by Lori Wilde
Everyone had taken it for granted that Chase was the co-chair. Then Leigh had invited her to join the family for the traditional Sunday barbecue, and Megan had quickly accepted, leaving the meeting before Chase could finagle his way out of helping.
Now all she had to do was take advantage of this opportunity that Leigh and the citizens of Honey had inadvertently given her. Well, maybe that the citizens of Honey had inadvertently given her. Megan was fairly certain Leigh had pushed her together with Chase on purpose.
Either way, it didn’t matter. She had a chance to make Chase notice her, and she planned on using that chance.
Last night, she’d stayed up late skimming two of the recent additions to the Honey Library: Squash the Wimp Within and the sequel, Do It or Die Sorry.
According to the books, many women didn’t go after what they wanted in life. They had been raised to be polite, to not rock the boat. Megan knew that up until now, she had been one of those women. But no more. She’d tried being subtle, and Chase hadn’t caught on.
Drastic action became her only recourse.
Getting Chase interested wouldn’t be easy. With a string of broken relationships behind him, the man didn’t believe in love. He’d once told her he had a better chance of Santa shimmying down his chimney than of finding a woman to love forever.
But even with his attitude, Megan would never forgive herself if she didn’t at least try. In her heart, she knew Chase was the right man for her. Sure, he could be mule-headed at times, but as everyone knew, the course of true love never did flow smoothly.
Megan parked her car next to Nathan’s expensive sedan and Trent’s squad car and climbed out. As she headed up the steps to the front door of the white, two-story house, the Texas sun was warm on her back, even though it was only late March. But thankfully, her new cotton dress was cool.
And bright. A bright vibrant emerald-green. After a great deal of thought, she’d decided to further shake up Chase by changing her style. Not so much her clothing choices, but rather their colors.
Traditionally, Megan favored flowing dresses in calming pastels. Instinctively she knew the best way to get Chase to notice her wasn’t to appear suddenly wearing a sequined bustier and spandex shorts. That kind of radical change would signal to Chase that something was up, and he’d be on guard.
But if instead she made small, subtle changes, then he’d notice her without knowing why he was noticing. She understood Chase needed time to adjust to the change in their relationship, so she wouldn’t rush him. But she had hope. Lots of hope.
Because at least once last night, she knew for a fact he’d pictured her naked.
What a wonderful way to set a plan in motion. Smoothing the skirt of her sundress, Megan started to knock. Abruptly the door flew open, Leigh grabbed her arm, then tugged her inside.
“Don’t let him wiggle out of this,” Leigh whispered with a grin. “He’s trying. But you stand firm.”
Megan’s spirits sank a tad. “Is he unhappy?”
Leigh huffed. “He’s fine. Now head on out back. He’s barbecuing dinner. Flatter his fragile male ego. I know, tell him how much you appreciate him helping, and that you think he’s a great guy.”
“I do. Very much. I really think this playground will be terrific for the children of Honey. Did you know the equipment there is almost forty years old? I couldn’t—”
Leigh rolled her eyes. “You’re preaching to the choir, Megan. And don’t worry about Chase. Working on this carnival will be good for him. He’ll spend some time away from the ranch, which he needs, and he’ll do something terrific for the kids of this town.” She nudged Megan farther inside the house. “Now, no wavering. Go outside and ask him if he needs any help with the grill.”
As Megan was about to head toward the back of the house, Leigh grabbed her arm once again.
“Oh, and don’t ask for any water. He keeps muttering about there being something wrong with it.”
Perplexed, Megan simply nodded, then followed Leigh through the living room, past the kitchen, and into the family room. Funny, there was nothing wrong with her water.
Nathan, Trent, and a red-haired woman Megan didn’t recognize sat watching a basketball game on the wide-screen TV. When Leigh and Megan walked in, the conversation floundered to a halt.
“Megan, you know my brothers. And this is Sandi, with an i,” Leigh said hurriedly. “Trent’s date.”
