Head Over Heels by Serena Bell

Author:Serena Bell [Bell, Serena]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2018-06-05T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26

Chase

“You were kidding, right?” Liv whispers, after I’ve gotten up and thrown away the condom and come back to bed. She’s lying in my arms, warm and relaxed, and I’m absurdly happy.

“About?”

“The camping.” She scootches away from me so she can scrutinize my face.

“Dead serious.”

“You can’t seriously hold me to something I said when I was that out of my mind.” She sounds genuinely alarmed, which makes me laugh.

“You promised. If I made you come, you’d do whatever I asked you to.”

“I know, but we both know I meant, like, sexual stuff, favors, and I’m totally good for all that, any of that—”

I file that away for later, grinning.

“—but not camping.”

“Holding you to it.”

She buries her face in her hands. I feel a tiny bit sorry for her, and a lot triumphant. She raises her head. “Chase. You know me. You know I can’t start the day without three cups of coffee and a hot shower. You know I don’t go out in public unless I’ve had an hour and a half to do my hair and my makeup. You know I don’t get dirty—”

I have many, many things to say about that, but I stick to the topic at hand. “Unless there’s a kid involved,” I point out. “I’ve seen you get all kinds of dirty doing craft projects and making mud pies.”

“This is different. This involves not sleeping in a bed.”

“I am all for not-sleeping in beds,” I say, letting my hand drift down to cup her breast.

“You know that’s not what I meant.”

“Just for two nights. If you hate it you’ll never have to do it again.”

“I already hate it,” she says.

“I need your help,” I admit. “I want to take Katie camping. That’s what dads do. They teach their kids to do the stuff they love. I love camping. And I want Katie to love camping. And I think it’ll be a lot easier to do it the first time if you help me.”

“I call bullshit,” she says. “You’re the manliest man in manland. You run a sporting goods store. You can do anything you want to do.”

What I said isn’t the whole truth. I also want Liv to come with us because, well, because I want her there. I want to share what I love with her, too.

I am not, however, above exploiting the Katie element for my own gain. “I can’t explain to a five-year-old girl how to pee in the woods without getting her shoes wet.”

Liv closes her eyes and drops her head back, and I’m pretty sure I’ve won, at least that round. I go in for the kill—or that’s my plan, anyway.

“I’ll pay you. Double overtime.”

She rolls her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“You’ll be working the whole time. And it’ll be weekend time.”

She shakes her head. “Seriously, Chase, don’t be stupid. I’m not taking your money.”

“But you’ll do it?

She sighs heavily. Closes her eyes. Opens them again.

“Yeah. I’ll do it.” Her expression is bleak.

I feel a little bit sorry for her.

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