The Chase, Volume 4
The Chase
Volume Four
JESSICA WOOD
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 by Jessica Wood
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
ERH Press
ISBN- 13 978-1-940285-09-2
First Edition: September 2014
Cover Designer: Louisa Maggio, LM Creations
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Other Books by Jessica Wood
Emma’s Story
: Book #1:
A Night to Forget
Emma’s Story:
Book #2:
The Day to Remember
The Heartbreaker
– Prequel Novella to
DAMIAN
***
Pre-Orders Currently Available
Oblivion –
October 6, 2014
Forever Broken
(standalone) – October 19, 2014 –
Synopsis & Excerpt
Promise to Keep
– November 16, 2014
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
Blair
Maybe it was a mistake to surprise Dean. Maybe it was a mistake to bring my sister tonight without checking with him first. I could tell from the upset expression on his face that he wasn’t completely thrilled with my surprise.
But how was I supposed to know that Dean had planned a surprise for me as well?
I sighed and felt disappointed that the night hadn’t turned out the way I had hoped. When I had agreed to surprise Dean and introduce him to Katherine tonight at dinner, I really wanted everything to go perfectly. I wanted my sister to love Dean as much as I had grown to love him over the last seven months since I’d met him. But from how Dean has reacted tonight to my surprise, I had a sinking feeling that the night wasn’t going to go as perfectly as I’d pictured in my head. It wasn’t difficult to tell that Dean was upset.
I took a step back from my worries and took a sip from my wine as I marveled at the transformation in Dean’s condo. The soft flickering flames from the candles scattered around the place seem to sway with the hypnotic jazz music playing from the stereo. I smiled at the sight of the dozens of bouquets of wild flowers around the room. I couldn’t believe he had planned such an elaborate, romantic night for us. It was clear that he’d spent a good deal of time preparing for tonight, so I could understand why bringing a surprise third person to this intimate dinner wasn’t something he had anticipated or hoped for.
I’ll make it up to him later tonight
, I thought as my lips twisted into a small smile.
I’ll make it up to him all night long. That’ll certainly make up for this.
As I took another sip from my wine glass, I realized that Katherine had been in the bathroom for a while. I headed toward the hallway that lead to the bathroom to see if she was okay. But as I got to the hallway, I frowned. The bathroom door was wide opened and the lights were off inside.
Where did Katherine go?
As I walked down the hallway toward the bathroom, I heard muffled voices coming from the bedroom.
Is that Katherine inside the room with Dean?
I wasn’t sure why, but I reached for the door knob and opened the door without knocking. My body froze as I saw Katherine standing in front of Dean. There was less than a foot of space between them and there was nothing casual about their proximity from each other.
“Is everything okay?” I tried to calm myself and push away all the crazy thoughts that were running through my head.
But Dean’s face went pale as he stared at me, causing a wave of panic to overwhelm me at that moment. I saw guilt, fear, and shock in his eyes.
“Hi, little sister.” Katherine turned around to face me and flashed me a smile. She made no attempt to take a step away from Dean.
“What’s going on?” I looked at Dean and then at Katherine. There was a stark contrast in the expressions on their faces. My breath stilled as I waited for some sort of rational explanation to why I found them talking in Dean’s bedroom.
Dean went around Katherine and walked toward me. “Blair, this isn’t what it looks like.”
“Exactly what does it look like?” I spat out as I tried to hold back the tears. Dean’s words were coated with guilt, and I felt waves of anger and hurt fighting for my attention inside me.
“Blair, please. I can explain.” He reached for my arm and I took a step back away from him. “We—”
“We were only just talking, Blair,” Katherine finished Dean’s words. “Relax. There’s nothing to explain.”
“But why are you guys in here?” I felt the room spin as questions whirled around in my head.
Her smile grew wider as she walked up next to Dean and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Oh little sister of mine. Don’t be like that. There’s nothing to worry about. I saw Dean in here on my way back from the bathroom and I knew I just had to pull him aside to have a chat.”
“A chat? About what?" I tried to keep a straight face.
This was my long lost older sister
, I reminded myself. I didn't want to hastily jump to conclusions and offend her on the very same day I was reunited with her.
"About you of course! What ever else would we talk about?" She threw her head back in laughter and her perfectly golden curls pounced effortlessly in time with her movements. "It's not like we've met before to be able to talk about anything else. Right, Dean?" She threw her arm over Dean's shoulder and pulled him closer toward her, like they were best of friends as she beamed at him and then at me.
