Falling Star by Terri Osburn

Author:Terri Osburn [Osburn, Terri]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781503900332
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Published: 2018-03-27T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

When they reached the house, Naomi had Victor pull into the driveway as far to the right as he could. Part of her deal with Baker had been that he’d show up after her and Chance. In fact, she’d messaged him on the way to coordinate their arrivals. By her calculation, he should be pulling up the drive within two to three minutes.

The sprawling redbrick of her childhood rested on a hill overlooking a winding valley of neighborhoods. From the driveway, one would assume the backyard dropped straight down, but beyond the stately magnolias, the Mallard property extended to nearly the size of a football field with willow, oak, and hickory trees strategically placed for both privacy and shade.

Chance exited the car first and then turned to help Naomi. Once they were both out, Victor closed the door. “Have a nice dinner. I’ll be here whenever you’re ready.”

Naomi straightened her clothing and resisted the urge to ask Chance how much the limo was costing him. “Thank you, Victor. I’ll bring you out a dessert as soon as I can.”

The driver acknowledged the promise before returning to the front seat.

Satisfied with her appearance, Naomi looked up to find Chance gawking. “Welcome to chez Mallard. It isn’t as daunting as it looks.” She rethought that statement. “Well, the house isn’t. The people inside are a different story.”

“What does your dad do again?” he asked.

“Dentistry. He’s run his own practice since I was in middle school.” When Chance continued to stare, she clutched his sleeve. To her surprise, he’d ditched the usual T-shirt and vest for a starched gray button-down. “Should we go in?”

“Hold on.” Intense brown eyes swung her way. “How are we playing this?”

She thought they’d established that on Friday morning. “Like you said. We met at work, hit it off, and have been spending time together.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “What kind of time?”

“Um . . .” Naomi wasn’t sure how to answer. “Regular time? A couple nights a week?”

“I mean, are we sleeping together?”

The question left her flustered. “You mean after this?”

Chance scrubbed a hand over his face. “Stay with me, Nay. I need to know what you want them to think. If we’re sleeping together, I’m going to act one way. If we’re closer to friends, I’m going to act another. Which is it?”

Why was he making this so complicated? And when did it get so hot outside?

“If I want Mom to stop pushing Neal on me, then I guess we’d have to be more than friends. But I broke up with another man only last week.” Naomi twisted her purse strap around her hand. “Seems kind of fast to be sleeping with someone new.”

Nostrils flaring, Chance asked, “Were you sleeping with Swanson?”

A personal question that didn’t have anything to do with the current situation, but Naomi answered anyway. “No. Michael and I never slept together.”

Visibly appeased, he took her hand. “Then that’s settled.”

Whatever conclusion they’d just reached was a mystery to Naomi. Before she could seek clarification, a red Honda Civic pulled up the drive.

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