The conversation drifted to the property Chase wanted to buy. Natalie sipped her wine, catching phrases like crown molding and curb appeal, grateful no one expected her to join in. It was just before nine, which meant the evening could go on for several hours yet. She wanted to encourage time to move forward, yet her heart wanted to extend the evening as long as possible, sort of like wishing for a new car then complaining about the color. Unfortunately when fate granted one’s heart desire, it didn’t usually bother with the fine tuning.
“I suspect our business discussion is boring your girlfriend,” Drake’s voice interrupted Natalie’s thoughts. “Why don’t you two dance, while I make a few phone calls?” He was speaking to Chase, yet his disarming smile was pointed at Natalie.
Yep, just like Chase. Drake knew when to uncork the charm.
With a smile Chase stood and offered Natalie his hand. For the first time she noticed the subdued music enticing couples onto the dance floor. Most likely her mind had tuned out the romantic sound hoping to prevent further intimate thoughts of Chase, but given this was supposed to be a date, she could hardly refuse.
Oh, hell, here we go again. Her heart thudded as he led her onto the dance floor then drew her against him. The alignment of their bodies wasn’t quite full frontal contact, but it was close enough for her to worry about breathing. It truly wasn’t fair how he affected her, but then again she was the idiot who had agreed to this. And she was also the idiot who had decided to wear such a revealing dress. At the time, choosing this dress had seemed like a good idea. Her feminine ego had wanted to prove she still possessed the power to raise Chase’s blood pressure, and the desire she’d seen in his eyes before Patrick walked in suggested her choice of apparel had done the trick. But her problem now wasn’t Chase’s reaction to her dress. It was her reaction to having his hands on her. The halter style left the majority of her back bare, something his hands hadn’t taken long to discover. The tantalizing way he caressed her back implied he wasn’t touching her just for Drake’s benefit. And when his embrace invited her closer, she felt certain he just wanted to put his hands on her.
She probably should object. After all this was just supposed to be about dinner, and besides she’d already decided she wasn’t going to let her heart, or her hormones, get the better of her again. She lifted her head to voice an objection, but then their gazes collided and her heart stalled. Chase’s eyes were full of memories, erotic, seductive memories that she so did not need to be reminded of.
Oh, yeah. She definitely needed to object.
“You probably shouldn’t be looking at me like that,” she somehow managed despite the thudding in her chest. A middle-aged couple dressed in jeans nearly collided with them, but Natalie was too caught up in Chase’s gaze to pay much attention.
“Why? Does it bother you?” he asked, his expression not changing.
The difference in their height was noticeable now that he held her so close, despite Natalie’s three-inch heels, and looking up at him she felt at a bit of a disadvantage, but regardless she still intended to say what she needed to.
“No,” she answered honestly. “That’s why you shouldn’t be doing it.”
Needing space, she attempted to put some distance between them, but his arms remained around her.
“Drake’s watching.” A slight smile curved his mouth.
The roguish glint in his eyes should have made her mad. She wanted to get mad, but she couldn’t. He was just too damned sexy, and she’d always been a sucker for a guy who was slightly incorrigible. So she satisfied herself with, “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” She even managed to add a touch of accusation to her tone.
“Maybe just a little.” His grin widened.
The problem was so was she. Seeing little point in offering further objection, she gave in and relaxed against him, her head resting against his shoulder.
What the hell, she thought, surrendering to his enticing embrace. She might as well enjoy his touch while she could. Besides, they were on a public dance floor, how carried away could they get?
*****
“Have you told Natalie why you’ve decided to come back home?” Drake asked, signaling to the bartender for another beer. He already had several but Chase knew Drake would take a cab home.
The indirect lighting helped disguise the fact that Drake was pushing sixty, and despite the lines around his eyes and a dusting of gray hair, he remained an attractive man. More than one woman tonight had given Drake the eye, not that Drake paid any attention. He’d been loyally married for nearly thirty years. Chase often wondered if he would ever share that kind of committed relationship with anyone.
Drake’s subtle question settled in Chase’s gut like a rock. “Uh, no. Not yet.”
“You mean she hasn’t questioned why you’ve taken so much time off?”
Chase glanced over his shoulder. Natalie had retreated to a quiet corner with her cell phone, but having no idea how long the call was going to take, he didn’t know when she’d be back. And this was not a conversation he wanted her to overhear.
“Natalie thinks I’m just spending time with my friend before he gets married.” Or at least that’s what Chase assumed she thought. He wasn’t exactly in the position to ask her.
“And what about you and her?”
Confused about the direction Drake was taking this conversation, Chase asked with a touch of caution, “What about us?”
“How long have you been dating?”
“I don’t know. A few months.” Knowing some men didn’t keep track of such things Chase didn’t feel his answer would tip Drake off. Besides Chase couldn’t remember what he’d told Drake before.
“Does she know about Denise?” Drake nodded in Natalie’s direction, her animated laughter evident from several yards away.
The rock in Chase’s gut turned to acid. The demise of his marriage was a sore subject, and he avoided discussing the topic as much as possible.
“Natalie knows I’m divorced,” he replied, knowing he hadn’t answered Drake’s question.
“But she doesn’t know why,” Drake guessed.
Seeing no way to sidestep that statement, Chase reluctantly admitted, “No, she doesn’t.”
He hadn’t told Natalie during his last visit because they didn’t have that kind of relationship. And now they didn’t even have a relationship, but even if they did, Chase doubted if he would tell her.
His feelings concerning his divorce were muddled up with his feelings for Natalie, and his feelings about where his life was going. Nothing in his life made sense any more, and given his confusion he doubted if he could explain these issues to anyone.
“Don’t you think you should tell her?”
Given the circumstances that question was beside the point, but realizing he couldn’t tell Drake that, Chase merely said, “I haven’t decided what I’m going to do.”
“You’re going to have to come to terms with it sooner or later, Chase.”
Chase had long ago reached that conclusion, but knowing Drake meant well, Chase lifted his beer. “Yeah, well, as soon as I figure out a way to do that, I’ll let you know.”
*****
During the ride home, neither of them said much, but the silence wasn’t awkward. Natalie gazed out the window while Chase pushed buttons on the radio. Unable to find a satisfactory music station he switched it off, but immediately wished he hadn’t.
Fiddling with the controls