He balanced the coffee mug on the plate with the pastry and was turning toward a table in far corner when Crystal said, “There’s an exhibit of Roger Thaw’s photography opening at the National Geographic building next week.”
Chase looked at her over his shoulder. Colin had told him that Crystal was still hung up on him after their brief fling several months ago, even though Chase had taken off for an overseas assignment in mid-fling and stayed away from Sweet Happens for weeks after he’d gotten back to town.
“I managed to get tickets to the opening reception,” Crystal said. “It’s pretty exclusive. I asked a friend of mine to go with me, but she’s got to go out of town, so...would you want to go? I mean, it would strictly be as friends.”
In his experience, women never meant it when they said that. “Let me check my schedule and see if I’ll be in town, OK?”
“Sure, yeah, that would be fine. It’s not till next Thursday, so maybe let me know by Tuesday?”
“Yeah, OK. And thanks again,” he said, holding the plate a little higher. “I appreciate it.”
He didn’t want to give Crystal the wrong idea, but he did enjoy her company and the reception would be a great opportunity for him to do some networking. He had a serious itch to get out of the country, but he was having trouble drumming up an assignment. Washington came to a standstill as the summer wound down. With Congress and half the federal workforce on vacation, activity all but stopped. He needed to tap into some farther-flung contacts, and those New York editors might just come to D.C. for an opening of a show by nature photographer Roger Thaw.
Plus, Crystal did have a sweet-ass figure, and he’d always like the artsy, slightly exotic vibe she gave off—and her lean, muscular body and that little tattoo of a butterfly on her left hip, just above the panty line...
“Focus, man,” he said under his breath. He set his coffee and pastry on the small table, pulled his phone out of his back pocket, and sat down. He scrolled through the list of editors he’d worked with before and typed out a series of emails with the same basic message: Looking for an assignment. Got anything going on?
He sipped his coffee and checked BBC News on his phone, looking to see where the hot spots were. He was steering clear of the Middle East for the time being. That shit was too unpredictable even for him.
If he didn’t find something soon, he was going to face serious pressure from his father. He’d already spent the past week deflecting his mother’s phone calls to come to their house in Georgetown and take photos of her garden. He normally didn’t mind doing that, but it inevitably meant crossing paths with his father, who constantly asked when Chase was going to give up this ridiculous vagabond lifestyle and get a real job—which meant managing one of the family’s many restaurants and bars in the D.C. metro area. Colin was good at it and so was their sister Jessica. But Chase would be a disaster, and he couldn’t believe his father didn’t see it. Never mind how miserable his son would be—surely his father wouldn’t want to bring that kind of dishonor on the company.
Around 6:00, he texted Colin: Yo, bro! Where you hanging tonight?
He grabbed his shoulder bag and was returning his dishes to the counter when Colin texted back: Zipped for awhile, then B&B.Like usual.
Chase waved goodbye to Crystal as he pushed open the door with his shoulder and texted Colin back: Headed your way! Put in an order of wings for me!
When he got to Zipped, the place was half full of office workers stopping off for a drink before heading home. The bar was usually packed on Thursdays for trivia night, but Colin didn’t bother with it in August because there weren’t enough regulars in town. Chase went straight to the bar, where Savannah was sitting. Colin saw him coming and turned around to grab a bottle of tequila and a shot glass. He poured the drink and slid it over to Chase then pulled out of bottle of Landshark lager and stuck a wedge of lime in the bottle.
“God bless your superpower,” Chase said. He downed the tequila and set the glass down on the bar with a satisfying thunk. “Exactly what I needed.”
Savannah had a plate of half-eaten chicken wings in front of her, and Chase eyed it hungrily. She drank the last of her soda and grabbed her bag.
“I’ve got an early meeting tomorrow so I’m going to head home,” she said. “I’ll just say goodbye to Rayne before I go.”
Chase had already grabbed a chicken wing off the plate and now he paused with it in midair. “Rayne’s here?” he said.
