Chapter Six #2
Yep, there was more of that warmth in her belly again.
"But I mean, seriously." He gave her a mocking stern look. "Look at this thing."
She leaned over and stared into the box.
The little slice on that cart had not done this cake justice.
It was at least a foot tall before they cut out a huge hunk of a slice and put it in the box.
Seven or eight layers of cake with chocolate frosting in between each one.
The top had gold flakes on it. Seriously, what was up with this restaurant and gold flakes?
Not like Emma was going to complain. That probably added to the cost, and every extra dollar helped if she was going to get this inheritance.
Chase leaned over, so close to her face that she could see his eyelashes. Why had she not noticed how long they were? How they framed his brown eyes so well?
"Take the first bite," he told her.
Her body instinctively reached for the fork regardless of whether she wanted to or not.
Chase had this pull on her, and when he put it to use, there was no way she could say no to him.
She would have to find a way to learn how to resist him, just not tonight.
Because seriously, that cake looked amazing.
Emma dipped her fork into the box and took out a huge chunk of cake.
It was delicious and the noise she made as it hit her taste buds was practically sinful.
Maybe if she was home and eating this by herself, she wouldn't think of it that way.
But the way Chase was looking at her, the fire in his eyes, made her realize that she was probably pushing him in a direction that they shouldn't go in.
They were acquaintances who were thrown together by a dumb challenge. They were just two people hanging out by a pool in a backyard. This also definitely was not Emma's home.
That wasn't going to stop her from enjoying the cake for now or enjoying the company of Prince Charming. But she knew damn well that like Cinderella's dress and carriage, Chase Warwick was a mirage. At midnight, she wouldn't be at all surprised if he turned into some troll or something.
"So can I ask you a question?" He took a bite of the cake, and the look of ecstasy on his face was stunning. "Oh my god, that's good."
"It really is," she said as she dipped her fork back into the box. "So what's your question?"
"Oh right." He turned and gave her a concerned look that was definitely missing the cake ecstasy of before. "Can I ask you about your parents?"
Her fork paused in mid-air, a small bite hanging delicately off the edge that threatened to fall on to her dress. She had no choice but to stuff it in her mouth.
"What about them?" she asked with a mouth half full.
"Your relationship with them seems odd?" He took a deep breath as he seemed to be trying to find the right words. "Maybe strained is a better word. I'm just wondering why they kicked you out of your grandmother's house and why she didn't want them to know she had this money."
Emma took a long drink from her glass of wine. "I was raised by narcissists."
"I was raised by Bob and Linda."
She couldn't help but laugh at Chase's response. It was just the perfect levity needed in that moment. "Bob and Linda sound like monsters."
"I know!" he responded sarcastically. "Do not get me started about how awful it is to be raised by Green Bay Packers fans. It's the worst."
"Packers fans? How horrendous."
"The worst!" He smiled and then toned his expression down a bit. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make your issues with your parents sound trivial."
"It's OK. I just... I definitely don't have that kind of relationship with my parents."
She took another bite of cake and pensively looked down at the waves in the pool she created with her dangling legs.
Where did she even start with any of this?
It was so complicated, even more so when she added Nana and her job and this inheritance.
It was a lot. But she also felt like she owed it to Chase to at least fill him in on some of it.
"My grandmother used to say that your character in the Project Lyonheart series had the most interesting back story.
Like he has this mysterious past and no one even knows his real name.
" She leaned in a little as he took another bite of cake as if she was going to tell him a secret.
"Nana said you're going to reveal that in the next movie. "
"Spoilers!" Chase replied jokingly. "But seriously, all that backstory comes from the writers. I just play Smith."
"But Smith's back story shapes who he is now, right?" Chase nodded. "Yeah, that's me."
"Tell me how," he asked quietly.
She looked at him for a moment, really looked at him. He wasn't putting on some show or just trying to be polite. He actually seemed to be interested, and she felt like she had to be honest with him too.
