Daisy relaxed on the sofa and crossed her legs, swinging one foot dangerously close to the cheese. “You’ll never guess who’s been calling.”

“Who?”

“Charlie Glenn. He asked me out on a date. Charlie and me? He shocked me so bad I said yes without even thinking. It’s been so long since someone who wasn’t half bombed asked me out that I didn’t know what to say.”

“I’ve thought for weeks that Charlie’s interested in you.”

Daisy flapped her hand at Lesley. “Get outta here!”

“I’m serious,” Lesley insisted.

“Well, that’s why I think there must be something in the air. First you meet Chase, then Lori and Larry decide to tie the knot and then Charlie asks me out.”

Lesley smiled. Since her divorce, Daisy had sworn off men. To the best of Lesley’s knowledge, her neighbor hadn’t dated since she’d separated from her ex.

“Where’s Charlie taking you?”

“Taking us. He included the boys. We’re going to Wild Waves. Eric and Kevin are ecstatic. Did you know Charlie’s been married before? I didn’t, and it came as a total shock to me. He never mentioned he had a kid, either. His son’s a couple of years older than Eric and he wants the five of us to get together.”

“I think that’s wonderful.”

“Yeah, I guess I do, too, but you know, I’m a little surprised. I’d never thought about Charlie in a romantic way, but I’m beginning to think I might be able to. I’m not rushing into anything, mind you, and neither is he. We’ve both been burned and neither of us is willing to walk through fire a second time.” Daisy grabbed a second cracker. “Here I am jabbering away as though Charlie asked me to marry him or something. It’s just a date. I have to keep telling myself that.”

“I think Charlie’s great.”

“He’s got a soft spot where his heart’s supposed to be.”

Lesley recalled how the bartender had given her a drink on the house the night Tony broke their engagement. She’d walked the streets for hours and finally landed in the cocktail lounge where Daisy worked weekends as a waitress and Charlie tended bar. Because she hadn’t eaten and so rarely drank hard liquor, one stiff whiskey had Lesley feeling more than a little inebriated. Charlie had half carried her to Daisy’s car, she remembered. His touch was gentle and his words soothing, although for the life of her she couldn’t recall a word he’d said.

“Let me know what happens,” Daisy said, uncrossing her legs and bounding off the sofa. She walked to the door and opened it, then turned around. “You’re sure you know what you’re doing?”

“No!” she cried. She wasn’t sure of anything at the moment except the knot in her stomach.

“I’ll do my best to keep the boys out of your hair but they’re anxious to see Chase again. He certainly made an impression on those two,” she said with a smile. She left, closing the door quietly behind her.

Lesley didn’t blame them. Chase had treated them with compassion and kindness; not only that, he knew how to entertain them.

The phone rang then, and Lesley glared at it. She let the answering machine take the calls most of the time now, since there was always a chance the caller could be Tony. She needed to invest in call display, she told herself. It had been pure luck that she’d picked up when Chase phoned. Her reaction had been instinctive, but she was pleased she’d answered because the caller had been Chase.

The phone rang again and the machine automatically went on after the third ring. Whoever was calling didn’t listen to her message and disconnected.

A moment later, she heard the doorbell. It had to be Chase. She inhaled a calming breath, squared her shoulders and crossed the room.

With a smile firmly in place, she opened the door.

“Hello, Lesley.”

“Hello,” she said, stepping aside for Chase to enter. “Come in, please.”

He hadn’t taken his eyes off her, which was both reassuring and disconcerting.

“I’m glad you could come.”

“Thank you for inviting me.”

How stiff they were with each other, how awkward, like polite strangers. “Sit down,” she said, gesturing toward the sofa.

Chase took a seat and looked appreciatively at the cheese and crackers.

“Would you like a drink?” she asked. “I have a bottle of pinot grigio, if you’d care for that. There’s a pot of coffee, too, if you’d prefer something hot.”

“Wine would be nice.”

“I thought so, too,” she said eagerly, smiling. She moved into the kitchen, and Chase followed her.

“Do you need any help opening the wine?”

“No, I’m fine, thanks.” A smaller, daintier woman might have trouble removing a cork, but she was perfectly capable of handling it. He watched her expertly open the bottle and fill two wineglasses.

“You mentioned the boys’ letter,” Chase said. Their thank-you note had been an excuse to contact him and they both knew it.

“I’ll get it for you,” she said, leaving him briefly while she retrieved the note. “They really are grateful for the time you spent with them.”

