Just Let Me Love You (Judge Me Not #3)(35)

“One week later,” I reply, frowning. “Yes, I know.”

Chase doesn’t need an upset me to deal with, so I try to smile.

I feel so torn, though. I can’t ask Chase not to stay with his brother. Will needs him. Only problem is, I need Chase too. I’ll never say this to him, however. I refuse to make him choose, because, ultimately, I know Chase Gartner will always choose me.

That knowledge gives me the peace to stay silent…and to remain silent the next night when Chase and I are lying in bed, the specter of our impending separation weighing on us both.

“What are you thinking?” he asks as I stare up at the ceiling.

I turn and nuzzle into his strong chest. “Oh, nothing, really,” I reply.

“So you’re sure you’re okay with me staying in Vegas this next week?” he asks. It’s a question that has been asked and answered too many times to count.

Still, I reassure him, “Yes, absolutely, Chase. I’ll be so busy during the first few days of school that I probably won’t even notice you’re not around.”

That remark gets his attention.

Raising his head from the pillow and peering down at me, he says, “Yeah, right.”

“Okay,” I acquiesce, smiling. “Maybe that’s an exaggeration.”

“Even if that’s true”—Chase rolls on top of me—“I better make sure you have lots of hot memories to keep you going.”

Wrapping my legs around his strong body, I say, “Hmm, hot memories, huh? Sounds like a plan.”

And then we get started on making what turns out to be a very hot memory.



The following morning Abby leaves with Will for their first family counseling session. The house is quiet, since Greg’s still away on business. Chase and I are only too happy to take advantage of all the alone time by spending the morning in bed.

“So, what do you want to do today?” Chase asks as he slides me off of him. He props himself up on one elbow, facing me.

It’s been a morning full of loving, lots of loving, but it’s time to cool things down.

“Hmm,” I say. “Let’s go see something interesting.”

“Interesting?” he says. “Like what?”

“Like a major tourist attraction or something.”

“Okay,” Chase replies. He ponders for a minute then says, “How about a trip down to the Grand Canyon?”

I’ve never been there, and I’m quick to reply, “Ooh, I like that idea.”

“But before we go…” Chase raises a suggestive brow.

Reaching over, he skims his hand down to the curve of my hip, where he squeezes and pulls me to him.

“What?” I ask, playing clueless.

“Oh, you know what,” he says.

And then the talking ends.

So much for cooling things down. Let’s just say it takes us an extra hour before we are out the door and on the road.

When we eventually make it down to Arizona—late in the day—I am awed by the Grand Canyon.

Standing at a South Rim observation point, with the just-beginning-to-set sun sizzling into the horizon, I marvel, “Wow, Chase. This is just… I have no words. Just wow.”

Chase comes up from behind me and encircles me in his arms. “It is amazing, isn’t it?” he murmurs in my ear.

“Now I wish we’d gotten here sooner,” I confess. “I don’t think I want to turn around and leave.”

“We don’t have to go.” Chase nuzzles his chin in my hair. “We can stay overnight if you want.”

“Really?” I lean back against his hard chest. “What would we do? Sleep in the car?”

He chuckles, his chest rumbling against my back. “No, no sleeping in the car. I had a feeling you’d like it down here, so I brought along some camping gear. It’s in the trunk.”

“Ah…” I turn in his arms to face him. “That’s why you wanted to take the rental car and not the bike.”

“You found me out,” he says, laughing. And then, in a more serious tone, “I wanted to surprise you with the option of staying.”

I reach up and touch the side of his face. “You always think of everything, don’t you?”

“I just want to make you happy, Kay,” he replies.

“I am happy,” I assure him. “I’m very happy.”

And it’s true. In this moment, I couldn’t be any happier.

For whatever reason, the canyon is not particularly busy, so Chase and I retrieve our gear from the trunk, secure a camping permit from the park office in no time, and proceed to hike down to the canyon base by nightfall.

We find a good spot to set up our tent and unroll the two sleeping bags Chase had the foresight to bring. After we’re completely settled, Chase makes a small fire. And then we sit in front of Chase’s fire, shoulder-to shoulder, a blanket wrapped around our backs as we share a canteen of water and a couple of energy bars.

“Look at all the stars,” I muse as I gesture to the velvety black sky where a billion dots of light twinkle and glow.

Chase shrugs the blanket off our shoulders and stretches it wide behind us on the desert floor.

As he leans us back gently, he says, “Ah, now there’s a better view.”