Can't Buy Me Love (7 page)

Reaching
for his valet parking ticket, he said quietly, “Take my car.”

But
she shook her head firmly. “Thanks. But I can’t do that. I can’t take care of
her and drive at the same time. I’ll catch a cab.”

Chase
glanced at his watch. “There may not be any taxis outside. Let me take you.”

Lena
looked up at him with chagrin. “I don’t want you to have to leave here. It’s
not fair to you.”

“Lena,
you need help. You go get your stepmother while I track down your father to let
him know what’s happening, and I’ll meet you at the front door in five minutes.”

Lena
hesitated, but in the end simply looked grateful. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

He
shook his head and touched her gently on the shoulder, the look on his face
simply one of compassion. “We put in an appearance, Lena. Actually more than
that – we stayed for cocktails, dinner, dancing, and a good amount of
socializing. And this is not exactly my favorite event of the year. So no, I
don’t mind. Besides, you can’t deal with this on your own.”

Nodding,
Lena simply said, “Thank you. I’ll meet you in a few minutes.”

When
Lena’s father arrived home an hour later, Lena had just managed to get her stepmother
into bed. Chase had stayed for about half an hour, making sure that Lena was all
right and didn’t need any help with Jeanette, but he had left when it was clear
that there was very little he could do. Lena had brewed some hot tea,
encouraged her stepmother to have a cup, and was in the kitchen cleaning up
after herself when her father walked in the front door. Lena walked out to the
foyer to meet him.

“What
happened?” he asked. “Why did you bring her home so early?”

Lena
leveled him a look. “Even though she had plenty of food in her after that
substantial dinner, she still had way too much to drink. Dad, I haven’t seen
her this drunk in... Well, ever.”

“She
was just having a nice time with friends, Charlene.”

“Having
a nice time with friends involves actually being coherent enough to know who
your friends are. She was making her way back to the bar by way of most of the
men there. Or rather, their butts. Including Mr. Ferguson. Mr. Ferguson Senior,
I might add. Does that sound normal to you?”

“I’m
sure you’re overreacting.”

Lena
sighed. “Dad, I think she really needs help.”

“She’s
fine.”

But
Lena persisted. “No. She’s not. How many times in the last month have you had
to nearly carry her out of these events? How many times have you had to watch
her to be sure that she doesn’t drink so much that she creates a scene? Geez,
Dad, she’s toasted half the time I see her, and the other half, she’s well on
her way there.”

“I
will deal with your stepmother.”

“How?
By ignoring her? By ignoring the problem? Do you have any idea what this is
doing to her liver? What kind of awful existence she must be living? She needs
to get help. I can find a place…”

But
Lena’s father exploded, his face red as he pointed his finger at her and
shouted, “Damnit, Lena. Just because you work and live and socialize around
alcoholics, doesn’t mean that your stepmother is one. She just likes to drink.”

But
Lena wasn’t backing down.

“No,”
she said calmly. “She needs to drink. There’s a difference.”

With
exaggerated composure, her father said angrily, “I do not want your help or
your interference, Lena. You may leave now.”

“Yes,
I may,” Lena said mockingly. “And I will. But you’re enabling her, Dad. You’re
helping to keep her in this state. And I want nothing to do with that. You call
me when you want my help – I’ll be there in a heartbeat. But I’m not going to
be pulling Jeanette out of these events anymore. If she makes a fool of
herself, and a fool of you, then that might not be a bad thing. Maybe it will
push you to get her the help she needs. Now I’m going home. Your wife is
upstairs passed out on her bed. You may want to make some strong coffee in the
morning. Good night, Dad.”

When
her father just turned away, Lena threw up her hands and spun around. Heading
into the room she’d called hers since childhood, she quickly stripped off the long
gown she was wearing and placed it into a laundry bag for dry cleaning. Her
shoes went into the closet, and she slipped back into her jeans and t-shirt,
pulling on a pair of small black flats. Drawing her worn leather jacket from
the closet, she slipped it on, loosened her hair from its chignon, and pulled her
larger purse from where she’d left it earlier. Quickly emptying the evening bag
she’d carried into the larger purse, she placed the gold clutch back into the
closet. Looking around the room, she shrugged. She had everything she wanted. And
she doubted she’d be back here for a while. She and her Dad both needed time to
cool off and truthfully, this fight might mark a really drastic change in their
relationship.

Pausing
before letting herself out of the house, Lena remembered how the evening had
started, and smiled sadly. Well, so much for that bolt of attraction between
her and Chase, she thought. After tonight, he would probably run far and fast
in the opposite direction.

Pulling
the door closed behind her, Lena strolled easily across the circular driveway
to where she’d left her car. She was just pushing the key fob to unlock the
doors when she heard a voice from nearly right next to her. She nearly leaped
onto the hood of her car in fright.

“
Augh
!
Oh my God, Chase. You scared the living daylights out of me,” she said as she
struggled to catch her breath.

Chase
looked down at her with a combination of amusement and remorse. “I’m sorry,
Lena. You dropped your cell in my car. I know it’s late, but I didn’t find it
until I’d gotten home, and I was afraid you’d need it tonight. So I brought it
back for you. Where are you going this time of night? Is everything OK?”

Lena
sighed and reached for the phone he offered, still willing her heart rate to
return to normal. “Not really. Thanks for returning the phone. You’re right – I
would have missed it, probably within the next ten minutes or so. And I would
never have remembered where I’d left it. I appreciate it.”

“No
problem. Can I take you somewhere?” he asked, still concerned that she was
apparently driving somewhere late at night.

She
shook her head with a slight smile. “No. But thanks.”