"So I grew up in Dallas and was always a bit of a black sheep in my family.
My dad worked for this major company there and my parents had a reputation for being big movers and shakers.
Things were OK I guess until my brother decided he wanted to get a business degree in college and join my dad's company.
Be another successful Colton in Dallas."
"And you didn't want that?"
Emma shook her head. "I wanted to be a librarian. I told my parents I wanted to get a degree in library sciences and move to Los Angeles and live near the ocean by my grandmother."
"They didn't want you to be a librarian?" Chase asked incredulously.
"Not really." She shrugged. "And they really didn't want me living near a bad influence like Nana."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Chase's hand went up and the piece of cake he had on the end of his fork went flying backwards and hit one of his huge picture windows. He sighed. "Lucy?"
"Take My Breath Away" by Berlin stopped playing from Chase's playlist, replaced by a digital woman's voice. "Yes, handsome?"
"Marcus needs to clean my living room window."
"Sure thing, handsome."
The soft playlist came back on as Chase took a deep breath and stabbed another piece of cake. "Please explain to me how an actual human being could hate Nana."
He called her grandmother "Nana" again, but for some reason, it didn't bug Emma as much, and she didn't feel like correcting him this time.
"My grandparents got divorced in the eighties, and that's how Nana got the money she gave to the finance guy.
It was a lump sum. She also got to keep the small bungalow here.
So my dad grew up here, but he spent the summers with his father in Dallas.
His dad went off on his own, free from taking care of his family every day, and became successful after the divorce.
Made a ton of money that he didn't have to share with his ex-wife.
All she had left was what he had given her as part of the divorce settlement before he left town. "
"So what was your grandfather like in person?" Chase asked.
"I don't know honestly. He died before I was born, but his legacy lived on!" she said sarcastically. "My dad was enamored with his business stuff and his flashy life. You know, the whole J.R. Ewing of it all."
"And Nana was his down-to-earth hippie mom in California."
"Bingo." She took a big stab at the cake. "So when I told them I didn't want the mansion and the business degree, and I just wanted to be a librarian in a bungalow with grandma in California, well..."
He gave her a sad smile. "Your brother became the favorite?"
"He was always the favorite. This just solidified it for them."
Chase looked out at the pool as he took in all this new information from Emma. "What do you think they'll say when you inherit all this money?"
Emma looked down and started poking at the cake with her fork.
It was a question she had been thinking about a lot these past few days.
What would they think about it? Would they be happy she was rich now?
Would they welcome her back with open arms?
Maybe, maybe not. But the fact that Emma would even assume that they would treat her differently — better or worse — when they found out how much money she inherited from Nana was the only answer she needed.
"I meant what I said in the car. Not just that they can never find out about this challenge, but they can never find out about the inheritance, not even after I inherit it.
" Emma paused, wondering how far she could push this new relationship and the secret they shared.
"You have to promise me, Chase. I know we're part of this weird pact or whatever that my grandmother created, and I know there's no reason for you to ever have contact with my parents, so there's no reason for me to be paranoid—"
He turned and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, which quieted her. "I promise. Really, I do." Then he gave her that teasing Hollywood smile of his that she was getting used to. "Besides, they sound like assholes, and I hate talking to assholes."
See? There was no reason for her to worry.
Her parents and her brother were living their lives in Dallas, and she was thousands of miles away from them and living her best life here.
Or at least, she would be living her best life here once she finished spending all this money with a millionaire movie star.
She was still a little bitter about that.
Still bitter about this whole stupid setup.
No matter how much chocolate cake or good wine she shared with the gorgeous Chase Warwick, she had to remind herself that he was just a means to an end.
It would be easier for both of them if she didn't get attached for the next few weeks. Spend the money and move on.
Speaking of which, she had to move on tonight as well. Her bed for the night wasn't just going to materialize in Chase's backyard.
"So, next question," she said as she set her fork in the cake box. "Can you recommend a hotel around here?"
He gave her a quirked eyebrow. "A hotel?"