Chapter 4 #2
She knew the butterflies in her stomach had nothing to do with the wine she was drinking and everything to do with the man sitting on her sofa.
“Well, I suppose since I’m painting your office, that makes sense.
Meri finally relaxed against Chase’s shoulder. “This is nice. Thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure. Are you feeling better now?”
She started to pull away and sit up. “I am.”
He squeezed her shoulders. “Stay where you are. I like you there.”
“Are you trying to seduce me?” Did she want him to? She closed her eyes a moment, thinking of all the reasons she shouldn’t. And only one why she should.
“Is it working?”
“No, and yes. I don’t know. But I know I like this…you holding me…it feels right, somehow.”
“I was about to say the same thing.” He squeezed her shoulders, pressing her closer.
She smiled. “Great minds—”
“Think alike.”
They sat like that for a long time. Not speaking, just watching the lights of Denver heading west toward the mountains. Watching the traffic zip past going north and south on I-25 and the lights of the buildings beyond the highway.
The doorbell sounded.
Meri stood and walked to the door. She looked through the peephole and saw a man and a woman. She opened the door. “You must be Eric and Avery.”
“Yes, ma’am. Is Chase here?”
“Sure, come on in.” She stepped out of the way, holding the door.
Eric and Avery entered.
Meri shut the door and moved to the foyer in front of the duo. “Come on in. Chase, your people are here.”
Chase walked over to the group. “You made good time.”
“We wanted to get here as soon as possible.” Avery was Japanese, short, about five feet, two inches, and slender. Her long, black hair was in a braid down her back.
“Your station is outside Ms. Anderson’s door.”
“Please call me, Meri.”
Chase turned to her and smiled, before turning back to Eric and Avery. “As I said, you are to stay outside Ms. Anderson’s door and accompany her when she leaves the loft.”
“Understood.” Eric was blond, with his hair to his shoulders and a neatly trimmed beard and mustache. He looked a lot like a Viking.
“I have folding chairs you can use. I refuse to have you standing for however long I’m in my home, while you wait for me to leave.”
Both Eric and Avery stood with their legs apart and their wrists crossed in front of them.
“That is much appreciated, Meri,” said Eric.
“Okay, you can assume your positions. I’ll bring the chairs out to you.”
“Yes, sir,” said Avery.
“Yes, sir,” said Eric.
Both of them walked out of the door.
Avery closed it behind them.
Meri looked at Chase. “Are you sure this is necessary?”
“It is for my peace of mind and for yours as well. Let’s do it this way for a while and see what happens.”
“Okay. Let me get those chairs.”
“I’ll help.”
She headed into the guest bedroom. It was as large as her bedroom.
To make it appear even larger, Meri had furnished it with a queen-sized bed.
Two nightstands and bookcases that were full of paint and canvases.
Her easel occupied one corner, leaving a generous amount of space between it and the bed.
The folding chairs were in the walk-in closet next to a tall chest of drawers.
She grabbed one in each hand.
“Here, let me take those.” Chase took the chairs and headed out to give them to Eric and Avery.
When that was done, she and Chase walked back over to the sofa.
“How do you feel now?” asked Chase.
“Better, actually.” She picked up her wineglass and took a sip. “Between your kindness and having Eric and Avery outside, I feel safe.”
“Good. That’s what I wanted to hear. Now, do you ever go to the mountains to see the stars?” He spoke softly, almost in a whisper.
“I’ve been, but I rarely go, anymore,” she whispered back, afraid to speak louder and somehow break the spell. They had fallen back into their conversation as if no interruption had occurred.
He moved his head and looked down at her. “Come with me. Tomorrow. I know of a great restaurant up there and then we can drive farther into the mountains and look at the stars. They’re magnificent when you get away from the city lights.”
Her pulse speeded up. “Are you asking me on another date? I’m assuming tonight was a date.”
“I am, and it was. I want to get to know you better.”
“I’d really like to, but tomorrow is dinner with my parents.
I can’t miss it. None of my brothers are around the area anymore, so I’m it for Tuesday dinner.
We used to do it on Sundays, but I try to work all weekend, so we moved it to Tuesday.
” Her face heated. “But you didn’t really want to know all that, did you? ”
He waved off her concern. “That’s not a problem. Now I know what days you can come out with me. So, how about Wednesday night, then?”
She looked into his eyes. They were so beautiful. The blue-violet was clear, without a hint of gray. Her thoughts went to children with her red hair and his blue eyes. Then she blinked. He’d asked her a question. “I’d like that. What is this restaurant like? Do I need to dress up?”
“It’s pretty casual. Nice jeans will work fine.”
“Good. That I have. If you’d said I needed a cocktail dress, I’d have to go buy one.” She grinned. “And shopping for a pretty dress is such a hardship.”
He laughed.
So did she. It would probably behoove her to go buy one, anyway, if he was going to continue to ask her out.
I’m so attracted to him. Do I want him to continue to ask me out?
What if I fall for him? What if he’s the elusive part of my soul I’ve been looking for?
That’s something that can only lead to heartbreak.
Mine. I should stop this right now, but I’ve never felt this comfortable with anyone.
Never felt like I’d found my other half.
Will I lose myself like I did with Jared?
The following evening Meri was at her parents’ house for dinner.
Eric and Avery accompanied her, but refused to come in and waited in the car for her.
Carole Anderson greeted Meri in the kitchen. “Hello, sweetheart. How are you? Anything new?” She was stirring a pot on the stove. She had the same red hair as Meri. Now she had it tied into a ponytail. With her hair styled like that, she looked like a woman twenty years younger than her sixty-four.
