“I think so.” She took a pensive sip. “But I don’t really know. I haven’t talked to her much since she dropped the bomb. Actually, I was going to see if she’d meet me this evening and fill me in. That was before you asked me to dinner.”
He smiled. “I’m glad you didn’t turn me down.”
“Me, too,” she said quietly, briefly meeting his eyes before looking at the napkin she’d been working on.
He forced his attention on the business at hand. “So this friend of yours, she isn’t leaving because of an old boyfriend or job or anything in particular?”
Dana gave him an odd look. She settled back, her posture on the defensive side. “She received a letter from her mother telling her about a job that’s opened up, a pretty good job, apparently.”
“Ah. Not show business,” he said, absently. That didn’t mean she didn’t have another motive for wanting a quick exit.
“Oh, no. She has a business degree.”
“What about you? Did you go to college?”
Dana nodded. “Yep. Just a junior college near my home for two years and then I finished up at the university. I have a teaching degree so I can always rely on that.”
“You don’t look like any teacher I ever had.”
She rolled her eyes. “What about you? Before you got bored,” she said, the corners of her mouth twitching. “What did you do?”
“I dropped out of school.”
Her eyebrows went up.
“Not high school. College. In the middle of my third year.”
“Holy moly, that must’ve made your parents real happy.”
“My mom was ready to run me up a flagpole.” He went with the truth. Besides, being easier to keep track of, for some reason, he didn’t want to lie to her anymore than he could help it. “My dad didn’t care one way or the other.”
Her expression softened. “Was he present in your life?”
“When it suited him. Hey, no puppy-dog eyes for me. The less I saw of the old man the better I liked it.” He meant it, although he regretted offering that much information.
Fortunately, the waitress arrived with their food, and he immediately dug into his steak. Dana didn’t press him to talk more, which was a good thing because he had no intention of getting that personal again. Better he keep his focus on the job and not her incredible blue eyes.
5
DANA ORDERED cheesecake for dessert, ignoring Chase’s grin when she asked for extra chocolate drizzle. That was the up side of exercising a couple of times a day…she got to overindulge sometimes. Besides, she doubted there’d be any ice cream left once she got home.
After Chase paid the check, refusing her offer to cover the tip, they left the restaurant. Just outside, people waiting for tables had formed a line, causing a bottleneck. The pressure of Chase’s hand at the small of her back as he guided them to an opening on the sidewalk created a pleasant tingling that started at the base of her spine and radiated to her breasts and the inside of her thighs. It was crazy because it was a casual touch. Nothing sexual about it at all.
“Do you need to get home right away?” he asked, his mouth close to her ear.
“I have an early appointment.” She sidestepped a teenage couple who were so busy kissing as they walked that they nearly plowed into them. The move broke her contact with Chase.
“I thought maybe we could take a walk through the park.” He came up alongside her, their shoulders touching as they walked.
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