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She laughed nervously. "So you heard that, huh?"
"Are you going?" I asked, stepping closer to her and looking straight into her eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"The date. Are you going?"
"Chase, why would you even ask that?"
"Because you didn't say no."
"My sister blindsided me, and then I saw you...." She stepped backward, but then her back hit the tree, and she didn't move anymore.
"What would you have told her if I weren't here?"
She moved to one side, over the roots. "I can't believe you even have to ask."
"That's not an answer," I replied.
She looked up at me. "You really think I would go on a blind date?"
"I don't know, Hannah. You tell me."
"Of course I wouldn't go. I even forgot we spoke about a blind date. She made me promise at the wedding that I’d go on one. I didn't think she’d actually go through with it. I can't believe you’d think that about me."
I tried to get my temper under control. I had no idea why it flared up like this and why I couldn't seem to calm down.
"I need to hear you say it,” I realized. “That you're not going to date that guy, or any other guy."
Her lips parted, and her eyes widened.
I stilled completely.Fuck! She wants to date other men?I couldn't deal with that. Not in a million years.
"I need to be the only man in your life," I said before she even had a chance to respond.
"I wasn't planning on seeing anyone else, but I don't like that you're accusing me of... I don't even know what you're accusing me of."
My chest finally expanded, and I could take a deep breath. I was close enough that I could smell her perfume. I put an arm around her waist and pulled her against me. She didn't put up a fight, and the knot of tension between my shoulder blades dissolved.
"I'm sorry. The thought of you and another man... I can't even think about it without seeing red."
"Clearly," she murmured. Her body went soft.
"I take it you didn't tell your sister and mom about us?"
She shook her head. "No, I wasn't sure how to tell them or what to tell them."
"I'm your boyfriend."
"Are you sure?" she teased.
I growled, "Fuck yes."
She smiled and put her forearms on my shoulders, lacing her fingers behind my neck. "I like that. Chase Sterling is my boyfriend."
"I don't want to keep you a secret," I said, caressing her jaw.
Hannah tilted her head. "I wonder how Josh will take it."