Read In Deep: Chase & Emma (All In Book 1) for Free Online Page B

right. But you
need to tell me all about yourself, too,” she warned.
    “Agreed.”
    She started in, giving
me the basic run down, the brief, fly-by version of her unsuccessful
dating history: two cheaters and a straight-up swindler. Apparently
her most recent boyfriend—over ten months ago—had been a real
hustler, borrowing money from her all the time, always with an
explanation, a compelling story about how things were on the upswing.
    “I was such an
idiot,” she summed it up.
    “Sounds like he was
the idiot.” I hated the idea of some asshole taking advantage of
her. I could picture the kind of smooth-talking guy she described. He
could stand a swift punch to the jaw.
    “I’ve got a real
knack for picking them,” she admitted, going on to tell me about
how her first love and then her second had interpreted the word
monogamy much differently than her. I didn’t like it, not one bit,
hearing about her getting cheated on. Or hearing about her having
fallen for anyone else.
    “My best friend Tori
says I need to toughen up,” she continued. “Stop being such a
sucker.”
    “Maybe you just need
to date the right guy?”
    The silence between us
as we sat on the phone spoke volumes. What was I saying, exactly? Was
I volunteering for that role? Was I even the good guy I thought I
was? I didn’t exactly have the perfect dating history myself.
    As if on cue, she
asked, “What about you? Are you seeing anyone?”
    “Nope,” I answered
honestly. My relentless training schedule didn’t leave a lot of
time for much of anything else, never mind a romantic relationship.
My solo status had contributed to my reputation in the press for
being a driven, cold machine. And it wasn’t just reporters who
labeled me that way. What was it my last girlfriend had called me? Oh
yes, that’s right.
    “I have to be
honest,” I said with a sigh, wondering why exactly I felt the need.
“I don’t have the best track record. The last woman I dated broke
up with me by throwing a bunch of dishes around my kitchen and
calling me a robot.”
    “Nice,” she
commented. I couldn’t tell from her neutral tone which side she was
on. But I pushed forward, airing my dirty laundry. I guess I figured
it was better to get it all out in the open.
    “I don’t know if I
deserved the broken dishes, but the robot part?” I shrugged my
shoulders, sitting on the couch. “She had a point. I train every
day, all day.”
    “That doesn’t leave
a lot of room for dating.” Now she sounded more sympathetic. I
guess honesty had its benefits.
    “I’ve always dated
the pool,” I confessed. “And I’m not into three-ways.”
    She laughed again, soft
and light.
    “I don’t share.”
My voice came out low and gravelly, and again, we fell into silence,
this time a heated one. I mulled over my choices, what I could say
next. I knew I should take the conversation into a polite, clear
goodnight. But I didn’t want to. I wanted to take the conversation
from phone to in-person to not so much talking at all.
    “Would you—” I
started inviting her back over to my suite at the same moment she
said, “Guess I should be heading to bed.”
    “Right!” I covered
my ass. I hadn’t just been about to say something wildly
inappropriate. Something that might make her run in the other
direction instead of stay on as my physical therapist for the next
month.
    “What were you going
to say?” she asked.
    “Would you like a
berry smoothie tomorrow?” Quick thinking. I had a feeling she
didn’t totally buy it.
    “You don’t have to,
Chase. But, yes, I do like berry smoothies.”
    “Berry it is.”
    Sitting there off the
phone I kept thinking of her. What did she sleep in? A little T-shirt
and shorts? Just a tank top and panties? It was hot in San Antonio.
Maybe she wasn’t big on air conditioning. Maybe she had the window
cracked for a breeze in the hot night and wore a whole lot of
nothing.
    It wasn’t fair. She’d
seen me nearly naked. She got to