“As a matter-of-fact lots of stuff. First, I’m painting a mural in the reception office of Chase Harper Security downtown.
I couldn’t believe it when he hired me. Then when I took the miniature—I really should think of something else to call it—anyway, when I took it yesterday to have him approve it, he did.
I start tomorrow or Thursday. Then we went for breakfast at the Twilight Café, just a couple of blocks from his building.
He’s so nice, and we talked for a long time.
Then he asked me out for last night and we went to The Capital Grille.
It was wonderful. He’s already asked me out again for tomorrow night. ”
“Well, it seems you have a young man now, doesn’t it?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I just want to see where it goes. Without expectations. But anyway, that wasn’t the most exciting thing that happened last night.”
“Tell me. What could be more exciting than to discover that a man, I’m assuming a handsome one, is calling on you?”
“When we were walking back to my place, there was a shooting in the parking lot outside the restaurant. The assailant shot at us.”
“What’s this?” asked her father, Bill, as he came into the kitchen. “You were shot at?”
Meri sat at the kitchen table. “Yeah. We weren’t really in too much danger. The guy was using a snub-nose thirty-eight and you know how unreliable they are. Only good for up close and lucky for us, he wasn’t close.”
“Maybe you don’t want to go out with this man again. Sounds like he attracts trouble,” said Carole. She pulled a casserole from the oven. “Dinner is almost ready. Meri, would you set the table, please?”
She moved toward the cupboards. “Sure, but I’m still going to see Chase. I haven’t felt like this in a long time. And he doesn’t attract trouble. That was an accident and could have happened to anyone.”
Carole sighed. “Yes, I suppose you’re right.” She looked up at Meri’s dad. “What do you think, Bill?”
Her father sat across from her. “I agree with Meri. It could have happened to anyone, and you shouldn’t be making more out of it than it is.”
“I suppose you’re right. Meri, have fun with your young man.
” She laid a hand on Meri’s shoulder. “You’ve been unhappy for too long.
Don’t let Jared have this much control over you still.
It’s been over two years and you are still bleeding inside.
Maybe this man can help you heal. You’ll have to bring him by so we can meet him. ”
“Maybe. We’ll see how it goes.” Am I still letting Jared control me? Is that why I compare everything Chase does to what Jared did?
On Wednesday, along with her escorts, Meri went to her favorite paint store and bought paint for the mural, and she started a new painting for her website. More and more people were finding her site, and she needed more time to do the small paintings she shipped all over the world.
Someday she’d like to visit those places, like London, Paris and Athens. What an amazing experience it would be to do a painting of the Parthenon while actually looking at the real thing and not just another picture.
That night, she decided to wear a dress instead of jeans.
One of her favorites, it had a Native American design on the bottom of the skirt and the three-quarter sleeves.
Made of a soft jersey material, it skimmed over her breasts and hips before flaring at the bottom just below her knees.
The beautiful blue color looked great with her hair and reminded her of Chase’s eyes.
She paired it with beige suede ankle boots she had purchased specifically for this dress.
The doorbell rang.
She grinned and smoothed her hands down the dress before answering the door.
When she opened the door, Chase took her breath away. He’d dressed in black jeans, with a black button-down shirt, open at the neck. The man did like black but with his tan skin, he looked hot enough to eat.
“Hi. Come on in while I get my sweater and my purse.”
He walked inside.
Before she knew what was happening, she was in his embrace and being kissed. His lips were light on hers. He nibbled at her bottom lip before releasing her, leaving her wishing for more.
What was wrong with her and did she dare to take the kiss to a deeper level herself?
When Chase pulled back his head but kept his arms around her, she got her answer. “Hi. You look beautiful, and I couldn’t resist any longer. I’ve wanted to do that since we met.”
Uh, wow! “Um…thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself.” She groaned inside. Why couldn’t she tell him he was so hot he was making her burn? And that she’d wanted to kiss him, too.
He released her. “Shall we get going? I have seven o’clock reservations, and it will take us about thirty to forty minutes to get there.”
Meri stepped out of his arms and immediately missed him.
What was up with that? She’d never felt like this before.
Never missed someone just because his arms weren’t around her.
“I’ll be just a minute.” She picked up a white cardigan sweater off the back of the sofa and then her purse from the coffee table.
She walked over to where he stood near the door and plucked her keys from the bowl.
In her clutch purse, she carried her phone, a credit card and one-hundred dollars cash in tens and twenties.
Her mother always told her to never go on a date without a way to get home, if needed.
“I’m ready.”
He opened the door. “After you.”
She walked through, and then when he closed it, she locked it with her key. She looked around for her bodyguards. “Where are Eric and Avery?”
“I sent them to have dinner. They’ll return later.”
“Oh, okay.” She appreciated them being there for her, but she really didn’t believe it was necessary. But she’d never been shot at before either. Maybe Chase was right. But for how long?
He took her hand, and they walked to the car. He’d brought a beautiful, candy-apple-red convertible Chevy Corvette with the black top up. He opened the door for her, and she saw the black leather seats and ran her hand over the buttery soft leather. She turned toward him. “Very nice.”
She sat in the low vehicle and fastened her seatbelt.
He closed the door and hurried around to his side.
In no time, they were out of Denver and on the highway, headed for the mountains.
He pulled off I-70 at the Bergen Park exit. Then he pulled up in front of the large…log cabin? This was the restaurant?