The Winner Takes All (Complete Collection)

44. Chase Me

44

CHASE ME

Hunter

I walk down Fillmore Street, every cell bouncing with nervous energy, and practice what to say to Nate.

And then she said, you agreed to it in London!

Ugh. I sound like an idiot.

I can’t believe I mucked this up so badly with Ilene.

But I’m almost to Doctor Insomnia’s Tea and Coffee Emporium, where Nate asked me to meet him when I texted him the moment I left The Happy Cow.

I stop outside. My stomach cartwheels. How did I go from being a virgin to having a husband, to breaking up with my husband, to dating my husband in a long-distance romance, to… this new twist?

“Hey, English Cutie.” Nate’s confident voice floats from behind me, settling me, reassuring me.

I turn around, and there’s the guy I adore.

“Fancy meeting you here,” he says, then he comes in for a kiss on the street.

My head goes hazy. This is my life. This is my fantastic life. And I don’t want to lose this man now that I have him again.

The second he breaks the kiss, I press the gas. “Ilene offered me a job in San Francisco. My job, actually,” I correct. “She wants to relocate me. She said with my knowledge of American sports, the move makes perfect sense, and they want someone like me working here as they expand.” I barely stop to take a breath. I just barrel on. “Apparently, she offered it to me at the party in London, but my dad had walked in and I didn’t hear her, and I guess I accidentally agreed to it, but I know you and I just agreed to take things slow, and I don’t want to seem pushy. Sooooo. What do you think?”

Please say I’m not freaking you out.

Nate’s expression is blank for long, painful seconds. “Are you for real?” he asks in a disbelieving whisper.

“Yes. It’s real.” Is he excited or terrified? I can’t tell, so I quickly backpedal. “Don’t worry. I told her I need to think about it. I get that it’s too much too soon. No worries. I can turn it down and stay in London.”

He grabs my shoulders. “No, I mean, are you serious? You’re really going to move to San Francisco?”

I’m dying to say yes to the offer. One, it’s my dream job. Two, he’s my dream guy, and I want to do this relationship thing right this time. If that means taking things slow, I’ll do it. “I don’t want you to feel like I’m chasing you,” I say.

At last, his eyes sparkle with joy. His smile is bright and beautiful. He comes in close. “I’d like it if you chased me! Take the job, Hunter!”

He kisses me, sealing the deal, then we separate and he shoos me back a few steps. “Go. Tell Ilene right now. I want you here in my town every day and every night.”

Well, I travel a lot, but I’m not going to correct him on the details.

Instead, I grab a Lyft and head straight for the San Francisco Webflix offices, giddy because soon these will be my offices too.

And I’ll be with the guy I’m falling for.

Wait. I’m not falling. I fell.

I’m in love with him. And tonight, I’m going to tell him.