LATER THAT NIGHT KYLIE got into bed, wrestling with the knowledge that the main reason she didn’t want to go on that camping trip was because of her growing feelings for Chance. She had to finally admit those growing feelings to herself after having lunch with Lena.
Their discussion had made her realize two things. She found Chance attractive and sexy, and thought he had a body that was all that and a bag of chips. But there was more to him than that. He’d already proven that he was dependable, unlike Sam and her father. When Chance and his girlfriend had been faced with a teen pregnancy, instead of leaving her in a fix like Sam had done to her, Chance had done the noble, honorable and responsible thing. He’d made whatever changes the situation called for to make a home for his wife and child. She could tell by his relationship with Marcus that he was a good father and from what she read in the business section of the Charlotte Observer, he was also a highly respected businessman. And she wanted to believe if he had shown up at her shop that day to tell her that their kids were involved in an unplanned pregnancy versus a plot to cut school, he would be angry, true enough, but nothing would make him turn his back on his only child, as her father and mother had done to her.
She sighed. One of the problems she was having trouble coming to terms with was the knowledge that their relationship—if they could call it that—had developed because of their kids. She doubted they would have met any other way. There was a strong possibility that if they’d been in the same room together at any given function, he wouldn’t have given her a second look. So in her mind their meeting was a twist of fate rather than by their own choosing.
She jerked her head off the pillow at the sound of the phone ringing. The last time she had gotten a call this late it had been Chance. Sensations raced through her at that possibility and she quickly reached over and picked up the phone. “Hello.”
“Sorry to call so late,” Lena was saying. “But I forgot to mention today that the American Cancer Society is sponsoring their annual ball and I’m on the committee. The price of the tickets is high but it’s all for a worthy cause, of course. Would you like one?”
Before Kylie could answer, Lena quickly inserted, “In fact, you can get two if you like and bring a date.”
“I’ll take one ticket, Lena,” Kylie said softly, hoping Lena didn’t pick up the disappointment in her voice. A part of her had hoped the caller was Chance. She hadn’t seen or talked to him since Sunday, which was three days ago.
“Sure you don’t want two?”
Kylie rolled her eyes. “No, I only want one ticket, Lena. I won’t have a date that night. Will that be a problem? I either come alone or not at all.”
“No, that won’t be a problem but I was hoping there was someone you could ask. Someone like Chance, perhaps?”
Kylie sighed. She knew where this conversation was leading and wasn’t in the mood. “No. Only one ticket, Lena. Good night.” She then hung up the phone.
A few seconds later, before Kylie could reclaim her comfortable position in bed, the phone rang again. She frowned. There were times when Lena was worse than a dog with a bone. She didn’t know when to let up.
Snatching the phone, not giving her best friend a chance to say anything, Kylie said, “Look, Lena, forget it. There’s no way I’m going to ask Chance to go with me.”
There was a brief pause and then…
“And just where is it that you won’t ask me to go, Kylie?” Chance Steele asked in a deep, husky voice that bespoke more than mild curiosity.
KYLIE’S EYES WIDENED and hot color rushed into her face. If she’d been standing she would have melted to the floor in embarrassment. Instead she found solace in burying her face under the pillow.
But even that couldn’t drown out the sound of Chance’s voice when he said, “Okay, Kylie, tell me. What’s going on and why won’t you ask me to go wherever it is that you’re going?”
She closed her eyes and moaned. Her only saving grace was that she’d heard the teasing in his voice and was glad he had such a good sense of humor, even if it was at her expense.