To my surprise Dean looked uncomfortable. But after a brief silence, he responded flatly, “Yeah.”
But Katherine didn’t seem to notice Dean’s behavior. “Anyway I just had to be sure that he was the right man for my baby sister. That’s what sisters are for, right?”
She looked at me expectantly, her blue eyes trained on me intently, urging a response.
I wasn’t sure how I felt, but after a few seconds, something compelled me to nod in agreement.
She beamed at me and reached over and hugged me. “God, I’m just
so
glad you found me, Blair. I really never thought this day would ever come. You have no idea how much I’ve dreamt about this very moment—the moment where I’d be reunited with probably the most important person in my life.” She squeezed me tightly and I could hear the sincerity in her voice. I knew she meant everything she had just said, which caused my anxiety to dissipate and my body to relax as I hugged her back.
This is my sister—my real sister!
I reminded myself.
Why was I so on edge just moments ago? Why did I jump to conclusions when I didn’t really see anything?
Am I somehow misdirecting my own fears and uncertainty about Dean’s commitment and faithfulness to me and projecting them onto my sister?
“I’m so glad that we’ve reunited, too. It feels so surreal.” I then looked over at Dean, who greeted me with a wide smile. I couldn’t pin point why, but there was something in his eyes that brought back a feeling of unease. “Everything okay, Dean?”
“Yeah. Totally.” He sounded distracted. Then he pulled me into his embrace and kissed me on the forehead. “I think I’ve made it pretty clear to your sister that I’m indeed the right man for you, and more importantly, you’re the perfect woman for me.”
I looked at him and when he met my gaze, his face softened and the clouds that darkened his eyes were gone.
Katherine cleared her throat right before I could lean up give Dean a kiss. “Dean has definitely left quite an impression on me, Blair. You certainly picked a good one here.” She paused. “If I were you, I would make sure not to let this one go,” she teased as she walked toward the door. “So shall we eat? I noticed from the amazing spread on the dining room table that we’re having sushi tonight. Did you make that yourself, Dean?”
“Yeah. I wanted to surprise Blair with a romantic dinner to show her just how special she is to me.”
There was an edge in Dean voice that I couldn’t quite decipher.
Is he still upset that Katherine ruined his romantic surprise?
I leaned up and gently kissed his lips. “Thank you, babe. That’s really thoughtful of you.”
“Yes, that’s very thoughtful of you, indeed.” Katherine smiled sweetly. “I can’t wait to try everything and have a taste for myself of your skills.
I felt Dean’s body tense next to me. “What’s wrong?” I looked at him with concern.
“Umm, actually, I can’t stay for dinner anymore,” he said quickly. He looked at me and I saw the regret in his eyes. “I just got an email from one of the partners at the firm. We just got an expedited case in tonight and I need to head back into the office now.”
“Oh, really? Do you have to?” I tried to hide the disappointment and worry in my voice. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, no worries,” he said in cheerful voice. “You know very well how demanding clients can be.” He playfully nudged me, and I knew he was referring to my behavior as a client when we first met.
I laughed. “Touché.”
He gave me a hug and a kiss. “You guys are welcome to stay and eat the sushi.”
“Way to break a girl’s heart, Dean. I was hoping to have some heart-to-hearts with you and Blair.”
“Right. Well sorry it didn’t work out that way,” he said flatly.
“That’s alright. I understand. Things happen. Don’t worry about leaving us girls alone.” She walked toward us and reached out and grabbed my hand. “I have a lot of catching up to do with my baby sister. There’s just so much we still don’t know about each other.”
Dean looked at Katherine and for a split second, I thought I saw him glare at her. But then he turned to me and the look was gone. “I’m sorry, babe. I’ll make it up to you.”
I shook my head and smiled at him. “Don’t be silly. I can tell how much time and effort you put into tonight’s dinner. I think I’m the one that needs to make it up to you.” I pulled his face down toward me and whispered in his ears, “And trust me, I’ll make it up to you and show you just how appreciative I am.”
When he pulled away, I saw the familiar lust in his eyes for me and I instantly felt relieved that we were okay.
“You promise?” he asked with a smirk.
“I promise.” I winked. “Just make sure to get that coffee ready, Mr. Chase.”
He laughed. “It’s always ready, and as strong as ever.”
CHAPTER TWO
Dean
Guilt consumed me as I hugged Blair goodbye and walked out of my front door. I had lied. I hadn’t gotten an email from work. There was no expedited project that came in tonight. I wasn’t heading back into the office. I just needed to get away and clear my thoughts.