Megan moved forward to shake Sandi’s hand. The young woman was very pretty, but all of Trent’s dates were pretty.
“Nice to meet you, Sandi,” she said.
Sandi grinned. “Thanks. I’m really glad to be here.”
Megan decided she liked Sandi with an i even if she knew she’d only meet her this once. Trent’s girlfriends didn’t last as long as a gallon of milk.
“Hi, Nathan. Trent,” Megan said.
Nathan stood. “Hello, Megan. It’s good to see you again. You’re looking lovely today.”
Megan smiled. Nathan was a natural-born charmer. He could convince birds to give up their feathers in the dead of winter. “It’s good to see you, too, Nathan. I hope you don’t mind me being here.”
Nathan grinned, making his handsome face even more appealing. Like all the Barrett men, he had black hair and the most amazing blue eyes.
Unlike his brothers, though, Nathan’s hair was styled, giving him a more polished, sophisticated look. “Not at all. I’m happy you can join us.”
Trent also stood, and the grin he flashed Megan was pure flirt. “Hey, Megan. Like Nathan said, you look good today.”
The way he said good dripped with innuendo, but since she’d grown up around Trent, Megan didn’t take his flirting seriously. She merely shook her head at him.
“Cut it out, you dweebs,” Leigh said. She gave Megan a little push toward the door leading to the back porch. “Ignore them. Go say hello to Chase. You two need to start planning for the carnival. That’s going to take a lot of work.”
“I understand you’re going to have an auction as well,” Nathan said. “Barrett Software will be happy to donate a laptop.”
“Thanks, I really appre—”
Leigh grabbed Megan’s arm once more and started dragging her toward the door leading out to the patio.
“Yeah, yeah. Nathan’s the salt of the earth,” Leigh said. “Now go talk to Chase.”
Megan refused to budge. “Leigh, give me a second here.” When she looked back at Trent and Nathan, they both had knowing expressions on their faces.
They smelled a plot.
Trent was the first to break the silence.
“Oh, yeah, Megan, why don’t you go say hi to Chase? I know he’ll be happy to see you.”
“I agree. Great idea,” Nathan said, his expression way too innocent to be believable.
Megan rolled her eyes. “It’s not what you think.”
But since it was exactly what they thought, she didn’t see the point in saying anything else. Megan realized that everyone in the room now knew with utter certainty why Chase had been coerced into co-chairing the playground committee.
Okay, so maybe Sandi didn’t know. Yet. But she probably would before dinner was over. Eventually everyone would know.
Except, with any luck, not Chase. Megan wanted to find a way to get the message across to him on her own. Slowly. So he’d have time to adjust to the idea of them becoming more than friends. With care and finesse and—
“Now I get it,” Sandi announced loudly. “She has the hots for your older brother, right?”
Megan groaned. Or more than likely, he’d know in about a minute and a half.
Chase fiddled with the steaks on the barbecue grill. Dinner would be ready soon, and judging from the commotion he could hear going on in the family room, Megan had arrived.
Good. He needed to talk to her. He’d come to a few decisions last night, not the least of which was that he didn’t have time to co-chair any committee, even one she was running. Megan would have to accept his de
cision.
Once he cleared up that misunderstanding, they next needed to talk about had happened between them. He wanted to make certain she’d been kidding last night when she’d openly flirted with him.
Megan, of all people, knew how he felt about love and romance. She also knew how he felt about her. They were friends. Good friends. And even though they’d both changed a lot during those years when she’d been away at college and then working in Dallas, they’d remained friends.
Just as they’d been since that day when she’d been eight and was being tormented by a bully for being the new kid. He’d stepped in to help her, and they’d been friends ever since. Even though he was five years older than she was, Megan had always understood him without getting all sappy and girlie.
So he knew they could clear up last night’s misunderstanding without any problems. There wasn’t anything the two of them couldn’t talk about. Even if she had developed a little crush on him, they could work through it.
