Polly opened one eyelid and saw Chase, fully dressed, lying inches away from her on her bed, looking smug and entirely too comfortable against her soft sheets.
His flannel shirt molded to his arms in an incredibly sexy way as they cradled his head, his long legs encased in Levi’s, ankles crossed, his boots at least hanging off the bed instead of dirtying up her linens.
No one should look that good this early in the morning, she thought drowsily.
She closed the eyelid and feigned sleep.
“Good morning,” Chase said casually. “How are you feeling?”
“Well, considering that the only muscle I’ve moved so far is one eyelid, pretty good,” Polly retorted, eyes still shut. “When I sit up in about thirty seconds, I’ll give you an update.”
“There’s a cup of coffee over there,” Chase said easily, and Polly opened the eye again.
“You brought me coffee in bed?” Polly asked. “With cream and sugar?”
“With cream and sugar,” Chase confirmed. “You sound surprised – no one’s brought you coffee in bed before?”
“Certainly not a fully dressed woodsman and his sidekick, the amazing snoring dog,” Polly said, finally identifying the strange sound emanating from the floor nearby. “My housekeeper did a few times, but that’s it.”
“Not even your husband?” Chase asked, regretting mentioning the elephant in the room it the moment he said it.
“The weasel?” Polly asked. “No, I’m pretty sure he didn’t even know where the coffee maker was. Come to that, I’m not entirely sure he knew where the kitchen was.”
Gingerly, Polly sat up and waiting for the inevitable fireworks to explode in pain behind her eyelids, but surprisingly, the pain of the previous night’s excesses were manageable – or would be after mainlining several cups of coffee and a few Advil.
It always pays to buy the good stuff: the cheap merlot means a killer hangover.
“I don’t feel entirely terrible,” Polly said, sounding vaguely surprised. “Though I do have a few holes in my memory – or it could be selective memory. I didn’t actually air guitar to Journey, did I?”
Chase shook his head solemnly. “No, it was Foreigner.”
“Genius,” Polly replied wryly. “And I didn’t… we didn’t actually slow dance, did we? In the family room? With Jack watching?”
“More like you swayed, and I held you up. Then I put you to bed.” Polly raised an eyebrow, and Chase grinned. “Alone, regrettably.” The eyebrow got higher. “Jack really wanted to stay.”
“I’m sure he did,” Polly said sarcastically. “Not to put too fine a point on it, but what the hell are you doing here?”
“I ran into Rodney in town – he’s going to be along in about half an hour to start working on the furnace, so I thought I better rouse you, and also, not to put too fine a point on it, I’m kidnapping you for the day.”
Polly took a sip of coffee and appeared unconcerned. “Hot,” she said, completely deadpan. “Are you going to take me back to your man cave and try to do terrible things to me?”
Chase smiled. “Well, that was going to be Plan B,” and Polly smiled, taking another sip of coffee. “I was thinking more a ‘Survival Training for Dummies’ course, specially designed for Polly Royston. North. Polly Royston North.”
“I have no need to survive out here. I have a cell phone and a shotgun. I’m good,” she replied easily.
“You couldn’t even build a fire that first night,” Chase said, not unkindly.
“There might be certain… gaps in my education, but I’m good.”
“You used to be Nature Girl. You used to know every inch of this peninsula, like Parker and I did.”
“And now I’m not, hence the cell phone and shotgun solution,” Polly shot back. “Besides, I’d look stupid getting into a kayak wearing Manolos.”
“Kayaking is a 200 level class. I’m talking basic, freshman year, 100 level survival training,” Chase wheedled and Polly bit back a laugh.
“I’m surviving just fine right here in my comfy bed, bud,” Polly replied sweetly.
Chase exhaled deeply. “Fine, then a ‘Appreciate the North Woods and the Great Big Lake Outside, You Doofus, for Dummies’ course. Mandatory attendance.” Polly groaned on cue. “You have nothing else to do. Mae is outside working and you’d only be in her way. Rodney is coming and you’d only be in his way. And I think the Great American Novel can wait a few hours, no?”
“Mandatory?” Polly asked after a pregnant pause.
Chase nodded. “And there’s going to be homework.”
Polly groaned and flopped back on the bed.
17530/50000
No comments:
Post a Comment