Can't Buy Me Love (13 page)

Lena
rolled her eyes. “Toby, I really do like you, even if you’re as insane as my
grandfather. But hey, thanks for the wine. That was one excellent
recommendation.”

Toby
winked at her. “You’re welcome. I haven’t had this much fun in weeks. Hope to
see you back here soon.”

“Probably
tomorrow morning, at the rate this is going. Have a good night,” she called as
she covertly dropped a twenty-dollar bill in the tip jar.

Back
at the table, she stood next to Chase’s chair, refusing to sit down again. She
did not want to get sucked into a discussion about whose putt was straighter on
the 8th hole.

“OK.
I’m exhausted. Are you ready to go?” she asked Chase.

Lena’s
granddad looked up and winked at her. “Hang a sock on the door if you don’t
want me to come in,” he told her.

“Oh
for Pete’s sake. No sock. Just don’t wake me up when you stumble in at 3:00 in the
morning smelling of cheap perfume. Or icy hot,” she added.

“Night,
Lena,” he said, smiling up at her with genuine affection.

“Night,
Pops. Thanks for letting me come visit you. I really needed this.”

Kissing
her grandfather goodnight, Lena turned to Chase’s grandfather.

“Good
night, Charles. I assume I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“You’re
cooking us brunch tomorrow. Isn’t that what you said, Phil?”

Lena
glared at her grandfather. “What have you been promising?”

He
shrugged. “Hey, it’s the least you could do for your Pops, his best friend, and
his best friend’s grandson.”

Lena
shook her head. “No, the least I could do was drive you two all over hell and
creation today as you bounced golf balls off of trees or landed them in ponds
of water and told each other ‘good shot’. This is
beyond
the least I could
do. But, since I love you Pops, and since you’re growing on me, Charles, I’ll make
you my signature vegetable quiche tomorrow.
With
bacon.”

Charles’
eyes lit up at the mention of bacon. “We’ll be there,” he promised.

As
Chase led Lena out the door of the restaurant and toward the parking lot, he
said warmly, “It was a nice surprise to see you tonight, Lena. I didn’t know
you were going to be here.”

Lena
shrugged. “I didn’t know myself until a couple of days ago. And I just found
out yesterday that you were coming down.”

Chase
raised his eyebrows. “You couldn’t have warned me about these two?” he asked.

“And
spoil all the fun? Aw
hell
no.”

Chase
dropped his arm around Lena’s shoulder as he led her toward his rental car.

“Where
are you and your grandfather staying?” Lena asked.

“The
Wilkes Hotel.”

“Oh,
that’s a nice place. Good. I was picturing you at the Red Door Inn for some
reason.”

“For
what reason?”

“Not
sure. Maybe because your granddad is cantankerous. I could see him trying to
save a few bucks.”

Chase
grinned. “He’s cantankerous, all right, but he’s a man of creature comforts. Which
I appreciate.”

Unlocking
the car doors, Chase walked Lena around to the passenger seat and opened the
door for her. She smiled her thanks at him.

Settling
into the driver’s seat, Chase turned for a moment and faced Lena. “When did you
meet my grandfather anyway? He’s usually all stiff and formal and rather
unpleasant to the women I introduce him to. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a woman
get along with him.”

“Even
your grandmother?” Lena asked.

“My
grandmother died before I was born. So no.”

“And
your mother?”

Chase
grimaced. “Oh Lord no. They hate each other.”

“That
must make for some fun family get-togethers.”

Chase
shrugged casually. “It’s not really a big deal. I never see my mother. She and
my father have a home in Paris, and spend most of their time there. I haven’t
lived with them since I was a toddler, so I’m not close to them.”

Lena
took that in and then said slowly, “You went to boarding school?”

Chase
nodded. “I did, but one that was very close to where Granddad lives. So I only
boarded during the week, and spent weekends, holidays, and summers with him.”

“So
that’s why you’re so close your grandfather. And why he’s so protective of
you.”

“Protective?
Of me?”

“Oh,
Lord yes. Your grandfather introduced himself to me at the benefit for Wounded
Warriors last month. And proceeded to ask me what my intentions toward you
were,” she added with a laugh.

It
was Chase’s turn to just stare a Lena. “You’re kidding.”

“Cross
my heart,” she said, making an X over her chest.

