Chapter 5
CHAPTER
FIVE
When Friday’s dinner came, Chase was a ball of nerves.
It didn’t ease when CJ showed up with Bobby.
Part of him had hoped she wouldn’t come.
He didn’t want it to be awkward between them.
Most if not all of the town knew they had left the bar together, and now they were about to eat together with his parents and her brother.
Another part of him was happy to see her.
He had missed her this week. It was great catching up with Bobby and returning to their old stomping grounds, but he felt something was always missing—more pointedly, someone.
He couldn’t think of a time growing up when CJ wasn’t with him.
She had always been there, getting dirty and having fun with them.
Most boys would complain that a girl was following them around, but CJ was one of them, and they all got along.
She was one of the guys, or at the least a kid sister until she’d hit puberty and he could no longer see her as a kid sister.
He’d started seeing her as a blooming woman and had to start separating himself from her.
CJ barely paid attention to him when she came in.
Her focus was on Bobby and his parents, not that he should expect anything less after the way he’d treated her, but he put on a smile and pretended everything was fine.
It was a guise he was getting used to wearing anyway.
The nightmares were still there and showed no signs of slowing.
“Thank you for inviting us, Martha,” CJ said with a big smile.
A smile that she had gifted him many times but not any longer.
He missed it. His parents sat across from each other at the table, and he and Bobby were on one side with CJ across from him.
It was how they’d always used to eat together at his house.
Now, it might as well be miles away. To be so close and yet so far from her.
If he had hoped telling her off and not seeing her would help curb his desire for her, he was sadly mistaken.
Her hair hung in wavy curls down to brush against her shoulders, hiding the straps of her baby blue tank top.
She had artfully applied her makeup to somehow make her eyes brighter with a smoky colored eyeshadow.
Her lips were glossy like a beacon, teasing him to come kiss them.
Had she dressed like this to drive him crazy?
If so, it was working. One hand was balled into a fist in his lap so he didn’t embarrass himself and do something stupid like reach out and touch her hair—or even worse, kiss her and ruin her makeup.
He was royally screwed. He wanted her now more than ever, and she seemed oblivious to him.
“I’m so glad you could make it, dear, it’s been too long.” Chase’s mother had a way of making a statement sound like an accusation. One she had perfected over the years.
“I know. I’m sorry,” CJ replied, sounding contrived. “Work has been crazy.”
“Well, owning your own business will do that,” Bobby remarked, looking proudly at his sister
“What?” Chase didn’t know she owned her company.
It wasn’t like they had done a lot of talking the last time they were together.
It was more panting and groaning. He adjusted in his seat, realizing his body was remembering all too well and that a certain anatomy was standing at attention wanting a repeat. “You own your own business?”
CJ’s eyes shifted over to him. It was the first time she had really looked at him, and it was like looking at a stranger. A far cry from that night. No, best not think about that night. “I do; I own my own catering business.”
“She started it a few years ago,” his mother added.
He didn’t think this town was big enough for a catering business. Nor were there a lot of events to require one.
“It’s in the next town,” CJ explained as if she knew what he was thinking. “We don’t get enough business here for it.”
That made a lot more sense. “I can’t believe you’re a food caterer.” He hadn’t thought much about what she did for a living. He had been purposely trying not to think about her at all this week. A task easier said than done.
“Why not?” Bobby asked, almost looking offended on his sister’s behalf.
“She was always cooking and baking as a kid. Learned from Mom.” It was true.
Now that he thought about it, she used to cook with her mom a lot, and her mom, Susie, was a great cook too.
It explained why her cooking was so good though.
“She made the best snickerdoodles.” Susie was hands down the best baker he had ever met. “No offense, Mom,” he quickly added. His mom was a great cook, but nothing beat Susie’s cookies.
“None taken.” His mom waved away his words, not looking offended in the least. “CJ has turned into a great chef. The man who wins her heart will be lucky,” she commented before taking a sip of her water, trying to hide her smile, but it was still evident.
