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,” Andie said through a yawn.
“Very well,” she said through a wide smile, clicking away at the computer. Andie looked over at Chase, tilting her head when she took in his rigid posture, his uneasy expression. He opened his mouth only to close it again, running his hand through his hair.
And that’s when she realized what she had just said.
“Wait, no, no!” she said, shaking her head. “I meant one bed for me. And one for him. Two beds. I mean, two rooms! One bed in each room,” she said with a frustrated huff, rolling her eyes at herself.
The woman glanced back and forth between Andie and Chase. “Very well,” she said again, this time more demurely as she went back to her computer. “I’m going to need a credit card, please.”
Chase and Andie each handed her a card, and the woman adjusted her glasses as she went back to manically clicking the keyboard.
“Okay,” she said after a minute, “You guys are in two twenty-five and two twenty-seven. Checkout is at eleven, and there’s a complimentary breakfast each morning from seven to ten. Have a wonderful stay with us,” she practically sang, handing them each their credit card and a room key.
“Thank you,” Andie said softly, taking her things and following Chase to the elevators. He pressed the button for the second floor and the doors immediately dinged open.
He gestured for Andie to go first and she stepped in, hoisting her bag to a more comfortable position on her shoulder. As the doors slid closed, Andie said quietly, “Sorry about that.”
“About what?”
“The whole room/bed fiasco. I wasn’t really paying attention.”
The corner of Chase’s mouth lifted in a tired smile. “Well, next time you plan on propositioning me, you could at least buy me dinner first.”
Andie looked down, fighting a smile as she shook her head, and the doors opened. Once again, he gestured for her to go before him, and they walked down the hall, both stopping in front of Andie’s room.
“Well, good night,” she said.
“Yep,” he said through a yawn, turning toward his door.