Read Online Can't Buy Me Love by Elizabeth Powers - Free Book Online

respective
purposes, that was fine. But now, knowing that Chase might actually be a decent
person under his designer suits, Lena was feeling a bit guilty for having let
things go on for as long as they had. She sighed.
    She
had spent enough time with Chase to know that she owed him an ending, as well
as the explanation that he was demanding. She wasn’t worried about breaking his
heart – he could, and probably would , find someone else by the weekend
anyway. And she’d waited too long to do this. Now that he was showing up as a
volunteer at the shelter, this ‘relationship’ of theirs needed to end.
    She
spent an excruciating two hours, circulating among her parents’ friends, checking
on Jeanette, and occasionally running into Chase, who was in full-on business
mode whenever she saw him. She thought about it a bit as she chatted lightly
with one of her father’s colleagues, and realized that Chase’s complete
attention to business gave her even more incentive to break things off with
him. She liked him a little better, now that she’d seen a different side of him
at the shelter. And she definitely found him attractive, especially in
jeans, but she needed a lot more than this from any man she settled down with. She
needed a man who would rather be with her than talking business with a bunch of
other men in suits. She needed someone who would check to see if she was OK, bring
her a glass of wine, or ask her opinion about random things. Someone who made
her feel like she was special to him, not just someone to adorn his arm and
look pretty. And that, she told herself, was not Chase.
    Glancing
at her watch, Lena realized that she had to leave the country club in about an
hour to go meet Kat. They wanted time to leisurely look around and shop before
the store closed, and she had promised Kat that she’d leave the luncheon by
3:00. Looking around, she saw that Chase was unoccupied for the moment, and she
quickly headed over to waylay him before he could get involved in another
business conversation.
    Walking
up to him, she laid her hand gently on his arm to get his attention.
    “Chase,
I need to leave soon, but before I do, can we talk for a few minutes?” she
asked, smiling up at him politely, aware that anyone in the room could be
watching.
    He
looked down at her in concern. “Of course,” he said, depositing his glass on a
small collection table and giving her his attention. “Are you all right?” he
asked.
    Lena
nodded her head. “I’m fine. Can we just...?” she motioned to one of the side
doors that led out to the balcony, which overlooked the city. He took her arm
and led her outside, strolling to one end of the balcony where it was private. It
was a beautiful afternoon, and Lena could see the glimmers of sunlight reflecting
off the snow on the top of the mountains to the west. Snow, even in August. She
sighed. She really did love it here.
    “Is
something wrong, Charlene? Lena?” he corrected himself quickly.
    She
turned her face away from the view and looked up into the troubled eyes of her
companion. For a moment, just for a moment, she again felt a spark – a tingle
that ran straight down her spine. No. No, not that , she thought. That
would lead to nothing but heartache and frustration, she thought, thinking of
her own parents’ marriage, and how similar Chase’s treatment of her was to her
father’s treatment of her stepmother. She needed to end this and end it now,
she thought.
    She
took a deep breath, then let it out in a rush. “Look. We both know that
this...” she waved her hand between them, “...isn’t going anywhere. Right? You
don’t feel anything for me, and I’m...”
    Chase
was looking down at her, his eyes serious. “What do you mean that I don’t feel
anything for you?” he interrupted.
    Lena
looked up at him in total shock. “But... you can’t. I mean...” she sputtered,
her entire being astounded that he could feel anything at all. Or that he did feel anything at