Chapter Fifteen
Sean knocked against Maisy’s open bedroom door. “Can we talk?” he asked.
Mortified and upset, Maisy scowled back at him. “Now isn’t the best time.”
“Probably not, but I want to clear the air.”
Knowing her brother, Maisy realized it was best to settle this now for both their sakes.
Sean had taken seriously the role their father had left empty with his death.
He’d become fiercely protective of the family.
Most of the time, Maisy was grateful, as it helped their mother.
Not in this instance, however. Although she hadn’t heard their entire conversation, she’d heard enough.
Her brother had stepped over the line about as far as he could go.
Maisy understood that Sean meant well, but that didn’t atone for his behavior toward Chase. It wouldn’t be easy to forgive him for humiliating her. She could only imagine what Chase must be thinking.
“You should never have talked to Chase as if we were already dating. I mean, I barely know the man.”
“Okay, okay, you’re right,” he admitted. He stood in the doorway, leaning against the jamb with his arms crossed. “If you want me to say it, I will. It was presumptuous of me to confront your friend.”
“You think?” Even now, Maisy couldn’t believe what her brother had done.
“I’m sorry I embarrassed you.”
“It wasn’t only what took place on the porch,” Maisy flared. “What about your attitude over dinner? You looked at Chase like you expected him to pilfer the silverware.”
“He’s rich, isn’t he?”
He made the question sound like an accusation.
“Very,” Maisy confirmed, and then clarified further, because she felt it was necessary for Sean to know the extent.
“His family owns a slew of banks in the Midwest. If you google his name, you’d be shocked to know exactly how wealthy and well connected Chase Furst is.
” She wasn’t above being proud that someone of Chase’s caliber had noticed her.
Sean emitted a low whistle as he absorbed this information. “Which brings up the question of why he’d be interested in you.”
Shocked by the comment, Maisy’s mouth fell open. “Do you have any idea how insulting that is?”
“Come on, Mase. Why would a guy like that want to sit down at our dinner table?”
“Mom invited him,” she offered, avoiding the question. At the time, she’d expected Chase to offer an excuse and to be on his way. She’d been surprised and more than a little uneasy when he accepted.
“Did you think to ask why a guy with money enough to rival Bill Gates’s would want to eat meatloaf?”
“Chase might have money, but it wasn’t beneath him to mash the potatoes when Mom asked.”
Sean’s eyes rounded. “They were full of lumps.”
“I know,” she admitted, “but at least he tried.”
Sean scoffed. “It’s likely the first time in his life he’s used a mixer.”
“True,” Maisy agreed, smiling at the memory.
“I don’t get why he hung around for dinner. It doesn’t make sense,” Sean said, frowning.
She wasn’t completely sure she knew, either, but offered what sounded like a plausible explanation. “He was curious, I think. I suspect his family never gathered around the dinner table the way we do.”
“In other words, this was his idea of seeing how the other half lives.”
“I didn’t see it that way,” Maisy shot back.
“Then what was it?”
“I can’t answer that,” she argued. “All I know is that Chase liked being treated like a regular person. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and has had money his entire life. He’s never had to do without. If he’s attracted to me, and I don’t know that he is…”
“The way he kept staring at you over dinner says otherwise.”
Maisy wanted to believe Chase’s interest in her was genuine, but she had her doubts. “I think Chase simply wanted to see what it was like to be part of a real family.”
“Were we supposed to be grateful?”
“Sean! That was unkind.”
“Maybe, but I’m not wrong. Seeing he’s likely worth millions, no wonder he wanted to step in and help Patrick. I found his offer to send a driver to bus Patrick to and from practice insulting. A man like that thinks everything can be solved with money.”
Maisy hadn’t been happy with Chase’s suggestion, either, and understood her brother’s irritation. “He meant well.”
Sean shook his head. “Be careful, Maisy. First off, I don’t trust this guy. Mark my words, if you have anything more to do with him, you’re risking a broken heart.”
Her brother made a good point.
“I don’t think there’s much chance of that happening,” Maisy said. “Not after tonight.”
“Personally, I’d prefer you had nothing more to do with him and his big bucks, because I’m afraid you’re only going to end up getting hurt.
If I sound harsh, then forgive me. You’re my little sister, and I feel it’s my duty to protect you.
But as you said earlier, the choice is yours.
All I ask, Maisy, and I’m saying this with all sincerity, tread carefully. ”
Maisy couldn’t hide her smile. “That sounds exactly like something Dad would say.”
“I’d like to think so.”
Sean left Maisy alone with her thoughts.
As uncomfortable as it was to hear, her brother had a point.
