Cowboy Take Me Away by Soraya Lane Page B

again.
    â€œHi, Sarah.”
    â€œYou gonna introduce me to your friend here, sugar?”
    Hope watched as the other woman slid into the booth beside Chase, reaching those long nails out and dancing them across his arm. He moved closer to Hope and she had to hide a smirk. Some things never changed.
    â€œSarah, this is Hope.”
    Hope raised her eyebrows and forced a smile, but she was being thoroughly ignored.
    â€œYou wanna have a drink after you finish up here? Or how about you just swing past my place later?”
    Chase cleared his throat, moving even harder up against Hope.
    â€œAh, I don’t think so,” Chase told her, his voice firm.
    â€œBut Chase, baby …”
    He threw Hope an apologetic look before turning his full attention to the woman he’d obviously let down tonight to come out with her.
    â€œHow about we go outside for a moment and talk in private,” Chase said. “I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”
    Suddenly things turned nasty. Like clockwork, Chase’s calm words seemed to have the absolute opposite effect.
    â€œChase, baby, you gonna choose”—the other woman glared at her, eyes traveling up then down—“ this over me?”
    Chase’s arm went rigid against Hope’s, his hand closing possessively over her thigh. “Enough,” he growled out, like a bear disturbed from hibernation. “It’s time to go, sweetheart. What we had was fun, but that was it. All fun and no commitment, remember?”
    The look on her face was one of pure shock and Hope couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Women flocked to Chase like bees to honey and she couldn’t blame them—he was handsome, he was loaded, and he had charm to boot.
    â€œAsshole,” Sarah spat out, raising her hand to slap him.
    But Chase was too fast, intercepting it and shaking his head. “Uh-huh. Don’t even think about it.”
    â€œYou’re a bastard, you know that, Chase King?”
    â€œI never promise what I can’t deliver, and I made it clear from the start that we were only casual,” he said, voice as calm as ever, like he was talking a jumper down from a ledge. “I’m sorry if I hurt you, but it is what it is.”
    Hope was at least impressed with how the other woman sucked it up and left, not saying another word. Mind you, she’d seen the routine before and it often got nasty. Although she had to give Chase credit too—he’d always made it clear back in college that he was a one-night wonder, but women always seemed to think they’d be the one to keep his attention for longer. Which was one of the reasons she’d always said no to him.
    â€œWell, that was awkward,” Chase muttered, seeming embarrassed as he looked up from beneath his thick black lashes. “Sorry you had to see that.”
    â€œLooks like some things never change,” she murmured, trying to make her expression stern.
    Chase opened his menu again. “I did cancel on her, but what we had was only casual. You know how it is.”
    She knew the drill—he had an embarrassed look on his face, but she doubted he was the least bit worried. “You still haven’t found anyone to tame you yet?”
    â€œBelieve me,” he said, leaning in close, way too close for comfort, “there’ve been plenty try but none succeed.”
    She gave him a shove, half-playful, half just wanting to get him out of her space. She couldn’t breathe with his body up hard to hers, could barely think about anything other than the big, strong, gorgeous man sitting beside her.
    â€œOne day you’re going to have to settle down, you know that, right?”
    â€œWould you believe me if I said I’d tried?”
    It was a conscious effort to keep her jaw from dropping. “You have? You’re not in a relationship now, are you?” she asked. Surely not after the woman he’d just admitted to