“Yes, Rayne’s here!” Rayne sang out from behind him.
He turned and saw her walking over from the direction of the bathrooms. Her face was flushed a pretty shade of pink, and she swayed a little as she walked.
Savannah slid off her barstool. “I’m going home,” she said to Rayne. “But I want to talk more about your work thing.”
“I’ll come with you,” Rayne said, reaching for her purse.
“You don’t have to cut your night short just because I am. Stay and eat. Seriously.”
Rayne leaned closer to Savannah and lowered her voice but not enough that Chase couldn’t help hearing, “I didn’t eat lunch, and that margarita went right to my head.”
“Yeah, I noticed,” Savannah said. “But don’t worry about work. I’m sure Jeremy will figure something out. Oh and Chase,” she said as she slung her bag over her shoulder, “I’m sleeping at my house tonight, so you and Colin can have some quality time together.”
Chase turned to Colin in open-mouthed surprise. “I never said I wanted quality time.”
Colin laughed. “You didn’t have to. The way you’ve been moping around the apartment or holed up in your room, it’s pretty obvious.”
Savannah shook her head, smiling, and leaned over the bar to give Colin a kiss. As she walked away, Rayne slid onto the barstool next to Chase and drank the last few drops of her drink, then rattled the ice cubes and peered into the glass as though hoping for more. She was wearing a sleeveless dress that hugged her waist and flared out at the hips. It was flattering, and he thought about telling her so but took a swig of his beer instead.
“What is it you’re not supposed to worry about?” he asked.
“I’m not supposed to even talk about it,” Rayne said. “I only told Savannah because I tell her everything. Well, not everything, but I had to tell someone.”
She tucked her hair behind her ear and shifted in her seat—and nearly slid off the barstool. Chase reached out to steady her, but she grabbed the edge of bar and righted herself. His hand hovered in the air for a few seconds as he wondered whether he could touch her anyway without being obvious, but as soon as he hesitated, he felt as awkward as a teenager, and he let his hand drop.
Colin brought a plate of cranberry and brie crostinis and set it down in front of Rayne.
“Eat!” he said.
“Can I have another margarita, please?” she asked, holding up her glass.
“Eat something first and then we’ll talk,” Colin said.
“Yessir!” Rayne said and saluted.
Chase and Colin laughed, and Rayne giggled. She was adorable when she giggled.
Colin moved off down the bar, and Rayne reached across Chase to pick up one of the wings. She bit into it, and sauce smeared her cheeks. He shifted in his seat, fighting the urge to find out how the sauce tasted on her skin.
“They’re spicy tonight,” she said, finally brushing a napkin across her mouth.
“Yeah,” he said, and his voice was hoarse.
She bit into one of the crostinis. “These are sweet. Which do you like better: spicy or sweet?”
He took a long drink of his beer. “It depends.”
“Sometimes I like both at the same time. That’s why barbecue sauce works.”
“And General Tso’s chicken,” he said, starting to feel buzzed and wishing they could tal
k about something less sensual—and at the same time wishing she’d never stop.
“Oh, and Mexican hot chocolate.”
Colin came around from behind the bar. “What are you guys talking about?” he asked, giving Chase a look he chose to ignore.
“Spicy or sweet?” Rayne said. “Which do you like better?”
“Sweet,” Colin said. “But if salty’s in the mix, I might have to reconsider. Right now, though, I’m heading to Balance&Bite.” He turned to Chase. “See you back at our place later?”
“Sure, bro. I’ll pick up some beer on the way home,” Chase said.
Colin headed for the door, and Chase was turning back to the bar when a man walked over to him.
“Hey, Chase,” the man said.
“Hey, Ben. Good to see you.” They shook hands, and Chase gestured to Rayne. “This is my friend Rayne. Care to join us?”
Ben nodded at Rayne and said, “Nah, I’m with some co-workers. We just stopped in for a quick beer. We’re on deadline tonight.”
