Page 19 of More Than A Fixer-Upper (Hope Runs Deep #13)
Rosalie
Making the walk of shame down the stairs makes me nervous, but Chase doesn’t make me second-guess things.
I throw on a black tank top and white shorts.
Ellen sits at the table with Winnie and Hailey.
“How is shopping?” I ask, moving into the kitchen to get the meatballs going.
I check the cupboards for spaghetti sauce and grab two jars.
I get back to mixing things. I feel the heat creep up my neck and face as I know they’re all staring at me.
“Are you not going to talk about Chase being naked in the house?” Winnie asks. Hailey gags, reminding Winnie that he is her uncle. “Fine. Are you and Chase dating? Are you just FWB?”
“FWB?” What the fuck is that? I really need to get a teenager's dictionary.
“Friends with benefits.” Winnie and Hailey say together.
“We are not labeling things. We are friends getting to know each other. He hangs out here and there are times when he spends the night. We might go on dates, or the four of us hang out here. There is no pressure from anyone.”
The girls look at each other and shrug, then head upstairs giggling.
“They are going to do a fashion show for you. Their clothes are upstairs.” Ellen takes a sip of her coffee. I continue making meatballs while Ellen stares at me, not saying anything.
“What?”
“I didn’t say anything.” The laughter in her voice tells me she has lots to say.
I raise an eyebrow at her. I’ve only known her for about a week now, and she’s like one of my best friends.
“Are you not going to talk about Chase?” I sigh as I put the meatballs into the oven to cook.
I wash my hands and come over to sit with her after grabbing myself some sweet tea.
I explain the conversation we have upstairs and how he seems nervous about telling me about how he grows up.
“His past is one of rags to riches, and he’s embarrassed about it.
I’m not going to share it because it’s his story to tell, but I will tell you that my little girl thinks he hung the moon.
I think he is one of the best people in the world.
Adam and Chase had a rough start when they were younger; it is how he and Seth became besties.
” We laugh. “But now Adam, Seth, and Chase are inseparable. He does wear the weight of the world on his shoulders, but he is the best man I know.”
“I never date after I have the kids. My best friend from college, Katie, sets me up with a coworker, but fails to mention I am a mom to twins. They are three at the time. We go on two dates and he ghosts me when he finds out about them. The first date we talk mostly about him.” I roll my eyes.
“From that day forward, I never date. Chase is the second man I’ve had sex with in my entire life.
The kids’ father is the first, obviously.
” I lean back in my chair with a sigh. “It is nice today. We sit, and I bounce ideas off him for the bed and breakfast. He helps Drew with breakfast this morning. He lets me deal with Winnie’s attitude but he steps in if he feels me getting emotional.
While I am prepping dinner, he deals with the IT tech.
I don’t feel alone.” I don’t realize I am crying until a tear hits my hand.
“Chase being in my space isn’t weird like I thought it would be; he just fits.” I swipe away the tears.
“He tells me you two are going to build up a friendship before putting labels on things. I think that’s the smart thing to do.
Talk with each other, be honest. I’m here for you.
I am Chase biased.” We laugh. “But I vow to make sure you know that you’re not alone in any of this.
” She hugs me, and I squeeze her tight. The girls do a fashion show for us with music included and I’m so happy there is no ass or boob-age showing.
Hailey and Ellen leave about two hours later.
In that time, Chase comes down after the clothes are dry.
Chase is picking on Hailey making her laugh as I make dinner.
Drew walks in with a couple of boys. “Mom, this is Luke and Micah.” He points to them. Chase is in the kitchen next to me, helping me cut up some veggies for the salad. “Is it cool if they stay the night?”
“If it’s cool with your parents, I don’t mind at all. Any allergies I should know about? We are having spaghetti and meatballs, garlic toast, corn, and salad.”
“If it tastes anything like it smells, it’s going to be fire.” Micah rubs his belly.
I look to Drew. “It means awesome.” Drew laughs as I mutter about a teenage dictionary.
They head upstairs to Drew’s room to drop off their stuff.
I guess they go to their houses to grab clothes.
I yell for Winnie to set the table. I let her know about the extra guests.
She moves around the kitchen, and we use the dining room.
Where we live in Texas, the kids never have friends come over to the little duplex house. I think they are ashamed.
“Chase, if I need some help removing some things around my room, could you help?” Winnie asks nervously.
“Of course.” He smiles at her. “Seth made those bookcases in the office, so if you need things built, we can do that too.” Winnie’s eyes light up.
She is making plans for her room. I ask Winnie to go get the boys as dinner is ready.
Dinner is lively with laughter, talking about school, the town, and shopping. All four kids do the cleanup.
Chase and I go back to the bed and breakfast to lock up so I can get my stuff, too. “So, we should probably talk,” Chase says in a low tone. This sounds serious. I nod as we sit down on the couch in the library of the bed and breakfast.