I lean into him. Not because he’s my fake boyfriend. But because he’s my real best friend and even if I don’t want to admit it, what happened with Ryan scared me.
Outside, I draw in a breath of crisp night air and try to calm the furious beating of my heart. I’m OK. I’m safe. Chase doesn’t loosen his hold on me as we step toward a waiting car, and he opens the door.
“My clutch,” I say, suddenly remembering. “It’s on the table. My keys…”
“Dylan grabbed it. And there’s no way I’m letting you go back to your apartment alone after that. You’re coming back to the ranch with me. Your truck’s there anyway.”
He tilts his head toward the open car door, and I don’t hesitate.
“What about the others?” I ask as we settle into our seats and the driver pulls out.
“Harper and Jake are staying in the city. Mama, Dylan, and Izzy went ahead.” Chase turns to me then, his brows drawn together, his dark eyes searching. “Are you OK?”
My voice is shaky as I reply. “Yeah. Just a little rattled.”
“What Ryan did back there wasn’t OK. Has he done anything like that before?”
I pause, not wanting to admit it, but Chase knows me better than anyone. It would be pointless to lie. “He’s been hanging around a lot lately. Waiting for me after work, showing up places, trying to convince me to give him another chance. It’s been… uncomfortable. But tonight was the first time he actually scared me.”
Chase’s jaw tightens. “You should talk to Human Resources. Let them know what’s going on.”
“I don’t want to cause trouble,” I say, dropping my gaze from the intensity of Chase’s eyes. “Ryan could make things difficult for me at work. He deals directly with the budget for the cheerteam. He could sideline my job or terminate my contract any time he wants and call it budget cuts. I’d rather let the dust settle on its own for now.”
The silence draws out. I know Chase doesn’t agree, but he’s always respected my decisions. A moment later, his hand slides into mine, squeezing tight. “Just promise me, if anything else happens, you’ll talk to someone in HR about it?”
“I promise,” I say. “I still can’t believe our fake date didn’t convince him. Maybe he knows me too well.”
Chase makes a face, the one where he’s about to admit something he doesn’t want to. Usually, it’s him admitting he’s bought me an ice cream even after I said I didn’t want one, because he knows I’ll change my mind halfway through his and steal the rest.
“What is it?” I ask.
He rubs a hand over his jaw before reaching into his pocket for his phone. “I had a look on socials just before I came to find you. And…” He taps his screen before turning it toward me.
It’s a Reel of our kiss, and… Oh. My. God. I knew it was good, but this is seriously hot to watch. Except the words across the image read:Too hot to be real!
“Some of the media outlets are running it as us being together, but the fans… they’re not convinced. I guess the fact that everyone knows we’ve been best friends since forever is working against us.”
I groan, leaning my head against the headrest. I’m suddenly exhausted. Everything we did tonight was for nothing. Ryan didn’t believe us and neither have the Chasing Love fandom.
“What do we do now?” I ask.
“It’s just like we planned. We carry on. We double down.”
“You’re sure?” I ask.
Mischief dances in Chase’s eyes. “We’re not quitters, Serena. Remember when we were twelve and tried to build thattreehouse with nothing but rope, two-by-fours, and a hammer we stole from the barn?”
I laugh. “And you fell out and we thought you’d broken your arm.”
“But I didn’t. And we went back the next day and the one after that. And eventually we had our treehouse. You and me—we’re not quitters. I’ll even take you on a date to a home furnishings store.”
“You’re only saying that because you know how much I’ve been wanting to drag you to buy more furniture.”
His voice is teasing. “Throws and pillows. Pictures for the walls. Those pointless ornaments you love. Candles.”
I laugh. “You had me at throws.”
He claps his hands together. “By the time the Denver Fall Fair comes around, no one on the planet will think we’re fake.”