Chase
started to laugh, managing to spit out his apologies between gasps for breath.
“Lena, I’m sorry.”

Lena
was grinning. “Are you kidding? He loves you, and he’s one amazing man. You
don’t need to apologize for him.”

“Well,
you must have held your own,” Chase realized. “Most women run like the wind
when they see him coming.”

“I
think your grandfather just wants to like whoever you end up with, Chase.”

“Well,
I have to admit that it’s been extremely pleasant having an evening in the
company of my grandfather without worrying that he’s going to insult the woman
that I’m with.”

Lena
laughed. “I probably got points because I’m related to Pops. Wow, those two go
back a long ways, don’t they?”

“I
hadn’t realized how close they are,” Chase admitted. Straightening up in his
seat and facing the front, he deftly fastened his seat belt and started the
car.

“Your
grandfather lives close by?” he asked as he backed out of his parking space.

“About
five minutes away. It’s a straight shot from here.”

“So
I won’t get lost finding my way back to the hotel.”

“Not
unless you have a seriously poor sense of direction,” she assured him.

Lena
was right – after five minutes on the highway, she directed Chase to an exit,
and after two quick turns, they were pulling up in front of her Pops’ home.

“This
looks really nice,” Chase said as he parked in the driveway and turned off the
engine.

Lena
looked up at the house. “Yeah. It’s cozy. I like it. It’s a little bigger than
I would have expected Pops to buy at this point, but it’s got everything he
needs, and all on one floor.”

“Hang
on,” Chase said as he turned off the ignition and unfastened his seat belt. “I’ll
walk you to the door.”

Smiling
up at him as he opened the door for her, Lena said, “Thanks. Despite the
craziness that those two old men brought to the evening, I had a great time. And
thanks for brainstorming with Pops and Charles on how to help Jeanette.”

Chase
grinned. “Well, I’m not sure any of us will be able to do a damn thing about
it, if she and your dad aren’t ready to make a change. But hey, you always have
the fallback plan of marrying me.”

Lena
snorted. “True.”

“And
yet you scoff.”

Lena
laughed. “Good night, Chase. I’ll see you in the morning. I assume you’re
coming with your Granddad for brunch?”

“And
pass up your specialty dish? Of course I’m coming. What time do you want us here?”

“I’m
tempted to say 7:00, just to watch those two crazy men spar over the coffee
pot, but let’s be kind to ourselves. Say... 10:00?”

“We’ll
be here. Good night, Lena.”

Chase
bent down to kiss her lightly on the cheek at the same time that Lena turned
her head to do the same to him. Their lips met briefly. They pulled apart. Their
eyes met. Lena had time to think,
uh oh
, before Chase deliberately threaded
his hands into her hair, tilted her face up to his, held her eyes for just a
moment to give her time to back away, then bent his head and kissed her.

His
mouth was hard on hers, his hands steady as they held her head at just the
right angle. When Lena opened her mouth with a low moan, Chase deepened the
kiss, his tongue sweeping inside, finding hers, kissing her with a passion he’d
never shown her before. And Lena was lost. Because this man, this kiss, was
everything she’d dreamed of finding, and she wanted more.

Her
arms slowly moved to pull him closer, her hands flat on his back, her hips
moving to meet his. And still he kissed her. Kissed her with complete abandon,
and with an expertise that melted her. Kissed her with ownership. Kissed her
like she was his. And for this point in time, she was.

When
he at last loosened his grip on her head, and softened his kiss, he moved his
hands to her waist and simply pulled her close to him, holding her against him as
they both caught their breath. Her head rested on his shoulder, and she
struggled to regain both her ability to speak, and her sanity.

“I
knew it would be like that, Lena,” he said softly, his voice husky, his hands
gently caressing her back.

Lena
shook her head. “I had no idea anything could be like that,” she said, her own
voice rougher than normal. “Where did you learn to kiss like that?” she asked.

“That
was a ‘you and me’ thing. That’s not exactly a practiced skill.”

She
gave an embarrassed laugh as she pulled away from him.

“I
have to go in. Pops talks a good game, but he’ll be home soon. And if he finds
me in a clinch with you on his doorstep, I’ll never hear the end of it. Nor
will you,” she warned.

