Read Online The Thrill of the Chase by Lynda Chance - Free Book Online

did was make her crush on him even worse and she focused on never letting him know how deep her feelings for him ran.
    Gibson sent her a text on Wednesday and told her the repairs were taking longer than he thought. The dealership had to order a part and he ' d try to have her car back to her by Friday.
    ****
    Friday night, Gibson knocked on the apartment door and stood back to wait. His stomach was tied in knots of anticipation and stress.
    He needed to switch cars with her and get the hell out.
    That ' s what the brain inside his head was telling him to do.
    The problem was, his body hadn ' t been taking orders from that head since he ' d turned fifteen or so.
    He was arguing with himself the whole way up to her doorstep. Ryan would fucking kill him. He recited it in his brain over and over again. Ryan would kill him . The problem with that was she was the sweetest thing he ' d met in a long, long time. And he itched to touch her.
    He needed to switch the cars and get the hell out .
    The thought fled his brain when she opened the door.
    " Hi. " Her soft voice sent an arrow of need through his gut.
    " Hey. " Could she tell he wanted to reach out and grab her? Could she tell it was taking all his control to stand by the door and not push into her apartment?
    She stood in front of him wearing a tiny pair of red cotton shorts and a short-sleeved, v- necked yellow t-shirt. Her skin was smooth and silky, all the way from her face to her tiny, bare feet, her toes small with pink polish.
    His gut clenched with violent need. He had to get away from her. And fast. He held the key out to her without a word.
    Julie reached out and took the key from his hand, determined to get him inside. Her roommates were out for the night, and she had cooked a meal for Gibson to thank him for his help. That wasn ' t chasing him, was it? No, of course it wasn ' t. She was just being nice.
    " Come in. " She attempted to sound casual.
    " Nah. I ' m good. " He flatly refused.
    " You ' re going to freeze. That front blew in from nowhere. I ' m still in shorts. " She knew she was rambling. It had gotten cold about an hour ago. She hadn ' t kept up with the weather and hadn ' t known it was coming. But, after all, this was December on the Gulf Coast and the weather was likely to change from day to day.
    His eyes fell to her legs. The wind was blowing in from outside. He didn ' t want her to catch a chill and knew she wouldn ' t shut the door on him. He reluctantly moved into the apartment.
    She closed the door and they were inside.
    " I made supper for you. Are you hungry? "
    He thought about lying and telling her he ' d eaten but the smells coming from the small kitchen were working a number on his stomach.
    He ' d never been one to turn down a home cooked meal. " You didn ' t have to do that. " He could eat and then leave.
    " Sure I did. After all your help? I had to do something for you. " She smiled. " I mean, other than not wreck your car. "
    He gave her a half smile. " It smells good. "
    " It ' s just spaghetti. "
    " Sounds great. "
    She led him to the small dining area off the kitchen and poured him a glass of iced tea. " Sit down. "
    Gibson sat and watched her move around the small kitchen. Her body was doing crazy things to his insides. As she piled a plate with food, her eyes kept cutting over to him. He managed to sit still and wait, and keep his hands to himself when she came within reaching distance and put the plate in front of him.
    He waited while she sat with her own plate and then he picked up his fork.
    It was then that he noticed the food on his plate. How in the world it could smell so good and look like this was beyond him. The noodles were stuck together in big clumps and resembled mush. The sauce was runny, gobs of excess moisture running over the plate and dripping over the edge. The meat in the sauce was congealed and verged on greasy. His stomach recoiled, but he tightened his grip on his fork and manfully dug in. No way was he