I stepped back from Chase. “Why don’t you come inside?”
“Actually, can we talk?” Chase asked, the sincerest look in his eyes.
My eyes flicked back to Jordan, my not-boyfriend but not-quite friends with benefits. Yeah, I didn’t know what to do about that. But Chase was my oldest friend, and I hadn’t seen him in a year. I couldn’t deny him a thing.
“Yeah, sure,” I said quickly. I looked to Jordan. “I’ll be right back.”
Ashleigh waved at us and then yanked the door closed. I cringed at the finality as it snapped shut.
Welp, Jordan was probably going to be pissed. Okay…he was definitely going to be pissed. But it wasn’t like I was going to walk with Chase to make out or something equally childish. I hadn’t hooked up with Cord when I could have. Though Chase Sinclair was altogether different, it didn’t change anything about me and Jordan.
“Shall we?” he asked, holding his arm out.
I chuckled softly and stepped up next to him. I didn’t take his arm, and he didn’t say anything about it. We headed down the front walk and onto the sidewalk. It was probably too cold for me to be outside in a miniskirt, but I hadn’t anticipated any of this when I left the house this afternoon.
“So, what are you doing here?” I asked. “You haven’t been home in forever.”
“I know. I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” It had been nine years since Chase and I parted ways, but I still considered him my best friend. This walk felt like stepping back in time. Everything settling into the way it had been. Like no time had passed at all. I nudged him. “You could have called.”
“People use phones for that purpose now?”
I snorted. “Fine. You could have texted. Or I don’t know…gotten on social media.”
“LinkedIn?”
I wrinkled my nose at him. “Not the same.”
“How’s school?”
“Almost done,” I said with a sigh of relief. “I mean, three more years of residency, but I actually get paid for that instead of, you know, crippling debt.”
“Law school,” he said, pointing at himself.
I tried not to roll my eyes. I doubted Chase had taken any debt for his fancy-schmancy law degree. Not when his parents were the largest real estate investors in Lubbock. They had money similar to the Wrights. It was outrageous.
We stopped when we came up to a little park near Jensen’s house. It was full of families playing football before the big game, people walking their dogs, runners, and all manner of children enjoying the waning sunshine.
Chase gestured to an empty bench, and we sat. I yelped at the first contact of the cold metal against my bare skin.
“Didn’t plan for this,” I said, gritting my teeth as my skin adjusted.
“Want my jacket?”
I shook my head. “I’m fine. But tell me about you. I know you too well to know that you’re avoiding questions.”
He laughed and winked at me. “You’re right. You know me too well. I’m here, closing on a house.”
“Excuse me?” I asked with raised eyebrows.
“I’m moving home, Annie.”
My jaw dropped for a second time that day. “What the hell?” I gasped. “When did you decide this? What’s happening with your job?”
“I’m actually opening my own firm here in town. My dad is lending me the capital to get started, and I’m going in with a friend from Houston.”
I shrieked. “That’s so incredible! Congratulations!”
I threw myself into his arms again. I couldn’t believe this. Chase was moving back home…right as I was planning to leave Lubbock behind.
He chuckled into my hair before releasing me. “Yeah. I could have stayed in Houston and worked to make partner, but I always knew I wanted to come home. When the opportunity arose, I couldn’t say no.”
“No, of course not.”
“And I’ll be back next week.”
“Wow,” I whispered. “That’s so great.”
Something flipped in my stomach. Was this the moment? Was this when he said that after all that time he’d been away, we finally had our shot? Did I even want that? I loved him. I’d always loved him, but he’d been gone. I hadn’t thought of our promise to marry at thirty in so long. For a while, it had seemed inevitable. It was why I’d never gotten too involved with anyone, but that had been years ago. Now what?
And what about Jordan? That was just…starting. It was too much, too fast.
“I have one more thing to tell you,” Chase said.
I held my breath.
“I’m seeing someone.”
“Oh,” I whispered. My head cleared. This wasn’t…it wasn’t at all what I’d thought. “Is it…is it serious?”
Chase reached into his pocket and produced a small blue box. Tiffany & Co. written on the top. He popped it open and showed off the insane ring inside. I’d pictured this moment so many times when I was younger. When we’d been together. But now, he was showing me the ring he had gotten for someone else.