No wonder Chase wasn’t interested in more…I probably looked like the grim reaper’s offbeat cousin.
I removed Jackson’s shoes and jeans to let him sleep more comfortably and then pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Night, night, my love.”
I slipped from the room and went to the bathroom before going upstairs to join Chase. I flicked on the lights and gawked at myself in the mirror. I hadn’t put much makeup on since I’d only packed the basics.
As someone who was used to a full face at all times, it was startling to see myself so bare. My skin was also darker, thanks to all of the time in the sun. Under the harsh fluorescent it was quite a mess to see how imperfectly it matched the thin layer of foundation I’d smoothed on hours and hours before.
So, less grim reaper, and more oompa-loompa. Perfect.
Fed up with it all, I turned on the tap and washed away every last trace of makeup. It wasn’t worth the fight. My hair was decent, all things considered, but I smoothed back the flyaways with a spritz of hair spray. And then added a dab of perfume to each wrist before I left the room.
Over the past few days, Chase and I had slipped into a comfortable nightly routine. I’d put Jackson to bed and then go back up and we’d have a bottle of wine and talk about life. I didn’t regret sharing—possibly over-sharing—about my life and marriage. It felt good to have it off my chest.
I’d never told anyone the bare bones truth before and the result had been better than I expected. Chase wasn’t the type to judge, at least not as far as I could tell, and while he didn’t have much to offer in the way of feedback, he listened and at the time, that was all I needed. The following night, we talked about his life in the military. He was more closed off than I’d expected, but he answered all of my questions about the SEALs and what he’d done while with them.
He left me with the sense that there was a lot more than he was giving me upfront, but I wasn’t in a hurry. I’d rather get to the place where he trusted me enough to show me on his own accord.
“What’s this?” I asked, finding him in his usual chair but with two margarita glasses on the table in place of a bottle of wine.
“Thought we’d mix it up. Ya know, viva Mexico!”
I laughed. “I’m not gonna argue with you.”
“I didn’t think so,” he said, grinning as I sat down and reached for my glass. “They’re on the rocks. I didn’t figure Jackson would appreciate the blender kicking into high gear while he was trying to sleep.”
“This place has a blender?” I wrinkled my nose.
“I assumed?”
I laughed harder at the puzzled look on his face, as though a boat without a blender was inconceivable. “I haven’t seen one and I think I’ve rummaged just about every cupboard.”
Chase laughed softly and nodded. “Well, then it’s a good thing I didn’t try. Thank you, by the way, for all of the cooking.”
I blushed and looked down into my margarita glass, breathing in the salt and tequila. “It’s no problem.”
“Trust me, it’s amazing. You should open your own place one of these days.”
“Ha! No thank you…” I shook my head.
“Why not?” Chase asked, arching a brow at me. He took a sip of his drink while he waited for my answer.
“I don’t know. It just doesn’t seem like it would be something I’d be good at. I tend to only do things if I can do them well. And owning a restaurant…I don’t know. I can’t picture it.”
“Fair enough,” he shrugged. “So, what will you do then? After all this mess is behind you?”
I blew out a breath between tight lips. “I have no flippin’ idea.”
Chase chuckled. “Come on, what would you want to do?”
“Well, my last job was as a bank manager. I could do that…”
“Naw. What else ya got? Think big!”
I grinned over at him. “I don’t know! My only other career was as a gymnast.”
I burst out laughing as Chase’s jaw dropped.
“Uh-huh. I was headed places. My parents put me in lessons when I was really young and I never stopped. I was actually set to compete in the Olympic trials back in high school. I was fifteen.”
“Shit! That’s incredible! What happened?” Chase gawked—once he collected himself.
I could only imagine what he’d been thinking.
“I busted my ankle really bad. I missed the trials and even after I recovered and rehabbed, it was never the same. I couldn’t regain the edge I’d had.”
“Damn, that sucks.”
“You’re telling me! My whole life would be different now if I’d actually made it.” I sighed and looked over the opposite edge, staring out at the water. There were so many things I wished had gone differently in my life. That was just a cherry on top of the big, ugly banana split.