Chase
nodded, reaching his hand up to gently caress her cheek, and pushing a loose
strand of hair back behind her ear. With his other hand, he pulled her waist
tighter against him. His voice was still raspy as he told her, “When we do this
again, Lena, and we
will
do this again... we’ll be in private. Because
what I want to do to you is not something I want to do where the neighbors can
see.”

“Chase...”

“Go
inside Lena. We can talk tomorrow.”

“Wait.
Look. This was unexpected. Unplanned. I wanted it,” she hastened to add when
she felt his grip on her tighten, and saw his eyes grow stormy. “I wanted you. Don’t
get me wrong. But I don’t want to assume anything tonight. Neither of us is
thinking straight, not after that kiss. So please. Tomorrow, when we’re with
our grandfathers, please don’t let on that this happened. They’ll be picking
out matching sets of his and hers golf clubs before noon.”

Chase
chuckled, his initial frustration at her words tempered by the very real
possibility that those two crazy men would be planning a wedding and booking
flights to Vegas over brunch. Gently, he rubbed his thumb over her lip, then
bent down to kiss her softly. “See you tomorrow, Lena,” he said, standing back
as she inserted her key into the lock and opened the door. She slipped inside,
blew him a kiss, and closed the door behind her.

Walking
back to his car, Chase smiled to himself at his good fortune. Lena was
everything he’d described to Jared a few months ago. Intelligent, kind, fun to
be with. She got along with his grandfather. And she kissed like a miracle. He’d
be cautious tomorrow, around their grandfathers, but he had been right about
Lena. She was worth pursuing.

Twelve

After
three days of hanging out with her Pops, Chase, and his granddad, Lena was worn
out. Plus, she needed to get home – she missed Winston, Kat had to go back to
her own place, and Frank would send out a search posse if she wasn’t back at
her desk on Monday.

“Pops,
I love you, but I’ve got to get back to my neurotic dog. I’m going to check on
flights tomorrow and get out of your hair.”

Chase
turned to Lena. “I’ve got the company plane here. Do you want a ride back up on
Sunday?”

She
looked at him in surprise. “You’re serious?”

“Of
course.”

“Then
sure. I’ll take a couple of hours with you over a commercial flight any day. What
time do we leave?”

“Is
early OK? Like around 8:00? I’d like to get back in time to put in a few hours
at the office so I’m caught up by Monday morning.”

“Sure.
That sounds great. Gives me time to run errands, and still get Winston to the
dog park. Thanks, Chase.”

“Don’t
mention it. I’ll come by your grandfather’s at 7:30.”

“I’ll
be ready,” she assured him. “Then can you and your granddad come over for
dinner tomorrow night?”

“Depends.”

“On
what?”

“If
your Pops is cooking, we’re busy that night.”

“I
heard that, young man,” Lena's grandfather interjected.

“He’s
not that bad,” Lena defended him out of loyalty.

“His
blackened catfish was more like charred fish bones,” Chase pointed out.

Lena
giggled at the look on her grandfather’s face. “OK,” she agreed. “Good point. I’ll
cook. And I won’t let him near the grill.”

“I
wouldn’t go near it, after that,” Pops said haughtily. Or as haughtily as
someone dressed in a sky blue golf outfit could say.

“Sounds
wonderful,” Chase grinned. “What time?”

“Come
early,” Lena suggested. “We’ll have drinks.”

“Lena,
that was wonderful,” Chase said, pushing back from the table. “Where did you
learn to cook like that?”

“My
best friend is a chef. She and I cook a lot together – I learn from her, and
she gets a taste tester. And Winston gets to vacuum the floor when we’re done.”

“I
can’t quite picture Winston as a vacuuming dog.”

“I
know. But he’s getting more food motivated every day. Pretty soon he’ll be
counter surfing. Well, if he grows about a foot,” she qualified her statement.

“I’m
very thankful for the relationship you have with your best friend, then. Really.
That was an amazing dinner. Far better than most meals I get at fine
restaurants.”

“Why
thank you,” Lena said, blushing slightly. “I’m glad you liked it.” Seeking to
change the subject, she said, “So Pops and your Granddad are going to watch the
ballgame. Do you want to join them, or go sit out back and enjoy the warm
weather?”

“Let’s
go sit out back,” Chase immediately replied. “Where’s that wine we brought? Did
we finish it?”

