Free Finding Chase (Chasing Nikki) by Lacey Weatherford Page B

fiancée, he seemed to be exactly the person I needed.
    “Very bad. I shut down until I cut myself off from any possibility of finding love again. I didn’t want to date or do anything remotely like it.”
    “But you found my mom.”
    “I know. She struck me differently, or maybe my heart was finally healed. I knew when we met I had to know her better. Everything else happened on its own. If it’s right, it won’t have to be forced. It’ll develop naturally.”
    “Didn’t you ever feel like you were cheating on your girlfriend?”
    “Not by then, but I’m sure I would’ve had I tried dating early on. It’s hard to get over losing someone you love like that. You have these intense emotions for the person and nowhere to direct them anymore. It was a very confusing time.”
    “It has been for me too.” It was nice to connect with someone who finally understood exactly what I felt like. “What helped you through it?”
    “Let me ask you a question instead.”
    “Okay.”
    “Do you love your dad?”
    I snorted. “Of course I do. You know that.”
    “Then how about me? Do you have any good feeling toward me?”
    “You know I do, Greg. Where are you going with this?”
    “Does having feelings for me make those emotions you have for your dad any less real?”
    “No.”
    “So what’s stopping you from dating other people then, Chase? Falling for someone else doesn’t mean you love Nikki any less. It only means you love someone else too. You have a big heart—I’ve seen it. There’s room for lots of people.”
    I pondered this for a moment before replying. “I’m too scared. What if something happens to . . . a new person I might fall for?”
    “What if you both live happily until your ninety? Who’s to say what may or may not happen? None of us are going to get out of this life alive, unfortunately, so it’s up to each of us to decide how we want to live. Are you going to spend the rest of your days letting fear dictate how you should act, or are you going to grasp life with both hands and live it how you want? You should know, more than anyone, how precious time is.”
    That was true. He was giving me a lot to think about. “Is there another reason you called?”
    “Well, yeah. I wanted to officially ask you to be my best man at the wedding. Your mom said she didn’t think you’d do it, but I’d really like to have you stand up there with me.”
    I was shocked. The last I’d heard, they weren’t going to have any attendants. “Yeah, sure. I’d be honored.”
    I could almost see his grin through the phone as he gave a short chuckle and murmured something to someone in the background.
    “Tell mom I said I love her.”
    “I’ll do that. Take it easy, son.”
    I ended the call, spotting Nikki’s photo beside my bed and picking it up.
    I traced her smile with my fingers, thinking perhaps what Greg said was true. I was starting to have some feelings for Brittney, but my love for Nikki hadn’t dimmed or changed at all, that I could see. My heart still ached for her the same way it always had.
    Could I move on? I sighed. Was it fair for me to move on with another person, while I was still emotionally attached to someone else?
    I allowed myself to remember the kiss Brittney and I had shared. It had been hot, fiery, and I’d felt it all the way down to my toes. Was it simply the fact I’d been so long without someone which caused me to feel this way? Or was it that Brittney and I were really that powerful together? True, she’d been attempting to bring things to a halt when I’d spoken Nikki’s name, but there was no doubt she’d been as into it as I had. But she was hurting also, and maybe her reaction was only mirroring her own loneliness after her break up with Matt.
    There was only one way to find out.
    I threw the covers back and got up, hurrying to my bedroom door. “Brett?” I listened for a reply but there was no sound in the house. He must be next door. I went outside,