“Ben’s managing editor of D.C. magazine,” Chase said to Rayne.
“That’s a great magazine,” Rayne said. “I read it all the time.”
“Thanks,” Ben said with a smile, then he motioned to Diana, a waitress who sported pink hair and multiple ear piercings, and ordered a Sam Adams draft. Rayne asked for a margarita.
“I got your email but didn’t get a chance to respond,” Ben said to Chase. “I might have something for you.”
“Oh yeah?” Chase perked up immediately.
“It’s not my gig to assign, but I know a guy who’s looking for someone to do a piece on Nepal after the earthquake. He’s lining up a writer, but he wanted to send a photographer, too. Someone with experience in places like that.”
Chase pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. “Do you have his number?”
“Not on me. Let me talk to my contact first, and if it looks good, I’ll send you the info.”
Diana brought his beer, and Ben laid some money on the bar and picked up the glass. “It’s a new magazine, and I hear the financing is pretty solid, but I want to check it out first. I wouldn’t want to send you halfway around the world for something that’s not the real deal.”
“I appreciate that, man,” Chase said. “But you know me, halfway around the world is never a bad deal.”
Ben took a drink of his beer and shook his head with a smile. “Yeah, for a second, I forgot who I was talking to.” Then he turned to Rayne. “Nice meeting you.”
Rayne waved and turned her attention to the margarita Diana had just brought her. She drank half of it in one swallow. Chase slid his phone back into his pocket and said, “Whoa! Maybe you should slow down!”
“I’ve been to Nepal,” she said.
He was surprised. “You have?” According to Savannah and Colin, Rayne was a definite homebody.
“Mmm-hmmm. When I was about twelve, my parents took me all around Nepal and India. I think I still have the sari they bought me.”
“That’s a hell of a summer vacation.”
She fiddled with the edge of the napkin under her drink, which was wet with condensation. “We didn’t really take vacations. I mean, not in the normal sense. My parents were kind of hippies so we moved around. A lot. Sometimes we went to exotic places and stayed there for a while, or not. It just depended.”
He took the last swig of his beer, watching her. “Sounds like you didn’t enjoy it.”
“Oh, it was fine, but I’m happy to stay put now.” She took another sip of her drink. “So you just go wherever someone sends you?”
“Pretty much. That way, when I’m upset with my boss, I find a new one instead of drowning my sorrows in margaritas,” he said with a wink.
She gazed at him. Her cheeks had gone a little pinker, and her smoky gray eyes looked serious. “I guess I am drowning my sorrows, but I’m not upset with my boss. Well, maybe a little. He wants to shut down the organization because of one setback, and I think he’s giving up too quickly.”
“You work for a conservation outfit, right?” Chase asked, hoping he was remembering correctly. He was rewarded with a look of surprise and a nod. She obviously thought he hadn’t been paying that much attention. Or else she was remembering his mostly deserved reputation for messing up the details, which had nearly cost Colin his relationship with Savannah.
“Global climate change,” Rayne said, finishing her drink and signaling to Diana for another. Chase gave Diana his own signal and watched as she poured only a dash of tequila into the drink. She also brought Chase another beer.
“But it doesn’t really matter because we’re losing the building,” Rayne said. Then she turned toward him, and the words came tumbling out. “Our office is in this awesome old house on the Hill, but we’re just leasing it and the landlord wants to convert it into condos and we can’t afford to go anywhere else. Or at least that’s what Jeremy says. And now this amazing organization is going to fold and I’m going to lose a job I love.”
She stopped to catch her breath, and her eyes went wide. “It’s supposed to be a secret.” She put her hand on Chase’s arm and tightened her fingers around his wrist. “Please don’t tell anyone.”
Chase looked down at her hand. Her fingers were pressing against his pulse, and the throbbing sensation made it hard for him to focus.