He’d help her see that what she thought was love was only her hormones acting up. Naturally, they couldn’t do anything about those hormones because having sex would ruin their friendship. But at least she’d know he cared.
After that, they’d simply ignore this bump in the road of their friendship. Then in a few weeks, everything would go back to normal.
When he heard the door behind him open, he glanced over his shoulder. It was Megan, so he turned toward her. “Hey.”
“Hi, Chase.” She sat in one of the wrought-iron patio chairs near the grill. “How are you?”
Okay. So far, so good. She wasn’t flirting. “I’m fine,” he said carefully, still uncertain of the waters. “And you?”
She smiled up at him, and he couldn’t help noticing that her dress did really remarkable things to her eyes. Since she wasn’t wearing the glasses she wore when reading, he could see her eyes clearly. They looked deep green and so incredibly inviting.
Whoa. Rein that horse in. What in the world was he doing? He didn’t care if her eyes looked really green. That wasn’t what they needed to talk about.
He returned his focus to the problem at hand. “Look, Megan, about last night—”
“Thanks again for volunteering to help,” she said, crossing her legs. The mild spring breeze fluttered her skirt around her calves, and Chase’s gaze strayed and stayed. Megan had really great legs. Long, slender. Sexy.
Oh, for crying out loud. He blew out a disgusted breath, and Megan frowned at him.
“What’s wrong with you today?” she asked.
“What’s wrong with me?”
“Yes. You.” She smiled. “Are you truly upset about last night? I know you got railroaded into helping. But I do appreciate it, and I’ll make certain you’re not asked to do too much.”
The sizzle of the steaks caught his attention for a moment, so Chase turned to flip them over, then he looked back at Megan. “Okay, we’ll talk about that first.”
She opened her eyes wide, and once again he was struck by how exceptionally green they looked today. “First? You have a lot on your mind, do you?”
“Yeah, you could say that.” Knowing he needed to handle this conversation carefully so he didn’t hurt her feelings, he squatted next to her chair, putting him at eye level with her. “I’m not really the carnival type.”
“I wasn’t expecting you to perform tricks with barnyard animals.”
Ignoring the radiant smile she gave him, he tried again. “No, what I mean is I’m not the type to help on a committee. Just like I’m not the type for a lot of things.”
He said the last sentence with meaning in his voice so she would know what he was talking about.
Megan laughed and placed her hand on his forehead. “Are you feeling all right? You’re not sick, are you?”
He brushed her hand away and stood, partially because he was annoyed she hadn’t caught on to his message, and well, partially because he’d really liked the sensation of her touching him—or rather, he liked it too much.
“I’m fine.”
She came over to stand next to him. “Are you sure? Maybe you breathed in too much of Janet’s perfume last night and you’re having an allergic reaction. I read in a new book the library got last week, Why Life Stinks, that many people are allergic to certain scents. And just like some scents can make you feel warm or loved or sexy, others can make you violently ill. Maybe Janet’s perfume did that to you.”
Chase patiently waited for her to finish, then he said, “I’m not allergic to Janet’s perfume, and I feel fine. I want to talk about last night.”
Megan settled back in her chair. “Okay. What’s up?”
This was more like it. “First I’d rather not co-chair the committee. I’m too busy right now.”
“You don’t think the playground is a good idea?”
“Well, sure. It’s a great idea.”
She nodded slowly. “Just not one you’re willing to help make happen.”
“It’s not that I don’t wish you every success. And you know I’ll help. In some smaller way.”
“Then maybe I shouldn’t try to do this, either. I’m really busy at the library right now, too. You may have a good point.”
Ah, hell. At times like this, he couldn’t help wondering if his parents had dropped him on his head as a baby. He didn’t seem to be thinking clearly today.
