"I should go," Summer-Ann said abruptly and headed for the door. "Thanks, Chase. Abby."

Abby watched her leave, confused by the woman's sudden departure. No, forget that. She was confused by the whole exchange.

"Did Summer give you a hard time?"

She shook her head. "Not really."

"Well, that would be a first. She can be disagreeable when the mood strikes her."

"She was fine," Abby assured him.

She'd told Summer-Ann that she wouldn't become involved with his relationship with Willy, and she didn't intend to. It wasn't her place. If she and Chase were going to develop a long-term relationship, then maybe she would feel the need to discuss the situation with him, but they weren't headed toward anything permanent. So she would simply stay out of the whole thing. But she would make sure her relationship with Chase never, never hurt Willy. She wanted this affair, but not at the cost of others.

And what about the cost to you? She was a big girl. She knew the price, and she was willing to pay it. At least she hoped she was.

"So did you get the Italians?"

Chase seemed willing to let the visit from Summer-Ann go. He nodded. "Why don't we go back to bed and eat them there," he suggested with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"You read my mind."

Summer-Ann stood on the porch, listening to Chase and Abby through the screen door. When she heard them decide to go back to bed, she snuck down the steps. Jealousy pooled in her stomach, but the resentment was diluted by an incongruent wave of satisfaction.

She couldn't believe it! Abby Stepp thought that Willy was Chase's child. It was just the tool she needed to put an end to their relationship.

As much as she disliked admitting it, Abby was a decent person who wouldn't break up a family. Hell, the mousy woman had even hidden their conversation from Chase just out of some misplaced sense of loyalty.

So, all Summer had to do was convince the nice, and thus easily manipulated, Abby that if she backed out of the picture then she, Chase and Willy could become a happy family again. Abby didn't need to know it wasn't actually "again," but rather, finally.

But she had to work fast; Abby could find out at any time that Chase wasn't Willy's father. Not that half the town didn't believe he was, but if Abby said anything to Chase, he'd tell her the truth. No, speed was the key to making this plan succeed. She needed to find a way to get Abby alone. Chapter 20

"Where are we going?" Abby asked, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice.

"We're going on a date," Chase said with an evasive smile.

That was the same frustrating answer he'd given her since they'd gotten in his sports car.

"Are dates always such a mystery?"

"Sometimes. Now, sit back and enjoy yourself."

Abby sank back against the leather upholstery. She was enjoying herself immensely. The past week with

Chase had been like a dream. And every day got better. So far, this was their fourth official date. Monday night, he had prepared them dinner at his house. He was an excellent cook, making a delicious beef stroganoff. But her favorite part of the meal had been dessert, which had involved strawberries and whipped cream and christening the dining room table in much the same way they had the one in the kitchen. On Tuesday, they went to the movies, although neither of them could have told anyone a thing about the motion picture as they'd spent the whole time making out like oversexed teens. Wednesday, they went to dinner in Bar Harbor and then walked around the different shops, holding hands and talking. Thursday, they had spent the night together, but it wasn't a "date." Instead, they lay on his couch and watched television-well, sort of-in between talking and kissing and finally making love on the floor, while Jay Leno chattered away in the background.

And now tonight, well, she had no idea where they were headed, but in truth, she was perfectly happy to ride in the car beside him. Although, when he pulled off the main road onto a winding dirt lane, Abby's curiosity got the better of her again. She leaned forward and peered at the road. It was a narrow road with grass growing in the middle where tires hadn't worn away the growth to gravel. The headlights reflected off nothing but the trees lining both sides of the road.

"Okay, where the heck are we going?"

He smiled, but didn't take his eyes off the snaking road. "You don't recognize it?"

"Not at all."

Finally, the trees parted, and he parked the car. He gave her a mysterious grin and got out of the car. When he opened her door, Abby heard the crash of waves and smelled the briny scent in the breeze.

"Do you know where you are now?"

Abby stepped out of the car, holding his arm. "I have no idea. I can't see a thing. We're obviously near the ocean."

Chase looped his arm through hers and led her to a rock wall. Gradually, her eyes adjusted and she could see millions of stars blanketing the dark sky above them and the black waves crashing below them. A full moon hung bright and full over their heads.

"We're at the Ledges," she realized.

