“What?” Chase says, his gaze meeting mine.
There’s something about Chase’s eyes that seem to drill right through me. Maybe it’s because he knows me so well. Maybe it’s because I can tell him anything without judgment.
“Tell me.”
“Even though I loved him and things, you know, got serious …”
Chase swallows when I say that, and I know why—because he thinks I had sex with Matt. Mostly because I haven’t told him differently.
“I didn’t picture us long-term. I couldn’t imagine being married to him. And I knew even if we made it until I graduated high school, we wouldn’t survive being apart during college.”
Chase must agree with my assessment. He might even like it because his finger starts moving again, tracing each letter on my ring. “You never told me that.”
“You didn’t exactly like him. And you don’t care for Hunter. You’re honestly worse than my dad. I don’t think you will ever like one of my boyfriends.”
“That’s not true, and you know it,” he says, getting up.
Probably because I already do know. He will like any guy who treats me with respect.
“I suppose we’d better get down there, huh?” I suggest.
When we get outside, the front yard is still complete chaos, but it appears most of the bags are stowed. Chase manages to shove his duffel in a too-small space in the back of one of the three matching Escalades that were rented for the occasion, and then he bends down to pet both puppies.
“I like what you did to your shirt,” Jennifer whispers to me, as Jadyn yells out, “All right, so that there’s no arguing, we are going to draw straws to see who gets to ride in which car. Phillip, you’re driving the first car—car one. Danny, you’re driving car two, and I’ll be in car three. Your sticks have a number on them. After you draw, get into the proper car and get yourself buckled up.”
Jennifer hands me baby Weston while she stands in the driveway and holds out the sticks. Chase’s grandmother, Grandma Mac, and my grandmother, Mimi, are first in line and are super excited that they both get car three. Grandma Mac takes Emersyn from Haley while their dad sets up her car seat. Grandpa Mac ends up with Phillip while Papa’s stick puts him with my dad, which, honestly, makes me wonder if the seats were rigged somehow. Especially when Chase, Damon, and the dogs end up together in the car my dad is driving. Car three fills up next with Ryder and Madden joining that group.
I close my eyes when I choose my stick, praying that it will have a number two, but instead, I get car one and end up with Phillip, Grandpa Mac, Jennifer, Weston, and Haley.
Haley takes her stick, sweetly looks at her dad, and says, “Can Dani and I sit in the very back?”
“Of course,” he says. “In fact, I’ll even let you choose the music for the first half hour of the trip.”
Haley is thrilled as she jumps in the front seat and connects her phone to the Bluetooth before taking her seat, but I know it’s not going to work. Weston will be screeching. She hates electronic music, which is Haley’s absolute favorite.
Chase comes to stand in front of me. “Bummer we’re not together.”
Weston coos and holds out her hands toward him. He takes her from me and kisses her on the nose. “How’s my sweet girl?” he says, and I swear, the kid swoons.
“Chase,” Jennifer says, “I’m so glad you are home. Westie has missed you.”
“You mean, you’ve missed him,” I tease. “And we can’t nickname my baby sister after a dog.”
“Well, yes, sometimes, it seems Chase is the only one who can calm her down. He and Jadyn have some kind of magic baby-whisperer touch, and you’ll have to take the nickname up with him.”
“I’ll put her in the car seat,” Chase tells Jennifer. “You get in and get comfortable.”
“You’re going to make a good father someday,” Chase’s dad says, cuffing his son on the shoulder. “Just not too soon.”
I roll my eyes. Even though everyone thinks Chase can do no wrong and that he offered to put Weston in her car seat so that he could avoid talking about the nickname he’s been calling her, I happen to know he’s not quite as innocent as they think.
He and my brother are crazy about two things, I think as I watch Chase bite into an apple. Uh, make that three. Sports, girls, and food. Although not necessarily in that order.
So, even though Chase doesn’t want to date anyone seriously, that doesn’t mean he isn’t hooking up.
I get in the car and take a seat in the back with Haley. Pretty quickly, the caravan is rolling down the highway while I’m blasting white noise through my headphones, trying to drown out the sounds of Weston wailing over Haley’s playlist.
Fifteen minutes later, Phillip and Grandpa Mac are both rubbing their hands across their temples, and Jennifer is a ball of stress and about to lose her mind.
Haley, meanwhile, pretends to be oblivious to the noise.
I have to take action, so I grab her phone and turn the music off.
“Hey,” she yells. “It hasn’t been a half hour yet.”
“Are you really going to sit there and let the baby scream?”
“She screams no matter what.”
“Not true,” I tell her as I hook my phone to the Bluetooth and hit play on a playlist titled Smooth Baby Jazz.
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.” Haley pouts.
“Thank goodness.” Jennifer sighs with relief as the screaming stops.
Weston smiles at her and kicks her feet to the beat.
I shake my head, knowing I’m totally contributing toward her becoming a spoiled brat, but I don’t care. No one cares. Not when the screaming stops.
Twenty minutes later, Weston is blissfully happy and appears to be on the verge of sleep, her little eyes struggling to stay open as she sucks on the side of her hand.
That is, until Grandpa Mac’s phone rings, causing her to screech.
“Bathroom break. Next gas station,” he states.
“It hasn’t even been an hour yet,” Phillip counters.
Grandpa Mac shrugs and holds out his hands. “Kids.”
Only it’s not the kids we have to stop for; it’s Mimi. She runs in and is quickly back in the car, apparently the only one who had to pee.
Another fifteen minutes later, and we’re stopping again.
It’s determined at this point that we should all go now, so we don’t have to stop again, but no one really does, opting instead to load up on convenience store snacks.
I decide to text Hunter when we get back on the road, knowing that, in a few short hours, I’ll be forced to surrender my phone.
We chat back and forth, which helps to pass the time.
It also makes me sad.
This trip couldn’t have come at a worse time in my life.
But I try to look at the bright side. We’ll have three weeks of talking, flirting, and getting to know each other better without all the physical stuff getting in the way. We can get close without worrying about sex. And by the time I get back, he’s going to want me so badly, he’ll barely be able to control himself.