She and her family were little more than a novelty to Chase.
With time he was sure to grow bored with her and move on.
She had nothing to offer him, nothing more than her heart.
The risk was too great, and yet…and yet she wanted more.
Craved more, even knowing in the end she would likely get hurt.
Sean knew it, too. He’d seen it in her eyes.
She’d revealed more to her brother than was prudent when she mentioned googling Chase’s name.
Hopefully he wouldn’t find the article where Chase was listed as one of Chicago’s most eligible bachelors.
The site had shown several photos of Chase, each with a different woman on his arm.
They were all exquisitely dressed and beautiful.
No way could Maisy compete with the stunning women Chase normally dated. That raised the question of why he would possibly be interested in her.
Hard as it was to hear, Sean was right. It made no sense.
—
The following afternoon, Maisy drove her grandmother to visit the family physician, Dr. Lubberman. Dr. Lubberman had been seeing the Gallagher family for as long as Maisy could remember. It surprised her that he hadn’t retired.
Grams needed an appointment for her annual Medicare checkup. There’d been pages of paperwork Eileen had been required to complete, and she’d asked Maisy to stop by earlier to review the answers and be sure she hadn’t missed a question.
Everything looked good, and now the two sat in the waiting room. Maisy felt her grandmother studying her. It looked as if she was about to question her, when the nurse stepped into the area.
“Eileen Gallagher?”
Her grandmother stood and glanced down at Maisy, as if she didn’t feel comfortable leaving her behind.
“Do you want me to go in with you?” she asked.
“No, no, not at all.” And with that her grandmother followed the nurse into the examination room.
While waiting, Maisy reached for a People magazine and flipped through the pages.
Many of the names and faces of these Hollywood stars were familiar.
She recognized their names from social media.
To pass the time, she scanned the articles and was about to set the magazine aside when she stopped, recognizing an all-too-familiar face.
Chase Furst.
The evening was a Hollywood charity event, with several important names in attendance.
The camera focus was on an Oscar-winning actress.
However, the background showed Chase with one of the women she’d seen him photographed with online.
She recognized the woman and frowned, trying to remember her name.
Angela…No, that wasn’t it. The name was more unusual than that.
Amelia? That didn’t sound right, either.
Adeline? Maybe, but that still felt off.
Then it came to her. Astrid. And she was stunning. Tall, elegant. Gorgeous.
Perfect in a way that Maisy never would be unless she grew four inches and lost fifteen pounds.
Closing the magazine, she checked the pub date and saw that it was over six months old.
The other photo on the Internet with the same woman had been more recent.
Not that she knew what to read into that, if anything, other than the fact the two had been seeing each other for some time.
To be fair, there were any number of images Maisy had viewed with Chase and other women.
While still deep in thought, Maisy was surprised to look up and find her grandmother standing in front of her.
“Sorry, I didn’t see you.”
“I know,” Eileen Gallagher said with meaning. “Your head was a million miles away.”
Feeling guilty, Maisy stood and smiled weakly. “How’d the appointment go?”
“Great. It looks like I’ll be good for another year. All I need now is for the lab downstairs to draw my blood, then we can be on our way.”
The two took the paperwork to the lab below Dr. Lubberman’s office and her grandmother was taken right in.
Once they were back in the car, Grams didn’t wait to connect her seatbelt before she told Maisy, “Out with it. You best tell me what’s wrong.”
She should have known hiding anything from her grandmother would be impossible. Limiting the discussion to as little of an explanation as possible, Maisy described the events from the night before.
“Later, Sean apologized for confronting Chase. The thing is, he’s right. There’s no good reason Chase Furst would be interested in me.”
“Are you sure of that?”
“Yes…no.” Both were true.
“You’re saying, then,” Grams said, with that twinkle in her eye Maisy knew so well, “that you’d welcome the chance to see him again.”
That was the very crux of the matter. “I would,” she admitted reluctantly, “and I know I shouldn’t.”
“That’s an uncomfortable place to be, isn’t it?”
“It is,” Maisy agreed. “Likely I will never hear from Chase, which is probably for the best. After his discussion with Sean, I doubt he’ll want anything more to do with me or the family.”
Her grandmother disagreed. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”
“You think I will hear from him?” She hated the hopefulness that filled her voice.
“Time will tell, won’t it?”
And it did.
—
Later that same evening, Maisy sat on her bed, leaning against several pillows, reading one of her favorite romance authors, when her phone rang. The unexpectedness of it nearly caused her to drop her Kindle.
She glanced at the screen and sucked in her breath.
The call was from Chase Furst.