Chance on Love (31 page)

He shook his head. “She doesn’t want to talk to me. She’s too damned stubborn. She won’t hear a word I have to say.”

“Boo Bear,” Gammy scolded. “What did you do?”

Chance raised his eyebrow. “Why do you assume it was something
I
did?”

“Oh,” Gammy said, patting his knee, “it’s usually the men, dear.”

****

Stephanie sat at her desk long after the tears had run dry. She’d folded her arms and laid her head on them as she stared at nothing, seeing even less. She didn’t even know why she was still there. What was the point? How was she supposed to assist someone who wasn’t even there and wasn’t coming back?

There she was, being pitiful and teary-eyed while Chance was off living it up. He’d probably slept with at least three women since she’d last seen him.

Typical man. ‘Oh, I love you, too!’
Yeah, right, you liar.
He’d left her, and it was so easy for him.

It was slightly hard to hang on to her justified anger, however, knowing he hadn’t quite betrayed her after all. Groaning, she lifted her head. She had the headache from hell pounding behind her eyes. It was her brain’s way of demanding she get sleep, but that wasn’t likely any time soon. She yawned.
Maybe it is.

She knew she’d dream about him. When she thought of nothing and no one else throughout the day, how could she not?

Amber burst in.

“Well, come right in why don’t you?”

With flushed cheeks, she jerked her head behind her. “Carly’s coming,” she whispered before easing the door closed behind her.

“Shit,” Stephanie mumbled. “I am
not
dealing with her today. I swear I’ll kick her ass.” She shrugged. “I’ll just kick her ass. I can do jail time. It’s not like I have anything the hell else to do.”

Amber rushed to Stephanie’s desk. “You may not have to.”

She sighed. “Why not?”

“Mr. Valentine left a letter.”

“What?” Stephanie’s heart skipped a few beats. “For me?”

“Huh?” Amber frowned. “No.” Stephanie’s shoulders slumped, and Amber narrowed her eyes. “Wait a minute,” she said slowly, finally taking a good look at her friend’s face. “Have you been...
crying
?”

Stephanie nodded sheepishly.

Amber wrinkled her nose. “
Really
?”

“I cry, okay? I have tear ducts.”

“Yeah, but...” Amber squinted. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you shed a single tear before.” She shivered. “Weird.”

Stephanie lifted an eyebrow. “Shut up.”

Amber smiled before her face fell. “What happened? Are your brothers okay? Your sister?”

“They’re fine,” Stephanie said flatly.

“Then...?”

“The schmuck.”

“The sch—” Amber’s jaw dropped. “Oh.” She held up her hands. “Explain later. Carly’s coming.”

“So?”

“So he left a letter,” Amber said sharply. “Maybe he asked you to stay here at the station. You wouldn’t feel the need to leave.”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”

Amber opened her mouth to speak right when there was a knock on the door.

“What?” Stephanie snapped.

Carly poked her head in. “May I come in?”

She frowned. Carly had giggled with glee over the mere possibility of ruining her life and
now
she had the gall to be respectful. “Whatever.”

Carly extended her arm as she approached the desk. “Here.” She handed her an envelope. “It was on his desk. When he called, he told me I could find it there.”

Stephanie snatched it from her and dropped it on the desk. “Fine.”

Carly stood there looking at her expectantly.

“That’ll be all, Carlene.”

A frown tried its best to crease the immobile skin of her forehead. “You’re—” She turned and walked out of the office, closing the door behind her.

Stephanie and Amber shared a confused look before shrugging. “This,” Stephanie said, tapping the letter, “isn’t sealed. You think Chance left it that way or someone made it happen?”

“Definitely the second one.”

She sat back and folded her arms. “Yeah.”

“Well?”

“What?”

“Read it,” Amber snapped. Clasping her hands together, she raised them to her face. “I hope he asked you to stay.”

Stephanie stared down at the envelope. The letter had to say something that pertained to her. Why else would Carly have given it to her? It had to say something horrible because...well, why else would Carly have given it to her? She grabbed it and shoved it into her purse before standing.

“Wait, what are you doing?”

“I’m going home.”

“Steph...”