“Mom,” Chase said in a warning tone. They were not having this conversation now and with Bobby right there. He knew what she was doing, and he wasn’t having it.
“What? I’m just saying.” She shrugged, looking unapologetic.
“I couldn’t agree more, Martha,” Bobby concurred. “Men have tried, but none seem to interest her.”
All eyes seemed to be on CJ now. “Well, thank you all of you for kind words and encouragement. Martha, right now I’m just focused on my career.”
Chase bit his tongue before he asked about why she’d tried to press for something more between them if she wasn’t looking for a relationship.
Not that it was really any of his business anymore anyway.
He wouldn’t be here for long. His focus and drive had been on his career and not relationships.
That wasn’t to say he didn’t have the occasional girlfriend.
He just wasn’t looking for anything permanent right now either. Good for her for exploring her options.
“There’s more to life than work,” his mother remarked.
Chase froze, his fork halfway to his mouth. The statement seemed more pointed at him than CJ even though his mom’s focus was on her. “Is that a dig at me, Mom?” He tried to stay calm, but he felt his ire rising. His mother hadn’t made it a secret the past week that he hadn’t visited more often.
“Of course not,” his mother replied, her eyes widened in shock that he could suggest such a thing, but he didn’t buy the wide-eyed routine. His mother was making a point that he wasn’t home enough. It wasn’t the first time they’d had that conversation, but it was the first in front of company.
He set his fork down on the plate, trying to be gentle with it and not break some of her best dishes.
“I’ve accomplished a lot,” he defended. Chase didn’t know why he felt the need to do so, but he wanted to make it a point that he was doing a lot in his life.
He might not come home as much as they would like, but he was dedicated to his job and his country.
He was proud of what he did, and he wouldn’t change a thing about it.
“We didn’t say you didn’t,” his mother was quick to assure him, but to him the damage was already done.
“But,” he prompted her. He knew there was something she wanted to add but was staying her tongue. She might as well get it out now.
His mother pushed her food around her plate before giving up and set her own fork down.
Only his dad and Bobby still ate, apparently oblivious to their conversation.
Oh, they heard it alright, but they were staying out of it.
It wasn’t the first time he and his mother had had disagreements.
Both of them were stubborn and pigheaded.
“What’s the point of having all those accomplishments without having someone to share it with? ”
He knew what she was trying to say, but he was only twenty-eight.
He was still young to settle down by a lot of people’s standards.
Right now he had friends to share his accomplishments with.
He didn’t need a girlfriend for that. “Mom, I’m busy with my career.
I don’t have time for a relationship.” He wished she would understand he wasn’t ready for anything serious right now.
His career was on an upward slope, and he wanted to put his energy into it while he still could.
He knew he couldn’t do this forever, and he wanted to enjoy as much as he could without a spouse nagging him where he was and complaining that he was always out on assignment.
That he paid more attention to his career than her.
“Well, make time. We aren’t getting any younger, and I would like grandkids or at least to see you settled down.” Martha huffed.
“I’ll settle down when I’m ready.”
Martha snorted. “If you wait for then, it will be too late to start anything. Most of your life will already be over. You’re just wasting it away.”
Chase saw red and felt his annoyance rising. He needed to walk away before he did or said something he would regret. He would never raise a hand toward her, but he could say words he couldn’t take back.
“Well, we can’t all settle for the first person we meet.” It was his own little dig since his mom married her high school sweetheart.
“Who’s to say you didn’t?” Everyone in town knew about him and CJ—well, suspected.
They knew they’d gone home together, but no one had seen them together since, so the rumors had died down.
No one cared they had grown up together and were practically family, though he couldn’t think of her that way any longer.
Chase cared for CJ and wanted her happy and settled down just like everyone else around town did, but if they were setting their hats on him, they were going to be sorely disappointed.
He would never cross that line again. The sooner his mother realized nothing was happening between them, the better.