Page 7 of Chasing the Sun

Molly scrambled into her car seat in the back and buckled up, but Chloe paused for a moment, wondering where she should sit.

Molly looked at her quizzically and said, “You get to sit in the front with Daddy.”

Okay, then. Problem solved. Chloe gave her a smile and climbed into the passenger seat.

When Bryce got in, he didn’t seem the least bit surprised to see her there, so she knew it had been the right choice. A few minutes later, they were floating, Cadillac style, down the expressway toward Naples.

“Have you ever been to this part of Florida before?” Bryce asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

“No, but I’ve been to the east coast a few times.”

“Spring break?”

“Yes.” She noted his smug expression.

“Hopefully, you’ll find Naples more to your liking.”

“How long have you lived here?”

“All my life. What about you? How long have you lived in Michigan?”

“Same.”

He nodded, and Chloe glanced back to see Molly’s head bent over a book. The sight made her smile.

“She loves books even though she’s still learning how to read.”

“Maybe I can help her while I’m here.”

He looked pleasantly surprised. “Sure, if you want to.”

Twenty minutes later, he pulled up to a gated community, stopped to enter a code in the keypad, and then the gate swung open.

Fancy.

“I’ll give you the code and everything else you need to know once we get home,” he said.

Home. Would this ever feel like home to her? How could it in only three months?

She tried not to gawk as he drove down the street, but it was hard not to. Each home was more impressive than the last. Her eyes popped as she admired the distinct Floridian architecture and the grounds, which were immaculately groomed and exploding with color.

Bryce turned off the air conditioning and rolled down the windows, almost as if he’d sensed she wanted to breathe it all in. The sights and scents were intoxicating, and she couldn’t wait to see which house was his.

The neighborhood was sprawling, and she saw peeks of the golf course between the houses as he wound his way to the very back. Finally, he pulled into a quiet cul-de-sac and then up a driveway.

“We’re home!” Molly said.

Home? To her, it looked more like an estate. Bryce pressed the garage door opener and pulled in next to a deep blue Mercedes convertible. It struck her that this was the car she’d get to use while she was there. It was a far cry from her Malibu, and she swallowed hard.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

She hadn’t realized he’d been watching her until then. “Yes. Everything’s great.”

Once they’d climbed out of the SUV, he said, “Why don’t you go inside with Molly while I unload your bags?”

He didn’t wait for a reply and went over to unlock the door leading from the garage into the house.

“Are you sure you don’t want any help?”