“Oh my gosh!” Krista’s voice was full of awe as she spoke.
When he turned, the expression on her face looked like she’d just witnessed a miracle.
“It’s fixed,” he said, wanting to puff out his chest and pound on it like a caveman. He knew that he was being ridiculous, but damn it felt good to be useful…and needed.
Placing the large pizza box down on the table without taking her eyes off the now easily sliding door, she stepped up, wrapped her delicate fingers around the silver handle, and slid it open and shut several times. Her face was full of joy like a kid with a brand-new toy. “Thank you!” she exclaimed as she turned and threw her arms around him.
Chase instinctively wrapped his around her small frame and held in a groan at how good her soft curves felt against his body. Everything about this felt right. Being home, having Krista in his arms, doing random handyman tasks for her.
Chase could feel the moment that Krista’s energy shifted from gratitude to sensual awareness. Her breathing became heavy and he heard an audible swallow. He continued rubbing his hands up and down her back, feeling the ridges of her tank top beneath his touch.
One moment she was in his arms, melting closer to him with each passing second, and the next she was gone. Standing a few feet away from him, she blew out a breath as she shook out her hands. He smiled at her attempt to “shake off” the arousal he knew was coursing through her veins the same as his. She was so damn cute.
Knowing that the best thing to do would be to help divert her attention away from their powerful chemistry, he asked, “What are you listening to?” as he motioned to the earphone dangling in front of her perfect breasts.
“Nothing.” She furrowed her brow and pulled her iPod out of her pocket before tapping on the front screen.
He was almost certain he’d heard “Saving Me” playing from the tiny speaker as he’d held her tight in his arms just a moment ago. Before she knew what was happening, he grabbed the tiny electronic device from her hand, unplugged the earphones, and pressed play.
Just as he’d suspected, his voice filled the room. He’d always hoped that his music had found her. When he sang, he sang for her. Over the years they’d been apart, he’d always believed that the music he sang was a tie that still connected their souls. Sure, she could have just downloaded it since his return last week, but somehow he doubted it.
“It’s on shuffle,” she said flatly as she snatched the iPod out of his hand.
He stared at her, clearly conveying that he wasn’t buying what she was selling by lifting his brow in question.
Right. “So if I scrolled through it, there wouldn’t, oh I don’t know, be a playlist with my songs on them?” he asked faux innocently.
A spark lit her eye as she shoved the device back in her pocket. Then she slyly smiled as she shrugged her shoulders. “Guess you’ll never know.”
“You think putting it in there”—he nodded towards her sweats, goading her purposefully—“is going to stop me from getting it? I’ve never had a problem getting in your pants, beautiful.”
Her eyes widened slightly before a small smile appeared on her lips, and she tilted her head, saying with a sassy tone, “You may not find it as easy now as you once did.”
“Is that a challenge?” If that was the case, he was more than up for it. Literally.
Before she had a chance to answer, Bear began barking excitedly as the front door opened. Sounds of female voices filled the space. He recognized the voices. They were Jessie’s and Becca’s.
Jessie called out loudly, “Whose bike is that?”
“Mine,” Chase answered as the two girls walked through the doorway that led to the kitchen.
“Oh.” Jessie and Becca froze in place, their eyes bouncing between him and Krista.
“You rode your bike here?” Krista asked as if the idea were totally insane.
Chase nodded. He hadn’t wanted to bug Chip on his day off. His mom’s car hadn’t started, which was now another thing on his list to fix while he was here, so he’d hopped on his bike and ridden over.
Krista was still staring at him like he’d grown two heads when Becca sighed and put her hands over her heart. “Aww, it’s just like old times.”
“Look, there’s even pizza,” Jessie added and opened the box. “It is like old times.”
All the girls grabbed slices, and Krista handed one to him. He gladly took it. Of course he would prefer pizza night to be just the two of them, but it did kind of feel like old times with Becca and Jessie here…and that wasn’t such a bad thing.