"Mmm-hmm. You said you wished you'd had a normal childhood, and the normal place that a guy took his girl to was..."

"The Ledges," they said in unison.

Abby laughed and fell against him. "I think we're too old to be here now."

"Nah. Come with me."

She followed him and watched as he got a blanket and a picnic basket out of the back of the GTO. She helped him spread the blanket on a cushy patch of grass, and they sank onto it.

Chase pulled out a bottle of wine and two glasses from the basket.

She accepted the glass he poured. "So what did normal kids do at the Ledges?"

"Got drunk and screwed," he said without hesitation.

"Did you do that?"

This time Chase hesitated. "Did you ever hear any of the rumors about me during our school days?"

Abby nodded. She'd heard plenty and had wished she'd been the one he'd been doing those wild things with. "I heard some."

"Well, anything you heard probably wasn't true. It was probably worse. I was out of control, and I'm lucky I didn't end up in prison or dead. Actually, I'm even luckier that I didn't hurt someone else. That's just a miracle, in fact." He reached forward and caught a piece of her hair, twirling it around his finger as he talked. "I used to drink-and, of course, drive. I did drugs. I stole stuff, mostly shoplifting, although I did once break into a summer home out at Birch Hill Pond. I had unprotected sex. I smoked. Name anything self-destructive, and I did it."

"Where were your parents?" she asked gently.

The crash of waves and the rustle of the trees were deafening against his silence. Finally, when she thought he wouldn't answer, he said in a low voice, "My mother died when I was four, and my dad..." A bitter snort escaped him. "My dad is a sadistic bastard who occasionally does a little fishing, but mostly just gets falling-down drunk. He couldn't care less about me. He thinks I'm a waste, an idiot, and to be honest, I did seem to prove him right."

Abby sat still for a moment, her heart breaking at the pain she heard in his voice. Chase always put on an easygoing, happy-go-lucky front. She never would have guessed his family life was anything other than normal.

Then she remembered graduation day and how she thought she saw hurt in his eyes as he leaned against the high school wall. She'd always assumed she'd just imagined it, but now she wasn't sure.

She caught the hand that still played with her hair. She pulled it to her lips and placed a kiss in his palm.

"I lost my parents when I was six. I don't think anyone ever really recovers from that," she said softly. "You just made it through childhood however you could. We all did."

She pressed another kiss in his open hand. The sensitive skin of her lips touched the calloused skin of his palm. Callouses created by hard work and determination.

She slid her hand up his arm feeling the strength under his shirtsleeves, until she reached the broadness of his shoulder. Bracing herself against him, she leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to his mouth, then another and another.

He remained still under her tender ministrations until her compassion seemed too much for him. He pulled her against him and kissed her back with fierce, uncontrolled need.

They fell back against the blanket, and as the waves pounded and the wind blew, they tore at each other's clothes, desperate to touch bare skin, frantic to be one.

Chase tugged the edge of the blanket over himself and Abby as best he could and curled back around her. She wiggled so her smooth back was nestled against his chest and her soft, round bottom was pressed snugly against his groin. Then she was quiet.

Chase suspected she was asleep. His own limbs were heavy and weak from their lovemaking, and he'd been even more relentless with her, taking her again and again to the summit before letting her find release.

He'd been rough, desperate for her. Initially, he was afraid his forcefulness might scare her. But his sweet, tender Abby had responded in kind, biting his shoulders and digging his back with those short little nails. Her reaction was all he'd needed to lose control.

Hell, when it came to Abby he had lost control in every aspect of their relationship. He'd told her things about himself that he never discussed. He never mentioned his family. He rarely talked about the illegal things he'd done in the past. But for some reason, he wanted Abby to know him. The real Chase. The kid with the abusive dad. The teen that did anything to draw people's attention from his weaknesses. The little boy that couldn't...

He pulled Abby tighter against him, rubbing his nose in her hair, breathing deep her scent. She had accepted everything he'd told her tonight, but he didn't think she could accept all his secrets. Some of them would just make it too startlingly clear that they weren't in the same league. That Abby was infinitely above him.

She roused, turning to face him. "Sorry, I fell asleep."

"That's okay. I'm feeling pretty spent, too." He caressed her cheek. "Are you okay?"