“There’s nothing left for me here anymore.” She looked around the small office letting her gaze land on the desk. She closed her eyes as the memory of Chance bending her over that very surface crossed her mind. Her stomach tightened in response. “I need to let go.”

Chapter 36

Chance stared out the large luxury hotel window overlooking downtown New Orleans. The sun was just beginning to show over the horizon, but he’d been standing there long before then. He wasn’t such an early riser usually, but he hadn’t had more than an hour of less than restful sleep before he’d decided to give up trying.

After tossing, turning, and cursing the devil woman also known as Stephanie Love, he’d managed to drift off. Of course, he’d immediately begun to dream of her.

He’d ripped the clothing from her body before throwing her down on the bed. After that... Chance groaned and closed his eyes as the memory of that dream hit him full force. She’d arched her back and moaned as he’d swirled his tongue over each of her nipples.

When he’d slipped his hand between her thighs and began to rub her pussy, she’d grabbed his face, bringing it down to hers for a kiss. He loved kissing her. She’d been right; it was intimate and...yeah, it was intimate. He had woken shortly afterward with a raging hard-on.

He turned away from the window and glanced at Chewy, curled up in the plush chair, sleeping. There was nothing on Chance’s agenda today. Nothing to offer even the hope of distraction from his distraction. He had gotten into town early for lack of anything else to do. He didn’t have to make his first appearance at the station until Monday.

He could do this. He only had this day, and a long, boring weekend, to get through. Once he was at work, he could focus. At least, that’s what he told himself.

He hadn’t wanted to stay in California. She’d tainted his condo for him now. He wouldn’t be able to look anywhere without seeing her there—standing at the door to the balcony, standing in his kitchen, naked except for a diamond necklace while lying in his bed.

Chance rolled his head, trying to work the kinks out of his neck. He looked down at himself. In pajama bottoms and nothing else, he figured he should get dressed, though he didn’t know why. He wasn’t going anywhere, didn’t want to do anything.

Getting dressed was what normal people did each day, however, and he was normal. No matter how screwed up he was over one unbearable woman, he was still normal.

He looked at the bathroom. All he had to do was jump in the shower, get dressed, and
do
something. That would be normal.

He should start looking for a place to stay other than a hotel suite. It wasn’t difficult; he just didn’t have the urge to do anything at all. Chance frowned.

Well, damn.
He was brooding.

There was a knock on the door. He slowly turned toward it as Chewy started to bark. Chance’s gaze moved to the bedside clock. It wasn’t even seven yet. Who the hell...? His pulse quickened at the thought, the hope, that it could be Lo—Stephanie.

It was an idiotic thought, of course, because she was back to hating him. Rather, she’d never really stopped. He’d only thought she had. Still, he walked to the door a little more quickly than he would have any other time.

“Chew, quiet.” The dog ceased barking as they made it to the door. Without pausing for a moment more of reflection, Chance nearly yanked the door off its hinges in his haste to get it open.

Ross Lucas frowned, with an unlit cigar hanging from his lips, as he looked Chance up and down. “Good Lord, boy, it’s almost seven, and you’re not even dressed yet?”

Chance stood aside to let him enter. “What are you doing here?” he said with a sigh as he closed the door.

“Needed to see you.”

Chance spread his arms. “Here I am.”

His grandfather snatched the cigar out of his mouth and jabbed it in Chance’s direction. “You watch that tone with me. You may be a big, strapping thing now, but I am
still
your—”

“Gramps.”

He waved the name away as he walked farther into the room. “Your mother told me where you were. I’d been planning to fly in and tour the station anyway. Figured now was as good a time as any.” He looked around. “Dark in here, huh?”

“I like it dark.”

Ross nodded. “More now than ever, apparently.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Jenny tells me you’re brooding. Your grandmother agrees. And now that I see you for myself,” he gave Chance another up and down look, “I have to say they’re right.”

“I’m fine.”

Ross replaced the cigar in his mouth as he went over to look out the window. “What are you doing in New Orleans?” he asked quietly.

“You know very well what I’m—”

“Now, boy? What are you doing here
now
?” Ross glanced back at him. “We both know you always take your sweet ass time getting to your destination. Yet, you’re here early.”

Leaning against the door, Chance folded his arms and stared at his grandfather’s back. “Maybe I’m turning over a new leaf.”