He read it over, grinning, and handed it to her to read. Eric had written the short but enthusiastic message, and Kevin had decorated the handmade card with different colored fish in odd shapes and sizes.

“So,” Lesley said, leading the way back into the living room. “How’s it going?”

“Okay.” He sat next to her on the sofa. “How about you?”

“Same.”

Chase studied her. “Are you going to tell me what Tony wanted or are you going to make me guess?”

“I don’t know,” she answered, sipping her wine. She hoped he didn’t detect the slight shake in her hand.

“You don’t know if you’re going to tell me or if you’re going to make me guess?”

She shook her head. “No. I don’t know what he wanted. I didn’t return his call.”

This seemed to surprise Chase. “Why didn’t you?”

Lesley raised one shoulder in a shrug. “I couldn’t see that it would do either of us any good.”

“You were afraid to, weren’t you?”

“Yes,” she admitted in a husky murmur. “I was afraid.”

“Is that why you contacted me?”

“Yes.” He wanted his proverbial pound of flesh, she realized, and at the same moment knew she’d give it to him. “But I don’t love you, Chase.”

“It’s a bit difficult to care for someone like me when your heart belongs to another man.” After a significant pause, he added, “A married man.”

He made it sound so cold, so…ugly.

“He wasn’t married when I fell in love with him,” she said, defending herself.

“He is now.”

“I don’t need you to remind me of that,” she cried, raising her voice for the first time.

“Good,” he said brusquely.

“How are the interviews going?” she asked, hoping to make light conversation and gain the information she needed.

“All right.” He set the wineglass aside as if preparing to leave.

“Would you be willing to look at another application?”

“Probably not.” He stood and shoved his hands deep in his pants pockets. “I’ve got more than I can deal with now. Are you going to recommend a friend of yours?”

“No.” Lesley closed her eyes and forced herself to continue. “I was hoping you’d consider marrying me.”

Seven

“You?” Chase repeated slowly, unsure he’d heard her correctly. It seemed too good to be true, something he dared not believe.

“Yes.” Lesley was standing now, too, her steady gaze nearly level with his own. She studied him as closely as he was studying her. “I’d be willing to marry you.”

“Why?” Fool that he was, he had to ask, although he was confident he knew her answer. He wondered if she’d be honest enough to admit it.

“I like you very much,” she said, obviously choosing her words with care. “And it’s clear that there’s a physical attraction between us. I don’t usually respond to a man the way I have to you.”

He gave her no reassurances nor did he discourage her. She seemed nervous, understandably so. “Those are the only reasons?” he pressed.

“No.” She was irritated with him now and he felt relieved. The more emotion she revealed the better. “I don’t want to live in Seattle any longer.”

She’d disappointed him. “If that’s all you want, isn’t marrying a man you don’t love a little drastic? All you need to do is apply for a teaching position elsewhere. I’m not up on these things, but I seem to remember hearing that teachers were in high demand in a number of states. Try Montana. That’s where your mother’s living, isn’t it?”

“I don’t want to move to Montana. I’d rather be in Alaska with you.”

“You still haven’t answered my question.”

“You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you? You’d like to see me humiliate myself, but I’m not going to. Now, do you want to marry me or not?”

There’d never been a single doubt in Chase’s mind. He knew exactly what he wanted and he had from the beginning. He wanted Lesley. He’d always wanted Lesley, and that wasn’t going to change.

“It’s Tony, isn’t it?” he said, as unemotionally as he could. Funny, he’d never met the man but he despised him for what he’d done to Lesley and for the way he was treating his wife. “You’re afraid he has the power to reduce you to something you find abhorrent. He wants you, doesn’t he? But he’s married and that means you’d be his mistress and you’re scared out of your wits that you’ll do it because you love him.”

“Yes. Yes!” Angry tears glistened in her eyes and her hands were clenched into tight fists at her sides.

“You think marrying me and moving to Alaska is the answer to all your problems.”

“Yes,” she cried again. “I’ve never lied to you, Chase, not even when it would’ve been convenient. You know exactly what you’re getting with me.”

“Yes, I do,” he answered softly.

“Well?” she asked with an indignant tilt of her chin. “Are you going to marry me or not?”

“Is this a take-it-or-leave-it proposition?”

“Yes.”

“All right,” he said, walking away from her. “We’ll be married Wednesday evening.”

“Next week!” She sounded as if that was impossible. Unthinkable. “I can’t put together a wedding in that amount of time. My mother and Ken are traveling in their trailer this summer and—”

“Do you want them at the ceremony?” he interrupted.

“Yes, but…not if it means ruining their vacation.”