Chasing After Him Read Free

pretty thin.”
    “Lovely.”
    He bumped my shoulder with his elbow. “I won’t tell anyone you had a
moment of weakness, Little Miss Control Freak. Promise.”
    I huffed a forced laugh. “Have me pegged, do you?”
    “Pretty much. Here.” He grabbed a throw off the couch and laid it
across my shoulders. “Warm up and relax. I’ll go grab the mugs.”
    Tears stung again, but I bit the inside of my lip, willing them away.
While I considered Theo a friend, he didn’t need to hear me unload all my woes.
My pity party was over. Period. No more negativity. Time to get my focus back
on my life’s goals.
    I curled up on the couch’s corner closest to the fire. Eyes closed, I breathed
in and out, enjoying the lingering scents of Theo’s laundry detergent and
subtle hints of cologne on the blanket. Warmth kindled between my thighs.
    I allowed a daydream to form. Fireplace. Snowed in. A night with the
hottest man I’d ever laid eyes on. Running my hands down the muscles I’d
enjoyed the summer before while he mowed our lawns. The pecs and abs. That
luscious V disappearing beneath the band of his shorts.
    Damn . I shifted on the couch hoping to ease the
growing ache within me.
    Rustling of clothing sounded nearby, and with a sigh, I opened my eyes.
Theo had set two mugs on the coffee table and bent over the fire, jeans hugging
his tight ass and muscled thighs.
    Pooling drool required a gulp. I glanced away before he turned and
caught me staring.

 
    Theo
     
    “Wish I had a fireplace,” Charlene said from behind me.
    “One of my must-have’s when house hunting a few years ago.” I turned to
find her huddled under the blanket in the corner of my sectional. Redness
rimmed her heightened-by-tears blue eyes. “I never noticed how beautiful your
eyes are.”
    A smile tugged on her down-turned lips, and unlike her usual strong eye
contact, she glanced away. “Thank you.”
    “So what do you think of all this snow?” I lounged on the opposite end
of the couch, arms sprawled along its back.
    “I love it, but I can’t stand shoveling.”
    “I’ll take care of your walkway in the morning.”
    “That’s all right.” She grimaced and stared at the fire. “I have to be
at work at six.”
    “What?” I grinned. “I can’t get up early on a Sunday?”
    Charlene turned toward me with a piercing gaze. “You usually get in
around three a.m.”
    “Yeah.” My brow furrowed as I thought of Zane. It was my turn to stare
at the orange flames. “That won’t be happening again anytime soon.”
    “How come?”
    I sucked imaginary food from between my front teeth. “My best friend went
out and got a girl.”
    “And that’s a bad thing?”
    “Nah.” I shifted and stretched my legs out. “I’m happy for him, but now
I’m left with nothing to do on the weekends.”
    “What? You can’t have a life without him?”
    I couldn’t help my smirk. “Life is just … more enjoyable with my cousin around.”
    She tugged the blanket up higher around her neck. “All I do is work and
study,” she said. “Count your blessings you have time to party—with or without
your cousin.”
    “We didn’t party.”
    “No night clubs and ladies?”
    “Oh, there were ladies all right, but you don’t need to know all the
sordid details.”
    “Sordid, huh?”
    I wasn’t one to hide what I enjoyed doing with women, but Charlene was still
a kid, studying and trying to find her way in life. My smirk widened. “Not that
interesting. Trust me.”
    She mumbled something that sounded like a sarcastic “uh huh,” as she
finally turned her focus off me.
    “So, how is work going?” I
asked.
    “It’s all right, I guess.” Her brow furrowed.
    “What’s the frown for?”
    A heavy sigh lifted her chest. “Both of my parents are in the medical
field, and they encouraged me to set similar goals. Top of the class and
keeping a 4.0 got me a full-paid scholarship by them—and residency at Boston
Children’s, but…” She shrugged.
    “Do