He
reached out and tucked a strand of flyaway hair behind her ear. “It’s getting
late. I don’t like the idea of you driving around by yourself.”

Lena
swallowed hard.
The damn attraction was still there
, she thought. She
backed up a step to break contact – she couldn’t think when he touched her. At
least, not in any coherent way – apparently her brain still allowed thoughts to
form that involved her throwing herself at him.

“Do
you just want to get away for a while?” Chase asked softly.

Lena
shook her head. “Well, yes and no. I definitely want to get away, but I’m not
just out driving aimlessly.” Crossing her arms in front of her, she leaned back
against her car. “I don’t actually live here with my parents. I have my own
place, and I’m headed home now.”

Chase
just looked perplexed. “But I always pick you up from here.”

She
nodded. “I know. I always change here. My normal ball gown attire would not fit
in so well in my neighborhood. I’d be robbed within a week if I wore that stuff
home.”

He
still looked mystified, peering down at her car for the first time that
evening. “Whose car is this?” he asked after a long pause, eyeing it
suspiciously.

“Mine.
You were expecting a Ferrari?” she grinned up at him.

His
smile was slow, but wow was it sexy. “Well, at the very least, a Mercedes.”

“And
instead you get a beat up Honda. Hey, it runs well, it’s reliable, and it fits
in well in my neighborhood.”

“Where
do you live, anyway?” he finally asked.

“Not
Cherry Creek,” she cautioned. “I live downtown.”

It
was almost as if she'd said that she lived in the projects or at the county
jail. Seriously, the look on his face was hysterical.

“Chase,
you’re making me laugh, and after the night I’ve had, that’s a good thing. Look,
I’ve got to go,” she said, thinking of Winston waiting for her at home. “Thanks
again for your help tonight. I don’t think I could have managed this without
you.”

His
hand on her arm stopped her. “Before you go, how’s Jeanette?” he asked quietly.

She
shrugged. “Asleep.”

“And
your father?”

“In
denial. The usual. I think we’re going to be on the outs about this for a
while. So you may want to find another date for the next few major society
events, unless you want to spend the evening avoiding my parents. I pretty much
just promised my dad that he’d be on his own if this happened again.” She
sighed. “Alcoholism is a nasty disease. This is why I talk a good game, but
honestly don’t drink much.”

“You’re
worried about being an alcoholic?” Chase asked in surprise.

Lena
shrugged again, but looked uncomfortable. “Not really, I guess. I know there’s
a genetic link, and neither of my biological parents have... or had... a
problem. But seeing it so close to me... it just makes me more conscious of
what I drink.”

Chase
reached out his hand and gently lifted Lena’s chin so her gaze met his. “Lena, I’ve
never seen you have more than a single glass of anything. I don’t think you
have anything to worry about.”

Except
for the sudden urge I have to kiss this man
, Lena thought to
herself, pulling her eyes quickly away from his so he wouldn’t read her
feelings in her gaze.

Forcing
a grin, she looked back up at him and said, “After tonight, I think I’m ready
for more than a few shots of something strong. But you’re right, I hope.”

Opening
up the driver's side door of her car, she tossed her purse onto the passenger
seat and turned to face Chase, the door to the car safely standing between
them. “Thanks again, Chase,” she said, her expression serious.

He
reached out a hand and gently stroked the side of her face, tucking her hair
behind her ear. His thumb rubbed gently over her bottom lip, and his eyes
followed the movement. Charlene closed her eyes, wanting so badly to melt into
this man, and to forget all about the worry that filled her heart tonight. But
she knew that she needed to pull away, and she did. Lightly taking his hand in
hers, she turned her head and ran her lips gently over his knuckles, then
released him and slipped into the car. Chase stepped back and watched as she
pulled out of the driveway and turned right to head into the city.

“You’re
welcome, Charlene,” he said quietly into the night. “But we’re not done.”

Pulling
out of her parents’ driveway, Lena started the drive back to her place,
thinking about the night. Apart from the Jeanette intervention, it had been one
of the nicer evenings she’d ever spent with Chase. Yes, he talked business. Yes,
he left her to her own devices for a good chunk of the cocktail part of the
evening, but he had been by her side through the entire dinner. And dancing
with the man felt so good that she knew it spelled trouble for her. She needed
to keep her head around the man, and being held in his arms was not the way to
do that.

But
then Jeanette had broken free from her table, and Lena had intervened. She
wondered for just a moment what would have happened if Lena had allowed things
to just play out. But she shook her head. Despite her frequently ambivalent
feelings toward her father’s wife, and despite the fact that Jeanette would
remember nothing in the morning, Lena couldn’t just let her embarrass herself
in front of all of her friends. It would have been horrible for a woman whose
sole existence centered on these people and these events.

But
now she would stay out of it, she thought. She’d expressed her concern to her
father. That was all she could do for now, until he asked for her help.

Pulling
into her parking spot outside of her apartment, she noted that Kat had already
left for the night. She let herself into the building, locked the doors behind
her and turned on the lights, then went back into her bedroom where Winston was
lying in his open crate, looking up at her.

“We’re
going to have to work on that guard dog thing,” Lena said with a smile, bending
down and reaching out a hand to scratch the dog on his head. He licked her
hand, then slowly stretched out of his crate and headed for the door. Opening
the sliding glass door so that he could go out to take care of his business,
she followed him out and sat for a moment on the back stoop, enjoying the night
air. When Winston sidled up to her, she absently reached out her arm and hugged
him loosely around his neck.

“You’re
doing better, Winston my man,” she said softly. “One day at a time. Pretty
soon, you’re going to let me pick you up. And I bet one day I wake up to find
you hogging my bed.” She scratched him under the chin. “But not yet. I know
that. Not quite yet.”