“Not
even close, given that you and I are the only ones drinking it. Pops and your
Granddad moved straight on to Scotch. I’ll go grab a couple of glasses if you
want to find the bottle.”

A
few minutes later, they both met out on the small patio. Lena had the glasses,
and Chase had found the wine.

“This
is nice,” Chase said softly, settling onto a deck chair and placing the bottle
of wine between them. He had poured each of them a glass, and he held his
nestled in his hand, the stem resting on the large armrest of the chair.

“I
agree,” Lena sighed.

“I’m
a big fan of wine,” he added, swirling the red liquid around in the bowl of the
glass.

“Again,
I agree,” she smiled.

Chase
paused, then turned his head to the side, his eyes finding hers. “Lena, will it
bother you terribly if I ask about the other night?”

She
turned her head toward him. “It won’t bother me,” she said softly.

He
reached over and took her hand, his larger fingers folding around hers, his
thumb gently caressing her skin.

“I
know it was unexpected, but it wasn’t exactly sudden, was it? You and I, we’ve
been dancing around this attraction for a while now,” he mused, his eyes
serious as they bored into hers.

She
nodded. “I’m not sure what to think about it. I never felt this kind of
attraction for you before. You and I knew each other and even dated each other
for months, and I never once felt butterflies. But now, I just need to look at you
sometimes, and…”

“Go
on,” he encouraged her softly.

“And
my heart skips a beat,” she finished.

Another
pause. “And when I touch you?”

She
replied quietly, “I forget to breathe.”

He
looked away, finding that he too was having trouble catching his breath.

“Chase?”
she asked, wondering why he’d broken their connection.

“One
second, sweetheart,” he groaned. “I’m having palpitations over here. To be
honest, I’m about a heartbeat away from taking you back to my hotel room. And
while those two old geezers in front of the TV in there would love nothing
better, I don’t need to be getting wedding brochures from every spa in Phoenix
for the next few months.”

Lena
laughed.

“But
Lena, I want you. You have to know that.”

“It’s
mutual, Chase. But…” She paused.

“But
what?” Chase prompted her.

“It’s
complicated.”

“Complicated
how?”

Lena
was silent for a few minutes, looking out at the desert.

“Is
there someone else, Lena?” Chase asked quietly.

“No.
That’s not it.”

“Then
what?”

Lena
was quiet for so long that Chase was about to ask her again when she turned to
face him. “Chase, you and I dated for six months. And there was nothing between
us. So what changed?”

He
looked over at her seriously and answered, “I think we both did.”

“Did
we?”

Chase
swung his legs off the deck chair and turned to face her, his elbows propped on
his knees. “What are you getting at?” he asked quietly.

Lena
looked back at him seriously. “If I were to say ‘yes, I’ll give in to my
father’s wishes and I’ll marry you,’ what would you do?”

Chase
was taken aback, and instinctively moved slightly back from Lena, setting his
wine glass on the table between them.

“Exactly,”
Lena said, leaning back in her chair and taking a sip of her wine.

“I
don’t understand your point.”

She
shrugged in the darkness, her face in silhouette as she looked out over the
desert. “I’m not completely sure I have one. Just that this, whatever
this
is, is new. And while it’s fine to joke about it with our grandfathers, we’re
still getting to know one another. You may decide after the plane ride home
tomorrow that Lena is no better for you than Charlene was.”

“She’s
sure being a pain in the ass right now,” Chase groused.

Lena
grinned, and Chase heard rather than saw her smile in her inflection. “It’s
intentional. Look, I thought that Charlene was who you wanted, so there was no
point in showing you some other side of me that you may not like unless I was
ready to kick you to the curb. You only ever showed me a tiny part of who you
really are. So I don’t think that we changed so much as that we started to
figure out what we each wanted. And realized that the other person actually has
some of those characteristics.”

“So
what are you telling me?”

“That
I don’t want to leap into anything too fast.”

“Fast?”
Chase sounded incredulous. “We’ve known each other for nearly a year now, Lena.”

“Not
really. I sort of count it from when you showed up in the basement of Helping
Hands. Because I’d bet a lot of money that one more week with Charlene and you
would have run screaming the other way.” Lena looked over at Chase, her
eyebrows raised in question.

