point.
“Look at you,” he said, stunned.
“Look at you! Did you get a haircut?”
“Just a quick trim.” He ran a palm from his neck to the crown of his head, aware that another half inch of his tattoo was exposed. Though he pretended to concentrate fully on backing out of her driveway, Chase felt her eyes on his neck. He’d thought of her when his barber had cleaned up the edges with the buzzer.
Once he hit the street, Chase snuck another glance at Jane. In her dark jeans and long-sleeved shirt, she really looked like a woman in her twenties. A cute woman in her twenties. And the tight T-shirt wasn’t hurting her figure any. He saw the sweater tucked over her arm and knew she’d slip it on when they got to the site—or he hoped she would, anyway. He wasn’t in the mood to show her body off to his men.
She cleared her throat. She seemed to do that a lot when she was nervous. “Your dad’s been really great. Jessie’s lawyer is impressed.”
“He’s drinking less, which is good. Good for your brother, anyway.”
“Good for you, too,” she said quietly.
Chase shrugged. “It happens sometimes. He’ll slow down and get a job for a week or two. Once he had a girlfriend who talked him into going cold turkey for a few months. It never takes.”
“I’m sorry.”
He felt his jaw tightening and forced it to relax. “He’s old school, doesn’t believe in rehab, so I’m not sure he’ll ever stop drinking. I’m not exactly at peace with it, but it’s easier since I stopped helping him out. No more beer runs.”