Ross scoffed. “Not likely. Not when it comes to
that
anyway. You’ve turned over a new leaf in other ways, though, so I guess that’s something.” He stared straight ahead through the window. “Did you take care of your little problem?”

Chance looked down at the floor. “I didn’t have to.”

“Why’s that?”

“She quit. Someone overheard me talking to you on the phone that day, and she told her. She—”

“Quit before she could be fired. Huh. You wouldn’t have done it anyway, would you?”

“Guess we’ll never know.”

His grandfather chuckled softly. “We know, boy. We know.” Sighing, he faced Chance. “There’s nothing to do now but to go and get her. You have this weekend. Just make sure you’re back here by Monday. And you can’t screw around here, Chance. There’s no assistant at
this
station. Everything’s on you.”

Chance’s mouth fell open. “Go...
get her?
”

“Well, of course.”

He laughed harshly. “You
do
realize she hates me, right? I mean, she already hated me, but your little plan to have me fire her didn’t exactly help matters.”

Ross smiled. “That was just a...test.”

Chance clenched his jaw. “Excuse me?”

“You kept lying to me about your feelings toward that woman. But worst of all, you were lying to yourself. I just wanted to give you a little wake-up call. If I were wrong, you’d fire her and,” he shrugged, “I’d simply reinstate her after your stint there were over. If I were right, well...you wouldn’t fire her because you wouldn’t be able to.”

He wasn’t surprised. His grandfather didn’t mind using people as pawns in whatever game he happened to dream up. Chance couldn’t get on his high horse, though. He could be the same damned way. He rested his head against the door. “Reinstate her?”

Ross nodded. “And give her that promotion—hell, maybe a better one. The woman’s sharp. She’s got a sassy little mouth on her, but she
is
sharp.”

Chance smiled. Yeah, she had some mouth on her all right.

“I’d be a fool to let the likes of her get away.” Ross took a deep breath. “And so would you.” He jerked his head to the side. “Go get her.”

Chance just looked at him.

“What? What’s wrong?” Frowning, Ross took a few steps toward him. “Chance Valentine, are you...
scared?
” He laughed. “Nothing and no one has ever made you so much as jump before, and you’re scared of this woman?”

“I’m not scared of her, Grandfather.” Chance ran his hands down his face and sighed. “I’m terrified.” He pushed away from the door and began to pace. “She has the craziest effect on me. I look at her and I—I just— Look, I can’t even remember feeling powerless or weak before I got involved with her and now—
she
has the power, okay?”

“And you don’t like it.”

Chance scoffed. “Hell no, I don’t.”

“Natural. It’s natural to fight it, boy. When you fall in love, you give a vital part of yourself to someone else, and all you can do is hope, and trust, they’ll do right by it. You feel powerless because you
are
. It happens to the best of us.”

Chance studied his grandfather, feeling as though he were seeing him for the first time. They’d never even hinted that they knew love existed and now they were discussing it at length. “You and Gammy?” he asked quietly.

Ross smiled. “That woman is my weakness, always has been, always will be. Ms. Love is yours. If that changes who we are, it can only be for the better, I suppose. Now go and be with her. But,” he pointed at Chance, “that little lady better not ever tell me to pull my head out of my ass again. She’s going to be my granddaughter and no granddaughter of mine is speaking to me that way.” He shook his head. “Unbelievable.”

Chance gave him a sad smile. “I won’t go to her, Grandfather.”

“We’ve already established that love is frightening, Chance. Get over it.”

“It’s not that. She—she doesn’t love
me
. In fact, she was using me so I’d promote her before I left the station.”

Ross shrugged. “So?”

Chance was temporarily rendered speechless. “
So?
”

“That may have been how it started, but how do you know that’s how it is now?”

He gritted his teeth. “She told me she hates me.”

“And you believe her?”

Chance looked away.

“Because if you don’t, then you do realize you’re a damn fool for walking away.” Ross came to stand right in front of him. “
Because if you don’t,
that means the only thing stopping you from going after the only woman you’ve ever loved is your pride. But I know that can’t be, boy, because that would just be stupid.” Ross smiled. “And you may be crazy, but you’re not stupid, right?”