Lexie and Wendy took me to the outlet mall and opened up an entire world to me.

This was why I came back not only with an outfit that even I thought was fan-freaking-tastic to go out with Chace in but also four other bags of clothes, shoes and (it made me blush but that didn’t mean I didn’t hope it wouldn’t eventually come in handy), sexy undies and nightgowns.

They were having the time of their lives and I did too. I didn’t know shopping could be such a blast. But with those two, it totally was.

Now I was home, unwinding, trying to read at the same time wondering if Chace liked dogs and/or cats. Since Holly didn’t mind pets, I’d been thinking now for months about getting one or the other. This was what was on my mind when my phone rang.

It was the house phone again so I twisted, grabbed the handset from the charger by the couch, beeped it on and put it to my ear.

“Hello?”

“Hey baby.”

My bent knees fell to the back of the couch, I felt my eyelids go half-mast and I licked my lips.

Yes, all this from a greeting.

“Hey Chace,” I whispered. “Having fun?”

“It’s a game, honey, not a parade.”

My head cocked to the side at his words and tone and I asked, “That isn’t fun?”

“Not when my team is losing.”

“Oh,” I muttered then enquired, “Who’s your team?”

He hesitated and I heard sounds in the background of a TV clearly on a sporting event before he replied, “The Nuggets, Faye.”

Right, of course.

“Basketball,” I mumbled.

“Yeah, honey. Football’s done in January.”

I was still mumbling when I replied, “I heard something about that somewhere.”

His team losing grouchiness faded and I knew this when I heard his chuckle.

“You could be watching the Avalanche,” I pointed out.

“Avs are on the road. West coast. Deck’s tapin’ it. That’s next.”

“Oh,” I whispered then, “Long night of male camaraderie.”

“Deck doesn’t break out the beer, dip and brownies unless there’s serious shit to watch.”

I was with Deck. All that effort should be for something.

“Deck sounds interesting,” I noted.

“Yeah, he is and every breathing female thinks the same thing.”

A small, short giggle escaped me and I asked, “Pardon?”

“The amount he gets means he’s either a good-lookin’ guy or he’s got the ability to hypnotize women that’s undetectable but highly successful though the purposes he uses it for are nefarious.”

“Ah,” I replied through a smile, “breaking that down, he’s hot.”

“I can’t make that call but I’m a detective so evidence suggests this is true.”

I laughed softly and I knew Chace listened to it because he didn’t speak again until I was done.

“You gettin’ ready for bed?”

I blinked and looked at the funky clock mounted on my brick wall that I found in a cute shop in Glenwood Springs as I asked, “Bed?”

“Bed,” Chace replied.

“It’s ten o’clock,” I told him.

“When do you go to bed?”

“I don’t know, midnight?”

There was silence.

“Uh, when do you go to bed?” I asked.

“If I’m not drinkin’ beer and eatin’ homemade brownies, ten.”

“Early to bed, early to rise,” I whispered.

“Late to bed, lazy in the morning,” he whispered back.

“I’m not lazy.” I kept whispering.

“Baby, give me that. The thought of you, lazy in bed in the morning is a good one.”

That got a full body shiver and a quick mental inventory of my junk drawer to see if I had fresh batteries for my vibrator.

“I’m not sure this is fair.” Yes, still whispering. “You being at Deck’s with beer and brownies, me being here and you being sweet and um… other things.”

“Other things?” His voice was teasing.

“Yeah, other things,” My voice was soft.

“Fuck me,” he muttered then kept muttering the weird words. “Cute. Hot.”

“What?”

“Nothin’, darlin’. It sucks but I’m gonna let you go. Boys’re givin’ me looks which means they’re listenin’. That means they’re gonna give me shit so I should probably not hand them more to give me shit about.”

I didn’t know if saying it was right or wrong because of how much it exposed about how much I didn’t want to let him go.

I also didn’t care.

This was why I suggested, “You could move to another room.”

“Yeah, your sweet voice for any longer, the other room I’m gonna move to is your one room apartment. That right there from the grins I’m gettin’ bought me a load of shit so I’m gonna let you go.”

“Okay,” I said quietly.

“When you get to sleep in three, four hours, sleep good.”

Teasing again.

God, I loved that.

So much, I laughed softly then I replied, “When you finish male bonding and get home, you sleep good too, Chace.”

“Will do. ‘Night.”

“Goodnight, honey.”

“Fuck me,” he whispered and it was a surprise so I blinked then asked, “What?”

“Nothin’, baby. Talk to you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow, Chace.”

“’Night, darlin’.”

“’Night, Chace.”

He disconnected and I beeped off the phone. Then I brought it to my lips and smiled against it.

Huge.

* * * * *

Six oh four the next morning

My home phone rang.

I drifted up from sleep, tipped my eyes to my clock and smiled a sleepy smile.

Then I went straight for the phone.

“’Lo,” I whispered.

“Baby,” Chace whispered back.

I snuggled deeper under the covers even though his voice made me way warm and cuddly.

“Hey honey,” I said soft. “You get home okay or are you deep in the mountains recovering from a ceremonial male bonding ritual after killing a bear?”

I got a husky, drowsy, sexy chuckle that made me feel warmer and way cuddlier then, “I got home okay.”

“Good,” I muttered.

“You sleep okay?”

“Mm-hmm,” I mumbled.

This got me nothing.