“During the summers, we used to visit Muskegon State Park all the time.” He looked up, his eyes boring into mine. “Maybe one day we’ll go together.”
My breath hitched in my throat.
Men said things like that all the time without actually meaning them.
Empty promises.
They all made them. They all broke them. I decided whatever he suggested was just a means of being friendly. In no way was he being serious.
I stated the obvious. “You loved Michigan so much you decided to get rid of your accent.”
If Chase noticed my feeble attempt at changing the subject, he let it slide.
“I tried—it sort of stuck with me. But enough about me,” he said, his eyes locking on mine. “Tell me something about you, Laurie. How did you get to be this….” He eyed me up and down, lingering on my chest a beat too long, leaving the rest open to interpretation.
I narrowed my eyes. “What?”
“I wanted to say exquisite.” He smiled. “But…I’m going with gorgeous?”
Holy cow.
I forced my dropped jaw to close.
Maybe he was just being friendly, or maybe he was trying to flirt with me. Whatever it was, his charm was working.
Under his penetrating scrutiny, I flamed up, and my hand traveled up to my chest instinctively. Not to cover up, but to hide the telltale signs of my attraction to him.
Yes, he said some nice things. But it wasn’t his words that made my thoughts turn in a direction I didn’t want them to take.
It was the way he looked at me…all intense and broody…with a depth that went beyond mere politeness and casual friendship, way beyond professional relationships and our unwritten contract. The way he regarded me, it was almost as though his eyes couldn’t take in enough of me. They settled on my lips too long, and I suppressed the urge to moisten them. No one had ever made me feel so confused—both wanting to dive into his eyes and run away at the same time.
It was exactly the kind of thing I had always wanted to avoid, the reason why I was single, never letting anyone too close. Chase was right on the brink of destroying it by crushing all formalities to dust.
“There’s not much to say,” I began carefully, and took a sip of the cold wine. His brows drew together, as if he believed I was being modest, and I didn’t like it. I had a penchant for staying in the background and not drawing unnecessary attention to myself, but it sure wasn’t out of modesty.
“You said you grew up in California. It’s a big state,” he prompted.
“That’s true.”
“Where exactly?” His eyes narrowed, and I realized that, for a man, he was extremely observant.
I took a deep breath to bide for time as I pondered my possible answers. How much could I tell him? On the one hand, I didn’t want to offend him, or make him suspicious. On the other, revealing my true past would be too much. In the end, he’d find out anyway, so why not be candid up front, at least about a few things? As my fake fiancé, he had a right to know.
“I grew up on a ranch in Malibu,” I began. “Waterfront Shore. It’s only a few hours’ drive from here. I haven’t visited it in years.”
“Why?” He leaned forward, genuinely interested.
I shrugged. “Because it’s not the kind of life I want to live. I need more than—” I paused again, hesitating. Money, I wanted to add. Luxury—all the things I gave up for priceless freedom. It was a slippery slope and a fine line I wasn’t yet ready to cross. Chase was getting dangerously close to me, and I wasn’t prepared to reveal too much.
“Just more,” I said, and smiled. “Even as a child, I was bored out of my mind, so I decided to travel. Get an education. Do something with my life. I applied for college, packed my bags, and did the one thing I had been dreaming of doing ever I since I felt the need to be free.”
“Leave.”
“Yeah. Leave my parents’ home.”
“Just like me,” he said softly.
“Yeah.” I looked at him bitterly, ignoring the sudden feeling that he was trying to see inside me. The inner me. The part that was too ugly to ever be exposed. If only he knew why I had to leave. Why my life at home had ended for good. Why I had been in shambles for many years, unable to mend what was left of my past. “The moment I turned eighteen, it was like my path had been written in stone for me. No going back, now or ever.”
He cocked his head to the side, his gaze intense again. “A relationship gone bad?”
It was a simple question, and yet I couldn’t stop the shudder running down my spine. Shaking my head, I took a deep breath as I tried to push the dark thoughts to the back of my mind before they grabbed hold of me, keeping me hostage in their clutches. “It wasn’t because of a guy. I have never been much the dating kind, you know.”