Page 27 of Chasing Forever

“If you were to recommend one of her books to someone, which would you choose?”

She was quiet for a moment, and he almost repeated the question, but then she said, “They’re all good. Why do you ask?”

“Because I want to read one. I want to try to find out more about her, and I thought reading one of her books might help.”

Miranda laughed, and it wasn’t a giggle. It was a head-tipped-back, mouth-open-wide, squinty-eyed laugh. At least, that’s how he pictured it.

“Forget it. I don’t know why I asked,” he huffed.

“Sorry. It’s just hard for me to imagine you reading a romance book. They’re quite different from crime novels, you know?”

“Are you going to give me a title or not?”

“Go with the first one in the series. It’s a romance between neighbors, and it has a lot of witty banter and some steamy sex scenes. You’ll like it.”

Chase shook his head. Neighbors? Interesting. “Okay, but promise me you won’t breathe a word of this.”

“Only if you promise to keep me updated on your new…friend.” She giggled this time.

“Why do I think I’m going to regret this?”

“Which part? Telling me or reading a romance novel?”

“Both!”

“My boss is giving me the evil eye. I gotta go. Love you.”

“Love you too,” he said, but she’d already hung up.

He went back into the living room and refreshed the screen on his laptop. There she was, still smiling at him. Before he could overthink it, he brought up the first book in the series and pressed the one-click button to buy it.

He was now the proud owner of his very first romance novel by none other than his friend and neighbor, Callie Cooper.

Chapter 13

Callie hadn’t minded the rain. She’d made good use of her time indoors and written three more chapters of her new romance novel. Her main characters were in the getting-to-know-each-other stage, similar to her and Chase.

Chase. The man surprised and confounded her.

He looked the part of the sexy romantic hero, but in reality, he wasn’t nearly as smooth and cocky as she’d imagined him to be. Confident, yes. Comfortable in his own skin, definitely. But not arrogant.

When she’d first observed him at the pool with the Barbies, she’d immediately assumed certain things about him. To an outsider, he looked like a typical playboy trying to score. But when she’d spent time with him at dinner, he hadn’t acted like that at all. In fact, he’d seemed nervous at times.

A writer should know better than anyone not to judge a book by its cover. But that was exactly what she’d done with him. She’d been pleasantly surprised to discover there was more to him than met the eye. However, just like her, he seemed hesitant to reveal too much of himself. Why?

It shouldn’t have mattered. She could still use him as her muse without knowing every last detail, but he intrigued her, and she wanted to learn more, which was why she was lying in bed at ten o’clock that night with her laptop propped on her legs.

“Why didn’t I think of this before?”

She used Google constantly when she was writing, so why not now? She typed in his name, and sure enough, there were several hits for Chase Edwards in Michigan. She clicked on the name of his law practice, thinking that would contain the most accurate information.

On the home page, there was a group picture of all the attorneys in his office, and she picked out Chase and his dad right away. They were standing side by side, but even if they hadn’t been, she would have known. His dad was an older version of Chase, with graying hair and a stouter build, but otherwise, they looked very similar. Chase was wearing a suit, and she studied him for a moment. Naturally, he filled it out to perfection just like everything else he wore. But this wasn’t the Chase she knew.

This man was the consummate professional with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He’d seemed disgruntled when he’d talked about his job, and she wondered why.

In the list of options on the screen, she saw one labeled About our Attorneys, and clicked on it. Then she clicked on his name. There was another picture of him at the top of the page, but the words beside it gave her pause—Chase Edwards P.C., Divorce Attorney.

She went on to read his biography, which included his schooling, years of experience, and designation as one of the top divorce lawyers in Southeast Michigan. After she read it, she shut down the laptop and placed it on the table beside her bed.