Chase
had to admit that she was right. But he still didn’t know where she was going
with this.

“So
again. What are you telling me?”

“That
I’m not falling into bed with you.”

And
even in the dark, Lena could see the desire in his eyes. “You will, sweetheart,”
he said softly.

“Maybe,”
she admitted. “But not yet.”

“You’re
attracted to me.” It was a statement, rather than a question.

“Lord,
yes.”

He
shrugged. “Then I can wait. For a while. But, I’m not saying that I won’t push
you.”

She
smiled slightly. “I’m not saying that you’ll have to push. Just that I’m not
ready for this yet.”

“I
can live with that,” Chase replied. “More wine?” he asked as he picked up the
bottle and hovered over her glass.

“No
thanks. I’m still working on what I have. You trying to get me drunk and take
advantage of me?” she grinned.

But
Chase looked over at her, the expression on his face serious as he leveled his
gaze on her. “No, Lena,” he said softly. “When I take you, when you and I are
together, I want you to be fully aware of what I’m doing to you. Of what we’re
doing to each other.”

Oh
Lord
,
Lena thought to herself. His eyes caught hers, and she felt her entire body
heat up from the fire in his gaze. He wanted her, she knew that. And she wanted
him too. But she needed to take it a step at a time with this man. She tore her
eyes away, focused on the red wine in the glass she was holding, and slowly
counted to ten.

“What
are you doing?” Chase asked in amusement. Apparently her consternation was
obvious.

“Reminding
myself to breathe,” she answered.

His
voice was full of satisfaction. “Good.” He was about to say more, when he heard
his grandfather’s voice from the patio door.

“Chase?
The game is over. You about ready to head back to the hotel, or should I call a
taxi?”

Without
taking his eyes from Lena, he called back to his Granddad. “I’ll take you back.
We’re about ready to call it a night, aren’t we, Lena?”

“Yes,”
she answered quietly.

They
stood together, and after saying goodbye to Charles and Philip, Chase turned to
Lena again. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Lena. I’ll come by for you at 7:30.”

“I’ll
be ready,” she replied. “Good night, Chase.”

For
all intents and purposes, Chase ignored her on the flight home. Oh, he’d made
sure that she was comfortable, and he’d shown her how to work the seat
controls, but once the plane took off, he had pulled out his briefcase and
buried himself in his work.

And
truthfully, the work didn’t bother Lena. It was more that he’d just dismissed
her without a thought and gone straight into mogul mode. And that not only
reminded Lena of their early dating days, but it also reminded her of her
father. While she didn’t want to interrupt him if he was busy and needed to get
work done, she also stored it away as something to think about later. If he
could talk to her and laugh with her and look at her the way he had last night,
and then dismiss it the next day so easily, what did that mean for the depth of
his feelings?

But
most of all, she had no idea whether or not the work was critical and important,
or just something to focus on so he didn’t have to talk to her. So she asked.

“So
is your work critical and important, or just something to focus on so you don’t
have to talk to me?”

Chase
looked up at her over the top of his laptop. “Why wouldn’t I want to talk to
you?” he asked.

She
shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe because I bore you with talk about birds. Or
feelings.”

Chase
shook his head and replied, “Lena, this has nothing to do with you.”

“OK.
Because I don’t need to talk about feelings. I can talk about anything. Or I
can shut up. But I just want to be sure that you’re not avoiding me after last
night.”

“I’m
not avoiding you,” he said, leveling her with a clear gaze over the top of his
reading glasses. “But I do have a few things I have to do. I’m sorry that I’m
not being better company.”

“I’m
fine company for myself,” Lena reminded him.

“Then
what’s the problem, sweetheart?” he asked, his tone dismissive.

She
narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m not stating that there’s a problem,
darling
.
I’m just making sure that we’re OK.”

Chase
sounded exasperated. “We’re OK.”

“Well
good,” Lena said, then sighed and reached into her purse for the book she was
reading. She opened it up to where her bookmark was holding her place, but
didn’t immediately dive into it. She was feeling put out, and needed to figure
out why. It wasn’t fair to either of them for her to just ignore her emotions. And
a lot of them were probably based squarely back with her father. So that was
her baggage, she thought. And it had nothing to do with Chase. She should just
read her book, and get over her hurt feelings.