Determined to find a way out of the hole he’d dug for himself, he said carefully, “Of course you should do it. You’ve told me lots of times how much building that playground means to you. It’s one of your dreams. Ever since you were a kid, you always said if you had enough money, you’d build this great playground for everyone to enjoy. Well, now you’ve got a way to make that happen,” he encouraged.
Megan’s expression was thoughtful. “So I should make my dream come true, but without the help of my best friend, is that right?”
Dang it all. He hadn’t seen that one coming. This hole he’d dug for himself kept getting bigger and bigger. Megan knew he firmly believed that friends helped each other make their dreams come true. She’d neatly nailed him with his own code of ethics. But why did it have to be a carnival?
Scrubbing one hand over his face, he looked at Megan. “Let’s talk about something else for a minute.”
She smiled at him again. “Okay.”
Since he couldn’t think of an easy way to say this, he just said it. “All that picturing each other naked stuff got out of hand last night.”
Megan kept smiling. “Really? In what way?”
“You and I are friends, Megan. We’ve been friends most of our lives. We shouldn’t go around picturing each other naked.” There. He couldn’t be much clearer than that.
“I see. But you said it was okay for me to picture you naked if I got nervous,” she pointed out.
“I was kidding.”
“I see. So instead, we should picture other people naked, not each other. For instance, you can picture Janet naked if you want to, right?”
Chase ran a hand through his hair. “Uh, well, I don’t know about that because—”
“And since I’m not close friends with either Nathan or Trent, I can picture one of them naked if I get nervous, right?”
She looked very pleased with herself, and Chase frowned. “You know that isn’t what I meant.”
“I guess then I’m not exactly sure what you do mean, Chase. I don’t see what’s wrong with picturing your brothers naked. I’m sure if I concentrated, I could imagine—”
Chase placed one hand over her mouth. He didn’t know when aliens had swooped down and stolen the real Megan, but he knew it had happened. The Megan he knew and had known for years didn’t act this way.
Her soft lips pressed against the palm of his hand, and even though she didn’t move a muscle, Chase felt as if a bolt of lightning shot straight through his body. He dropped his hand and moved quickly away from her as if he’d caught on fire.
“What is with you?” he demanded, annoyed at w
hat was happening with her, and even more annoyed at what was happening with him. When he’d felt her lips against his skin, desire had surged through his body, making his heart pound heavy in his chest.
He did not want to want Megan. No, make that he refused to want Megan. They were friends, and friends didn’t lust after each other.
Megan moved closer to him. “Nothing is with me, Chase. But if it makes you feel any better, I promise I’ll no longer picture you naked. And since it bothers you so much, I won’t picture your brothers naked, either. If I feel the uncontrollable desire to picture anyone naked, I’ll picture some other man. Does that make you feel better?”
Of course it didn’t make him feel better. “Megan, don’t go around picturing anyone naked.” Narrowing his eyes, he added, “You’re spending way too much time with Leigh. She’s a bad influence on you.”
Megan laughed, then turned and walked back toward the house. “You’re losing it, cowboy.”
Yeah, well, tell him something he didn’t know. “Megan, we’re not through yet,” he told her as she reached out to open the door.
Megan turned and looked at him. For several seconds, she didn’t say a word, merely studied him. Then she gave him a tiny smile that was one of the most seductive things Chase had ever seen in his life.
“Oh, I know we’re not through yet. Not by a long shot. In fact, we’ve just begun.”
3
“You rock,” Leigh said to Megan in the kitchen. “I think Chase is wrapped up tighter than a Christmas present right now.”
No kidding, but so was she. Her conversation with Chase left her rattled and flushed. “You could hear us?”
“No. Not all of it, anyway. But I did catch the part about picturing people naked.” She frowned.
Oh, no. Megan drew several deep, soothing breaths into her lungs, willing herself to calm down.
“By the way, I agree with Chase. I don’t think you should go around picturing Nathan and Trent naked. That seems kind of gross considering how you feel about Chase.”