Free Emancipating Andie by Priscilla Glenn

Chase pulled it over his head and looked at her, chuckling to himself before he reached down and started rummaging through the plastic bag between his feet again.
    He came up with a small paper bag, spotted with what looked like grease stains.
    “What did you get?” she asked.
    Chase reached up and turned off the interior light. “There was this little mom-and-pop candy shop at the pavilion back there,” he said, digging his hand in the bag and pulling out something that looked like beef jerky. He took a bite and groaned loudly, closing his eyes as he dropped his head back against the seat.
    “What is that?”
    “Chocolate-covered bacon.”
    She whipped her head toward him, completely revolted, and he extended his hand to her. “Want some?”
    “No! That’s disgusting!”
    “You’ve had it?” he asked, taking another bite.
    “No.”
    “Then how do you know it’s disgusting?”
    “Because it’s chocolate-covered bacon,” she said, like it should have been obvious.
    Chase shoved the rest of the piece in his mouth before licking the pad of his thumb. “Do you like chocolate?”
    “Of course.”
    “Do you like bacon?”
    Andie sighed. “I know where you’re going with this. I like coffee. I like salad dressing. That doesn’t mean they’d taste good together.”
    Chase laughed, digging in the bag again. “You never know. Coffee-flavored salad dressing. It could be a million-dollar idea.”
    “Doubtful.”
    “How do you know? Think about it. We’re surrounded by incredible ideas that probably sounded bat-shit crazy when someone first came up with them.”
    Andie snorted softly, shaking her head, and Chase said, “Like the inventor of lipstick. Someone decided women would look prettier if they painted their mouths with colored wax. You think everyone hopped on board with that right away?”
    Andie tilted her head in agreement. “Touché.”
    “Like if I said, ‘You know what would make a woman look more enticing? If she smeared cow shit on the side of her face,’ I’m sure I’d have some naysayers at first.”
    Andie burst out laughing. “Somehow I don’t think that’s the same thing.”
    Chase shrugged as he handed her a piece of the bacon. “Just try it.”
    She exhaled in acquiescence, knowing he wouldn’t stop until she humored him. Andie reached over and took the piece he offered, popping it in her mouth. She chewed slowly, the salty grease of the bacon mixing perfectly with the creamy sweet of the chocolate.
    It took all her effort not to groan the way he did.
    Andie swallowed, glancing over at him. He was watching her, a huge grin on his face. “You can say it. I won’t gloat.”
    She licked her lips with a tiny shrug. “It’s okay.”
    He chuckled, sitting back in his seat as he popped another piece in his mouth. Andie watched him out of the corner of her eye as she nibbled on the side of her lip. After about forty seconds she had expended the last of her self-control, and she reached over, rummaging in the bag and pulling out another piece.
    He smiled knowingly, and she pointed at him with the bacon strip. “You said no gloating.”
    Chase held his hands up in surrender, laughing to himself as he rested his head back on the seat and closed his eyes.
    A little under an hour later, they pulled into the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express. She was completely exhausted, and she could tell by the gravelly timbre of Chase’s voice that he was moments away from sleep himself. They peeled themselves out of the car and trudged with their bags into the lobby.
    “Hi! Welcome to the Holiday Inn,” the woman behind the counter said in a voice that was entirely too bubbly for Andie at that moment. “How long do you plan on staying with us?”
    “Just for tonight,” Andie said, shifting the bag on her shoulder and leaning on the counter.
    “Excellent!” the girl chirped, causing Andie to flinch. “Would you like a king-sized bed? Or two queens?”
    “Hmm? Oh, no, just one bed,”