“Promise me,” she said, and she had such an intent look of concern on her face that he immediately said, “Yeah, sure, I won’t tell anyone.”
She relaxed and let go of his arm, and he wished he hadn’t agreed so quickly. He took a long drink of his beer and said, “Maybe there’s some way you guys could raise the money to buy the place.”
“I was thinking about that, but our fundraising director is on maternity leave.”
“Maybe you could do it.”
“Me? I don’t know the first thing about raising money.”
He shrugged. “What’s to know? You’re passionate about the organization, and it sounds like you care about the old house. The rest is just logistics. You could figure it out.”
She stared at him dumbfounded for a moment then a little smile started to lift the corners of her mouth. She pulled her phone out of her purse and keyed in her password, and he watched a photo of a bird pop up on her screen. Then she opened on a note-taking app and typed: Hold a fundraiser. Me?
“A blue-footed booby?” he asked, pointing to the bird on her phone.
She looked up at him in surprise. “Not many people know what it is. I love that bird. The silly blue feet. And the name. It makes me giggle.” Which she did. And he wished like hell he had the nerve to kiss her. If she was any other woman, he would have already done that and more.
She took a ten out of her wallet and slid it under the plate. “They never let me pay here because of Savannah, but would you make sure Diana gets this?”
“Of course,” Chase said. “Are you taking off?”
“Yeah, it’s been a long day, and I’m starting to crash. I’ll see you around.”
He wanted to ask if he could walk her home or take her to dinner sometime or skip all that and go straight to bed, but he seemed to have completely lost his game.
“Sure thing,” he said.
While he was finishing his beer and checking his phone for messages, Diana came over to clear away the dishes. She found the ten Rayne had left.
“Since when did you become such a big tipper?” she asked.
“Rayne left it.” He was disappointed to see that only a couple of his contacts had responded and the answers were all no, nothing going on right now. He hoped Ben’s lead would turn into something substantial.
Diana picked up Rayne’s napkin and uncovered a cell phone.
“I take it this isn’t your phone,” she said. “Unless
you carry a spare.”
He picked up the phone and pressed the button to light up the screen. There behind the password keypad was the photo of the blue-footed booby.
“It’s Rayne’s,” he said.
Diana reached to take it from him. “I’ll put it in the lost and found,” she said.
“No,” Chase said, a little more sharply than he’d intended. “I’ll get it back to her.”
Diana eyed him suspiciously, but he pretended not to notice. “Suit yourself,” she said.
Chase headed for the door, still holding the phone. It was smaller than his, and it fit nicely in his palm. He was smiling when he stepped out onto the sidewalk, ridiculously pleased to have a reason to see her again, away from Zipped and his brother’s disapproving looks. Of course, he’d have to figure out where she lived first.
Chapter 3
The next morning, Rayne woke up with a raging headache and a mouth so dry she couldn’t have spit if her life depended on it. Though she couldn’t imagine a situation when that would be necessary. She stumbled to the bathroom and gulped down some aspirin then headed downstairs to the kitchen. She heated water for tea and threw a couple slices of bread in the toaster. As Rayne was smearing butter and jam on the toast, Savannah walked in, already dressed for work.
“So how long did you stay at Zipped last night?” Savannah asked as she rinsed out her coffee mug in the sink. “I completely conked out as soon as I got home so I didn’t even hear you come in.”
“I didn’t stay too much longer,” Rayne said, taking a sip of her tea. She knew what Savannah was really asking and figured there was no point in being coy. “Chase and I talked for awhile and then I walked myself home.”
Savannah looked relieved. She didn’t want Rayne dating Chase any more than Colin did. Rayne knew they were just trying to look out for her, but it still made her feel like a child—or fragile, which she didn’t like either. Chase had a reputation for romancing women and then taking off for parts unknown when things got complicated or boring. But she had really enjoyed hanging out with him, and even when she woke up, she still had a warm feeling.
The Pursuit (Capitol Love Series Book 2) Page 2