She nuzzled her face against his neck. "I've never been better. I think the Ledges brings out a bit of your bad boy side," she murmured, pressing her lips against his throat. "Mmm," he smiled, placing a kiss on her tousled head. "It brought out your wild side too. My back's going to have the scratches to prove it."

Abby rose up. "Oh no, are you okay?"

Chase fell back on the blanket, his arms crossed behind his head. "I'm fantastic."

Abby lay her head on his chest and brushed her hand idly over his stomach. They were quiet, listening to the rhythmic crash of the ocean.

"Is this how it was when you were a teen?"

Abby's carefully asked question caught him off guard. "No, nothing like this," he stated, before he had time to think about it.

"How was it different?"

Chase paused, trying to find the right words without admitting too much. Without admitting that Abby was different from everyone else. That when he was with her, he finally felt complete.

"Well, when I was young it was-less about the buildup and more about getting to the final outcome."

"So the only difference is you've gotten more patient?"

He caught her chin and turned her to face him. "Did you sense any patience awhile ago? I was out of my head to be inside you, to feel every inch of your hot skin around me. I can't even compare what I feel with you to the way it felt with others. You're different in every way possible." He dipped his head and kissed her soundly.

She rested her head on his chest again, and he could practically feel the satisfaction radiating from her. And although he might have said more than he wanted to, he was glad he had. He didn't want her thinking that he'd shared this kind of overwhelming passion with any other woman.

"And what about me? How do I compare to your other lovers?" He couldn't believe he'd been so insecure as to ask.

Abby laughed, the sound light and incredulous. "Nelson, you mean? Well, let's put it this way. He was a single strand of DNA, while you are a double helix."

Chase grinned up at her. "I take it that means I'm better."

"Oh yeah, that means you are much, much better." She inched up until her body was completely on top of his and their faces were level.

"Good. Otherwise I'd have to try harder to prove myself." He smiled up at her.

"Oh, you can still do that," she encouraged.

He twisted, so she was pinned underneath him. "Okay, I'll give it my best effort." He grinned down at her, but he quickly sobered.

She looked gorgeous. Her hair spread over the blanket in dark waves like the water below them. Her eyes glittered like the star above. And he realized that if he allowed it, this woman could become both sea and sky. She could so easily become his whole world.

"You two are the perfect couple," Ellie said dreamily. "Like Scarlett and Rhett."

Abby cringed at the analogy. "I hope I'm a little less bratty." And she really wanted her relationship with Chase to come to a better end. Although it wasn't likely.

"She wasn't bratty," Ellie stated. "She was determined. But that isn't the point. I'm trying to say that you have found your true love."

Abby didn't have the heart to tell her sister that love didn't play any part in her relationship with Chase. At least not on his side. "I think we're just enjoying ourselves."

"Well, you spent practically the whole week with him. That's some pretty serious enjoyment."

Oh yes, it was. Very serious. Much enjoyment. But Ellie was far too romantic to understand that it was just sex. Really, really good sex.

Sure, they'd been having an amazing time together. They had the same sense of humor, even the corny stuff. They could talk about anything. He even understood the small details of her research. But she knew she wasn't the type to keep him interested forever. Even though he seemed to be having as much fun as she was, she knew he was better suited to a different type of woman. One that was beautiful and as outgoing as he was. Someone exciting. Despite the wild side he'd brought out in her, she was still fundamentally a nerd, more comfortable in her lab than with people.

But she hoped she would keep his interest a while longer. She wasn't ready to give him up. If anything, he was like a drug. The more she had of him, the more she wanted. Heck, she'd only been out of his company for less than ten hours, and she wondered what he was doing. She longed to be with him.

She sighed. At this rate, it was going to take a lot more than a twelve-step program to get her over her addiction to the man.

But she wouldn't think about that now. A small smile crept over her lips. Maybe she was more like Scarlett O'Hara than she realized.

"What are you grinning about?" Ellie asked, taking their empty cups and getting up from the table to pour more. She filled them, then paused to look longingly at an Entenmann's danish on the counter. Sighing, she returned to the table with nothing else but the refills of tea.

"So what has you smiling?" she asked again.

Abby looked down at the tea Ellie slid toward her, then back to her sister. "I'm smiling about Chase,"

she admitted.