The Three-Week Arrangement (Chase Brothers)

“Not if you have ice cream.”

He stared blankly. “You’ve mentioned ice cream twice in two minutes. At this point I’m afraid to hand you any, lest I lose my arm. Did you drive?”

“No, took a cab.”

“Good. I have my truck.”

So she could invade more of his personal space. This was getting dangerous…for her. “First your apartment, then your bedroom when you introduced me to your new roommate, and now your truck. Careful there…you’re letting me in.”

She’d been teasing, but to her own ears the words sounded like a warning—the kind that would shut down a guy like him, at least toward a woman who wasn’t his wife. But instead of backing down from the inflated importance of her words, he just grinned.

“I want you in. At least until you leave.”

Well, now she was screwed. She more or less understood the man who couldn’t let go of his past—off limits was as easy as it got—but whether or not he was teasing her with his want, those were loaded words. Words the Ethan Chase she’d met just a few days ago couldn’t have said if his life depended on it, at least not if the years before her meant anything near as much as the days since. And, of course, they did.

They stopped for ice cream—not at a shop, but at a grocery store. He snagged a half-gallon of chocolate, and she went straight for the coffee flavor, wondering the entire time what in the world they were going to do with a gallon of ice cream. Back in the truck, he asked what kind of pizza she liked.

“Absolutely any kind but anchovy.”

He handed her his phone. “There’s an app. Order anything but anchovy.”

She felt a little odd with his phone—probably because absolutely no one touched hers and lived to tell about it—but she didn’t argue. And he didn’t even look her way. She could have been digging through anything, and he wouldn’t know any different. Clearly he was indifferent, but the whole gesture rang of intimacy.

She scrolled through his apps until she hit a pizza place, then pulled up his saved order. Extra-large Brooklyn style with everything but onions and anchovies. She clicked her way through the order until the confirmation screen appeared, then set his phone on the seat between them. “Fifteen minutes,” she said, and settled back against the seat.

The late model truck had a million gadgets and electronic features that had come decades too late for her car, including a GPS that informed her they were less than five minutes from his apartment. Her stomach fluttered and that took her back to the balloon ride. She had not, for one second, foreseen that as something that could turn romantic. She’d seen the advertisements, of course, but this was Ethan. Sexy, hard-loving Ethan with his rough hands, and purveyor of the tenderest kisses she’d ever, ever experienced. It had been a fluke. She knew that. Knew it was more about the situation than it was her. Even wondered if he’d seen someone else when he’d pulled her in, but instinctively she knew otherwise. Whatever fueled that kiss, it had been theirs.

And that terrified her. Even if they had something between them, it wouldn’t be enough to make her stay. She’d been there a dozen times before, standing at the beginning of something that felt as if it could go somewhere. Inevitably mistaken. She might feel differently about Ethan than she had any man before him, but that wasn’t enough to give up her dream. Not even if he really was different. Maybe especially not. Because if he tried to keep her off that plane, that would mean he didn’t understand her at all. And that might be even more devastating than leaving him behind.

She tried to push that looming separation out of her mind, but going up to his apartment wasn’t exactly conducive to not thinking about him…at least not until she saw Shaggy. The dog’s tail thumped in recognition, and Rue went straight to her and scratched under her chin.

Ethan watched them, a smile toying at his lips. “Sawyer said she looks like a skinny hippopotamus.”

Rue laughed. “She kind of does.”

He snorted. “I’m absolutely not telling him you said that. The last thing he needs is encouragement.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said. “Just in case I need something to hold against you.”