Page 47 of Lead Me On
Jane was clearly a woman who’d separated herself from her past. She wouldn’t appreciate a stroll down memory lane.
Now that he knew her secret, Chase felt as if he should be closer to understanding her, but instead he felt his grasp on Jane Morgan slipping away. She was more of a mystery than ever. And he was more fascinated than ever.
He didn’t ask about dinner again. He simply drove back to Aspen and pulled up to his favorite Thai restaurant. When she didn’t protest, Chase felt sadly thrilled, and he had to wonder if Jane was even harder on his self-esteem than she was on his body.
Oh, hell. He wasn’t complaining. Yet.
* * *
JANE’S MOUTH WATEREDat the unrelenting scent of spices that permeated the restaurant. She’d forgotten lunch again, and though she should have insisted Chase take her home, she couldn’t bear the thought of throwing together a healthy tuna salad with fat-free dressing. She needed spice and heat and the richness of coconut milk. She needed curry. And chicken satay. And maybe just a few spicy shrimp, as well. And, most of all, she desperately needed a mai tai.
She had no idea if Chase’s father would be able to help, but somehow she felt lighter, as if she’d left part of her burden behind along with those files. Chase had warned her not to expect anything from his dad until tomorrow, because he’d start drinking early and simply fade away as the evening wore on. But somehow that was freeing, too, knowing that she’d hear nothing tonight. She could let it go for a few hours and simply wait.
But the waiting revealed her exhaustion, not to mention her gnawing hunger.
When the satay arrived, Jane jumped on it, wondering if Chase would notice if she took three skewers and left him with two.Someonehad to eat the odd one out. Probably he’d be too polite to mention it. Way more polite than a guy with tattoos on his skull should be.
The peanut sauce was a wave of flavor in her mouth, and Jane sighed as she swallowed the first bite.
“So,” Chase said, “how did Mac become your stepfather?”
Even the pleasure of the sweet sauce couldn’t stop her stomach from freezing. “He married my mother,” she answered coolly.
“Yeah, I got that part. Did your parents get divorced?”
“Yes.” She piled slivers of cucumbers on the chicken before taking too big of a bite.I’m busy here, buddy. Can’t talk.
“How old were you?”
Jane took a long drink of her mai tai and shivered with relief. “I was two.” She grabbed a shrimp that set her mouth on fire, and had to gulp down a bit more of the drink.
“Wow, that’s really young.”
“Have you tried the shrimp? It’s perfect. This place is amazing.”
“It’s my favorite restaurant. Aside from that burger place off Main. They use thick-cut bacon. Man, do I love bacon.”
Smiling, she sucked at her straw, startled when it started gurgling. Lifting the glass high, she glared at the last traces of pinkened rum.
“Another?” Chase asked.
“Yes, please,” she answered immediately, determined to keep the muscle-melting feeling progressing. For the first time in days her tension was gone. Actually, it hadn’t been days at all. She’d felt pretty melty after sex with Chase in his truck.
She reached for another shrimp and realized there was nothing left on the plate but a lettuce leaf. Her disappointment floated away on a smooth river of rum.
“So did your dad stick around?” Chase asked as the waitress delivered their entrées and another mai tai.
“No.” She took a big bite of red curry and chased down the heat with mai tai. Heaven. Spicy Thai heaven.
“He left?” Chase asked.
What were they talking about? Oh, right. Her sorry excuse for a father. “He was in prison.” She took another bite and another drink.
“Oh… I see.”
“No.” She was slurping at the bottom of the glass again. Where in the world had all that mai tai gone? She set it down and started to laugh. “Chase, you couldn’t possibly see. My mother was… Jesus, I don’t even know what she was. Let’s just say that my childhood was spent moving from prison town to prison town.”
“Following your dad?”
