Free Overdrive TheLookOfLove June14 by Bella Andre Page A

amended with a flush. “But, we’re not going to do…well…you know.”
    Ugh. She wasn’t used to having conversations like this.
    She half-expected—half-wanted—him to tell her she was wrong. That they were, in fact, going to end up doing well-you-know if she stuck around much longer.
    Instead, his expression grew perfectly serious. “Earlier, when we were out in the vineyard, when I asked you to stay, you didn’t want to. But I didn’t let up until you finally gave in.” He ran a hand through his hair, clearly upset with himself. “I would never want to force you to do something you don’t want to do, Chloe. I don’t ever want to take something from you that you don’t want to give me.”
    This was the perfect opening. Her chance to tell him she’d never had any intention of staying, to make it clear that there was no connection between them, and that it was time for her to be moving on.
    So then, why did she find herself saying, “I wanted to stay.”
    The pure truth of that statement resonated within her solar plexus. Turned out the truth didn’t care if she wanted it to be true, or not.
    “I want to stay,” she said again in a firmer voice. She wanted to spend more time with Chase.
    She shouldn’t. But she did.
    His grin came back, softer this time, and somehow even more potent. “Good.” And then, “You were saying something about how you and I aren’t going to do…?” He paused, letting the unsaid words hang in the air between them.
    She should have come back with a quick retort, something to put him in his place. But right at that moment, with the Napa Valley sun shining down on her and grapevines budding to life across rolling hills as far as the eye could see, there was nothing left but honesty.
    “I haven’t had a male friend in a very long time.”
    He was silent for a long moment, and even though the butterflies in her stomach had her keeping her eyes on the horizon, she could feel his gaze on her.
    “I’d be honored to be your friend, Chloe.”
    Her breath caught in her throat, then, and she liked him so much it was almost impossible not to grab him and kiss him.
    Sure that he could hear her heart beating in her chest, it was so loud to her own ears, instead of kissing him she had to be content with whispering, “I like you, too.”

Chapter Six
    Chloe wasn’t used to sitting still. Especially not after the past year, when she’d had to keep working odd jobs just to pay the rent and eat and be able to buy some fabric to quilt together. She kept asking Jeremy if there was something she could do to help, but he was firm about her being Chase’s guest.
    Worse still, all that staring at Chase was doing really funny things to her insides. To her outsides, too. Her skin felt sensitive all over beneath her clothes. Warmer than the weather warranted.
    Similar to the way she’d felt in the tub as the water had slid across her skin and she’d ended up coming apart with his name on her lips.
    Chloe’s uncomfortable musings were interrupted by a loud squeal that was followed by female cursing. Chloe craned her neck and saw that Amanda had tripped over a rock and her dress had a long, jagged rip across the front.
    Chase called, “Jeremy, we need a new dress. The same one.”
    Jeremy’s face had gone even paler than it already was. “I don’t think they sent more than one of this dress. I’ll look again to make absolutely sure.” He scurried off to look through the huge containers of clothes.
    Chloe spoke without thinking. “I’ll fix it.”
    Chase turned his green-eyed gaze to her and at the question in his eyes, she said, “I’ve worked with some pretty similar fabrics in my quilts. I can at least try.”
    “Amanda, take off the dress.”
    The model pulled it off without giving so much as a thought to the fact that she was wearing only very sheer panties beneath the gauzy fabric.
    At first it had been a bit of a shock to see how comfortable these young girls were with their