HOW TO CATCH A BAD BOY

‘I’m fine! Sorry. Sorry. Spotty service, haven’t been checking my phone.’

‘Not amused, Sis, not amused. I swear I’m ready to castrate Chandler for kidnapping you.’

‘Chandler is hardly at fault for the snowstorm and he didn’t kidnap me. I’m fine, and I’m on my way home now, so calm down, please.’

“Emily’s freaking, huh?” Chandler asked after he finally pulled the car onto the road.

Her phone and all their belligerent texts were safely tucked into her bag where he wouldn’t accidentally see them. The last thing Chandler needed was to know that Emily was ready to sic federal agents on him.

“They’re … fine.” She tucked her leg up against her chest and stared happily at his profile. “But they’re on to you, bud. They know the roads were cleared yesterday.”

“On to me?” Chandler glanced at her.

“Should I tell them who seduced who into staying for one more day? Because only one of us was topless and begging. With straddling involved, I might add.”

Elena held up her hand. “Okay, okay. I get it. No, they don’t need to know that.” His grin was wicked and wonderful, and she wanted to eat him alive. Chandler Kendrick had turned her into a certifiable addict. “But,” she said, “be prepared. If you thought Emily’s grilling was bad before…” She whistled.

Chandler hooked a wrist over the steering wheel and draped his free hand over her thigh again. Immediately, she wove their fingers together. “She didn’t act like that with the other guys you’ve dated?” he asked.

Elena laughed. Knowing he was fishing for information. “Not like … anyone serious.”

“Yeah, right.”

“I haven’t!”

He peered over the edge of his sunglasses. “I call bullshit.”

“Call whatever, it won’t make it less true.” She shrugged. “I went on a few dates in high school, so sure, they’ve met guys who picked me up, but they never turned into anything serious. And in college … I don’t know … my classes were always a higher priority than dating, so I never had anyone serious or even semi-casual who’d want to come home for family dinner.”

Chandler’s head reared back. “Huh.”

“Not all of us are rich business owners who probably have women throwing themselves naked in their offices”

Did she sound like a jealous harpy? Yup. Sure did. Did she sound insecure that she’d been a late bloomer and didn’t feel the need to date her way through high school and college? Yup. That also.

“Naked in offices indeed. ” He gave her a sideways glance. “And entirely irrational, since it’s not even true.”

Withdrawing her hand from his, Elena smacked him on the chest. His laughter boomed through the car, and she found herself smiling. “Ass.”

Chandler snatched her hand and kissed the palm. “Listen, I won’t lie, there are women who chase, but it can’t be that different from what other guys have to deal with.”

“No, I know. And there are so many guys who don’t chase that life.” She shook her head. “I shouldn’t have implied that you did.”

He sighed. “I wasn’t an angel. But most of that, it stayed behind me in my early twenties. It’s not as fun once you start creeping closer to thirty.” His cheeks were slightly pink.

“Are you saying you’ve had a dry spell lately, Chandler?” I teased.

His shrug was small. “A little. Isn’t this … isn’t this weird for you to talk about?”

“Is it weird if I told you about guys I dated?”

“That’s not the same.”

Her head tilted. “Why not?”

He sighed. “Well … you’re like … girlfriend material, you know? Every parent in the world would be thrilled if a guy brought you home.”

Ahh. “And you’re not boyfriend material?”

Chandler licked his lips before he answered. “I wouldn’t know.”

“Hmm, well, let’s see.” Regarding him with a thoughtful expression, Elena waited until she saw his expression soften a bit. “You’re not terrible to look at.” He rolled his eyes, but he was smiling, so she kept going. “You are an excellent dancer.” Her fingers trailed along the top of his hand. “You open doors and make pancakes. You shovel pathways in the snow.” She picked up that hand and pressed a kiss into his palm. “You wake me up in the sweetest, sexiest ways. And you make me feel beautiful.”

Chandler looked over at her, and what she saw in his eyes slayed her completely. “You are beautiful,” he said roughly.

“You make me feel amazing just by being you, Chandler.” She kept her voice even, despite the way her stomach fluttered nervously. “If that’s not boyfriend material, I don’t know what is.”

The man next to her stayed quiet, but she saw the strong column of his throat move on a slow swallow.

“Everyone has a past, Chandler. It doesn’t define who we are moving forward.” She gave a small shrug of her own. “So I won’t hold your past against you if you can promise to do the same for me.”This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

He tangled their fingers together again. “So I won’t imagine some ripped book nerd in your sociology class mooning over you because you guys dated for five years. Because that would probably do the same cute pouty thing to my face as yours just did when you talked about snow bunnies when we were at Paul’s cabin.”

Elena laughed. “Seriously, you’re such an ass.”

As he grinned, she felt her stomach flip weightlessly again. Some ripped book nerd. No, she hadn’t dated one of those for five years, but in her head … one had taken up residence for even longer. If she and Chandler stayed together, and oh, her heart wanted that so badly, she’d eventually have to admit her harmless crush on Elijah and how that played a role, but she knew this wasn’t the time.

The feeling of suspended reality that they’d enjoyed at the cabin still lingered in the car. They drove through a winter wonderland so beautiful it didn’t seem real. She was with a man who gave her the kind of butterflies she didn’t know existed -like sex-crazed, I want to stay in a bed with you for a week and pluck every deep thought out of your head because your head is just as fascinating as your body kind of butterflies-and she wasn’t ready to pop that bubble just yet.