An Engagement in Seattle - Debbie Macomber [103]
“You don’t want me to go?”
She shrugged and finally admitted the truth. “I…want you to help me understand why Tony would phone me out of the blue like this. I want you to help me figure out what I should do, but more importantly, I need you to remind me how wrong it would be to call him. I can’t—won’t—betray my own principles.”
“Sorry,” Chase said, sounding genuinely regretful. “Those are things you’ve got to figure out on your own.”
“But…”
“I’ll give you a call in the morning.”
“Aren’t you going to kiss me?”
He hesitated and desire was clear on his face. “I’d like nothing better, but I don’t think I should.”
“Why not?” She moved closer, so close she could feel his breath against her face, so close that all she needed to do was ease forward and her lips would meet his.
“I don’t think it’d be a good idea just now.” His voice was low.
“I need you to kiss me,” she said, pressing her palms against his shirt and waiting.
“I wish…” she continued.
His breathing was erratic, but so was her own.
“What do you wish?” His mouth wandered to her neck and she sighed at the feel of his lips against her skin. She angled her head back, revealing her eagerness for his touch.
“You already know what I want,” she whispered.
He planted slow kisses on her throat, pausing to moisten the hollow with the tip of his tongue. Shivers of awareness rippled down her arms.
Her mouth sought his and he kissed her, his lips soft and undemanding. She slipped her arms around his neck and nestled into his arms, needing the security of his touch to ground her in reality.
When he kissed her again, she moaned, lifting her hand to the back of his head, urging him closer. “Oh, Chase,” she breathed once the kiss had ended.
He raised his head and touched her forehead with his lips. “A man could get used to hearing a woman say his name like that.”
“Oh.” Her response sounded inane, but conversation was beyond her.
“Marry me, Lesley.”
She risked a glance at his face and felt emotion well up in her throat. Blinking rapidly, she managed to hold the tears at bay.
“All right,” he said. “We’ll do this your way, in increments. Will you join the boys and me in the morning?”
Lesley nodded.
“I was hoping you would.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “I have to leave now. Trust me, I’d much rather stay, but I can’t and we both know why.”
Lesley did know.
It wasn’t fair to use Chase as a shield against Tony. She would have to stand alone, make her own decisions, and Chase understood that more clearly than she had herself.
“I’ll see you at six in the morning,” he whispered, and released her. As if he couldn’t wait that long to kiss her again, he lowered his mouth to hers, kissed her longingly, then slowly turned away.
The sound of the front door closing followed seconds later, and Lesley stood in the middle of her kitchen with the phone just inches away.
“A trout can sure put up a big fight,” Eric said with a satisfied look in his brother’s direction after he’d caught his first fish.
The four of them were standing on the banks of Green River, their lines dangling in the water. Through pure luck, Eric had managed to catch the first trout. While Chase helped the boy remove the squirming fish from the line and rebait his hook, Lesley whispered reassurances to Kevin.
“Don’t worry, you’ll snag one, too.”
“But what if I don’t?” Kevin asked, hanging his head. “Eric always gets everything first just ’cause he’s older. It isn’t fair. It just isn’t fair.”
No sooner were the words out of his mouth than his line dipped with such force that he nearly lost his fishing rod. His triumphant gaze flew to Lesley. “I’ve got one!”
Chase immediately went over to the younger boy, coaxing him as he had Eric, tutoring him until the boy had reeled in the trout and Chase was able to take the good-size fish from the hook.
“Is mine bigger than Eric’s?” Kevin demanded.
“You’ll have to check that for yourself.”
“Yup, mine’s bigger,” Kevin announced a moment later with a smug look.
Lesley found the younger boy’s conviction amusing, but said nothing. To prove his