Chase couldn’t stand it—he just couldn’t stand it!For weeks, Donna had been ringing every day, then every hour, and now even here on the farm, she’s been bugging him.He picked the mobile up and threw it across the room, but still it rang.He picked up his landline phone and tossed that too.Ah, but soon the emails will come...So with one swoop, he cleared his entire desk of its contents: the computer, papers, his lamp, his coffee, everything, crashing in one swoop, a smash of glass, and chaos, with no relief or reprieve because Amaya walked in."Out now!" he roared at her, but Amaya just stood there, frozen. "Get out!" "NOW!"Except she didn't; she just stood there, eyes wide in shock and then, worse, with tears in them, refusing to leave, refusing to go. So he stormed out of his office.Inside the office, Chase began to pace. Shocked. He would explain.He must explain the sudden outburst.He hadn’t wanted her to see him like that. Chase turned and walked back, calmer now, together
What the hell was he doing? She thought to herself.Was he out of his mind? Changing the subject, Amaya frowned before saying, "Just as well, because I absolutely do not fancy you!" Amaya turned to go, her face burning. She’d heard enough and lied enough, but she hadn’t actually said enough.She turned back. "You’re right, Chase—I do get you. And, yes, I get your good looks and your sentiments where women are concerned. I get that you have no desire to settle down and that women want more—I get it all. Well, enough to know that you rarely sleep alone, and no matter how you introduce me to your family or what you think may or may not happen between us while we’re away, but you and I, sharing a bed, well, it wouldn’t work!""But it did work before?""Are you out of your mind? The past is the past. Stop bringing it up.""Come on, Miss Patterson, I think it would work rather well!" he retaliated.And just then there was a tiny shift, a brief moment when they were both imagining it, both t
From the moment Amaya left Chase's office, she called the forbidden number of her father after receiving a message from her best friend Mary. Mary insisted on saying hello, but the moment it rang, Amaya knew she’d be recalling old memories. She’d been bracing for this confrontation.However, no matter that she told herself it was ridiculous, no amount of deep breathing, steeling her nerves, or trying to remember how far in the past it all was could calm her in any way as she called her father for the first time in years. She could feel her hands shaking.She paused at the entrance to her own room.Not that her father would ever admit to his seventy years. He’d had work done on his face several times, had hair plugs to arrest a threatening bald patch, and continued to wear designer clothes better suited to a man half his age.But pots of money, cosmetic work, or fancy clothes couldn’t buy health, and that was one thing he didn’t have these days.Five years ago, he tried to guilt her in
The next morning, after a shared breakfast, Chase knew Amaya would knock on his library door.And yes, he wasn't wrong.Chase squinted at Amaya between the spokes of his step-sister’s wedding, trying to read her expression but coming up empty.Last night, she’d left a message on his phone, requesting a meeting after breakfast, and he had suggested meeting at the library instead, which is basically almost like his shared library slash bedroom in the US, where they made love all night long, hoping that the memories might throw her off balance—make her vulnerable and more easily manipulated.Chase hadn’t anticipated that those very same memories might unsettle him as well, but with Amaya standing there, dressed in a flounce white skirt and yellow tube-top, gnawing at her full bottom lip, an action he remembered all too well, attending to his step-sister’s call was the last thing on his mind.He waited for her to speak and continued listening to Donna’s nonsense, an action he found soothi
"Come on, Amaya, stop thinking too much and stop over-analysing this. Give me your answer and we’ll go from there," Chase asked.With her heart pounding and the heat from his proximity prickling her skin, she wrenched her gaze from his chest within tantalising touching distance and slowly raised it until wavering blue locked with questioning brown. "I told you I'd marry you, but I need to see the contract.""Of course, it's not like I'm signing you into a death sentence.""Exactly my points, Chase. Exactly that.""Wow, I wonder what made you so distrusting that you thought I could trick you into something drastically evil in the contract."Her voice barely above a whisper, she nodded. "Things...Chase, bad things can make someone so distrustful. Bad decisions and regrets...that too.""Hmmm."Chase snuck into the side entrance of his office ten minutes later, not wanting to intrude but driven by curiosity.Since Amaya had agreed to his proposal, she’d morphed into a businesswoman dervis
"How's this dessert?" Amaya asked as she held out the chef’s chocolate mint cake, wishing Chase would take the damn thing before it tumbled from her shaking hands.They had been silent during their late lunch, and it was making Amaya nervous.This meal was supposed to set her mind at rest—a pre-wedding get-together to discuss plans and take the edge off her nerves.So far, it hasn’t worked.How could it work when Chase kept looking at her like she was a damn lemon pie with chilli? It made her self-conscious."Oh, well, at least my pasta is not overcooked. Anyway, thanks, that looks delicious."His gaze flicked over her, appreciation lighting his eyes, and she had no doubt he wasn’t talking about the cake.She’d spent an hour deciding what to wear, aiming for casual yet wanting to make him look twice. After five changes, she’d finally decided on a green yoke-waist skirt and white crop top that fitted like a second skin. The fresh tones highlighted her hair and skin to perfection.In th
Lunch had been a quiet affair, and her genuine appreciation for his culinary skills made him feel like a god, yet the underlying tension with every glance and every smile stretched taut between them.While she looked amazing tonight, her fancy top and figure-hugging skirt outlining her body to perfection, a body that beckoned him to trace its contours and feel every gorgeous line, it was more than that.They’d slipped back into the comfortable camaraderie they used to share, and he was thrilled. While he had no illusions about this marriage being anything other than what it was—a convenient business arrangement—it would be so much easier to be friends.Or more than friends, if he was lucky. He wanted her just as badly now as he ever had; the driving hunger was startling and ferocious and capable of sending him bonkers."Are you going to help me or just sit there with that goofy look on your face?" She waved the pen under his nose, and he managed a rueful grin. He’d settle for goofy wh
Amaya sipped her coffee as she glanced over her iPad, catching up on company emails as she walked to the spacious living room of the mansion, where her son Tommy and Chase were engaged in a lively card game. Earlier, before getting up from the shared bed, she told Tommy about marrying Chase, and the little boy was over the moon. He didn't even bother to question her; he was just happy to have a father. Yes, it was very selfish of her to keep a secret from her son, but Amaya was just as scared of losing him, and the idea of risking something she couldn't live without didn't count on her bucket list of risks to take."Mom, guess what!" Tommy exclaimed with excitement, his face lighting up as he held his cards close.Amaya looked over with a warm smile. "What is it, sweetie?""I just got the rarest Pokémon card in the whole game! Daddy Chase is losing!" Tommy said, showing off the card in his hand to Amaya.She frowned when she heard him calling Chase Daddy. "Tommy, did you ask Mr. Johns