His attraction to her was real. It was intense.
He couldn’t get her off his mind all last night. He was that attracted to her and it was powerful, but it was stupid. Maybe he had been too cautious lately. Maybe he had gone too long without sex, without the touch of an attractive woman. He went out with some beautiful, financially independent, incredibly intelligent women, but none of them made his blood pump. None of them inspired vivid fantasies.
Amber had. After just one kiss. Hot and heavy relationships usually burned out fast and ended badly. He didn’t want to risk that. He had fallen asleep determined to put her out of his mind.
He woke up today hoping to have forgotten about that kiss, about wanting her, but all day at Lillian’s he’d unconsciously kept looking for her, hoping to get a glimpse of her every time he left his office, hoping to hear her voice, but he didn’t, because she hadn’t worked today.
It was probably a good thing. He needed his space from the beautiful woman, whose smile he couldn’t take his eyes away from and whose words had him wanting to hear more from her.
“Chase!” Jackson’s voice permeated his fog.
“Yes?”
“What did you want to eat?” He had his phone out probably scrolling through the listings on his restaurant delivery app. “Chinese? Italian? Burgers? I’m voting for the Spanish place on Lake Street. They deliver and I’m in the mood for paella.”
“That’s fine. Whatever you want.”
“Whatever I want?” Jackson sat up and looked at him. “Are you okay? You never give in that easily. We usually have a debate ending up in a compromise, if I don’t give in.”
“I like paella. No argument.”
“Uh-huh.” Jackson nodded slowly. “Mariah was right. You must be getting sick.”
“Me being agreeable means I must be sick? What if I just happen to agree with you? Spanish food sounds good.”
“I think so. You’ll let me order whatever I want off the menu and you’ll eat it?”
“You can order every dish they serve as long as you pay for it. Oh, and use a coaster. My coffee table is too nice to be messed up because your glass is sweating all over it.”
“That’s more like the Chase I know.” He slid a coaster beneath his glass. “I was wondering when you were going to notice that. If you got your furniture from the store like everybody else you wouldn’t care so much about your precious table. But no, you’ve got to get a turn-of-the-century, reclaimed-wood table with an accent.”
“What?”
“This is foreign, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. It went with my furniture and I like nice things. I work hard to make money so I can afford nice things. What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing, but that’s where we differ. Money is to be made and lost. Gambles with huge risks make huge gains.”
“You do things your way and I’ll do things mine, and we’ll see where we both end up.” Jackson lived his life so differently than Chase. He dated everyone he wanted. He flirted wildly, not giving a damn about the consequences or how things might end. But things were rarely messy for his younger brother. Women loved him. Hell, everyone loved him. He was friends with everyone—exes, even competitors. No one could seem to stay mad at him. Chase often wished he was more like him. More easygoing. But he couldn’t be. He just wasn’t wired that way.
His landline rang and he got up from his chair to answer it. “Hello?”
“Hello, Chase? It’s Amber.”
“Amber.” He was surprised to hear her voice. “How are you?”
“I’m fine. Very fine actually.”
Chase had to bite his tongue to keep from saying yes, you are.
“I’m calling to tell you that I spoke to my mother and she would love to take some classes and would be grateful for any assistance you can offer.”
“Why do you sound so formal, Amber? I thought we were old friends by now.”
“Old friends?” He could hear the smile in her voice and wished he was with her to see it. “Who you calling old?”
“That’s better. I’ll call my friend and set up the scholarship process. Have your mother look for some classes that she wants to take and let me know.”
“I will.” She was quiet for a moment. “Thank you, Chase. This means so much to both of us.”
“Don’t mention it. Are you working tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
“Yes. You will.”
They disconnected, Chase feeling a little bit of a rush after talking to her.
“Amber?” Jackson walked over to him. “You were talking to that fine barista?”
Chase was busted but he didn’t feel the need to lie to his brother. “I was.”
Jackson had a slight knowing grin on his face. “I’m sure she’s not contacting you at home because she’s calling in sick or changing her shift.”
“No. She wasn’t.”
“And since you aren’t kicking me out right now, I’m assuming she wasn’t calling to tell you that she was coming over?”
“No. She’s not coming over.” He was slightly disappointed as he said those words. He could just imagine the way she would look standing at his front door, asking him if she could stay the night. And again he wondered what the hell was wrong with him. He barely knew her and yet he wanted her with a growing hunger.
“Will you stop being so damn evasive. I want you to get with this girl. Maybe she’ll loosen your tight ass up.”
“It’s not what you think. You know how Kenya Ashworth offers scholarships for adults going back to school? I’m setting one up for Amber’s mother.”
“You mean the scholarships that you donate a large sum of money to every year?”
“Yes.”
“So you’re paying for her mom to go back to school. You must have it bad for this girl. Why don’t you just take her to a fancy restaurant and buy her something shiny. It might be easier.”
“I’m not paying for her to go back to school. The scholarship fund is, and I believe in education. Not everyone grew up with the opportunities that we’ve had. It’s important for me to give back.”
“Yeah, giving back to a woman with a behind like that makes it a little easier, doesn’t it?”
Chase shook his head as he grinned at his brother. He couldn’t help but agree with the man.
* * *
Amber’s heart was beating a little harder than she would have liked after she hung up the phone.
Chase.
His deep, smooth voice. The way it rolled over her. Amber was never one who liked to be read