Chasing Charlie Read Online Free PDF Page B

apartment and run some errands today. I’d promised Dad I’d do some grocery shopping for him and cook him a few freezer meals, but nothing sounded better than lying in bed all day. I twisted over and swiped my phone off the nightstand, surprised to find a text from an unknown number. 
    Spend the day with me?  
    It was the Irish bastard, or playboy depending on who you asked. A grin instantly split my face. I wanted to spend time with him. He made me laugh. He was kind and sweet and unlike any guy I’d ever met. But could I trust him? 
    I supposed he had been right when he said one mistake wasn’t worth sacrificing my future. It’d been six years since I’d handed my heart over to someone, only to have it trampled on. The memories still affected me though. 
    Gino had done a number on me. He’d stolen my innocent heart, made me believe he’d always cradle it in his kind hands, then violated my love and loyalty. When I’d refused to give him my virginity, even though I was an eighteen-year-old who thought she was in love, he decided to ruin me. That pain still stung, and the repercussions of it followed me to this day. 
    I suck in a quick breath and shoot out of bed, heading to my tiny bathroom to wash my shameful history from my skin. As hot water pounded over my body, a few tears leaked out of my eyes. I’d allowed myself to succumb to the role of victim, but I wasn’t a victim. I was a survivor of bullying, of hate, of a man who crushed my heart publicly. 
    I couldn’t keep denying myself happiness, passion, love just because of one mistake. 
    Maybe Liam was right when he’d said surprises made life all the sweeter. I’d only been denying myself happiness and the best surprise of all—Liam.
    By the time I hopped out of the shower, I was practically racing to get back to my phone. I grinned, wrapped my towel tighter around my torso, and punched in my reply. 
    Okay, the American girl accepts the offer from the Irish Playboy Bastard. 
    His reply came almost instantly. 
    Haha, Bastard and Playboy?
    With a smile, I replied.
    Until you prove otherwise, yes. ;) See you in an hour.
    He sent back a winky face. God, he was so damn cute. I suddenly felt as though an hour wasn’t enough time to prep. 
     
    I met Liam outside the bar an hour later, my hands fidgeting and twisting my hair, which I’d painstakingly curled into soft waves. 
    Liam walked up and pecked me on the cheek. “You’re a vision, love.” 
    I sighed, letting my eyes flutter closed. “Thank you.” 
    His hand slipped around my back, and he led me down the sidewalk to a dark car. 
    “Yours?” 
    “Mhmm.” He opened the passenger door, and I slid in. He walked around to the other side and got behind the wheel. “Ready to go for a ride?”
    “I'm not sure. Where are we going again?”
    He only winked at me before buckling his seatbelt and jetting away from the curb. 
    “So it’s a surprise then?”
    “You’re catching on.” He grinned and patted my knee. 
    I wished he’d leave his hand there, or maybe slide it up my thigh a little, just a little. 
    “I told you, I don’t like—”
    “Surprises. I remember. But I’m determined to show you why surprises are a good thing. You just haven’t had the right surprise.” 
    His flirty tenor set off fireworks in my stomach. He was so infuriating and gorgeous. 
    We sped north on the freeway, the leather seat sticking to the backs of my thighs as he drummed along with the beat of the radio. I looked at him from the corner of my eyes, taking in the aquiline features, the sense of calm and peacefulness radiating from him. I did trust him—I wouldn’t be in this car if I didn’t—but there was still so much more to know about him. 
    “So tell me about your parents.”
    His eyebrows rose in surprise before he turned down the music. “Not much to know.” He shrugged. “Dad’s in politics back home. Mom stays home for the most part, attends a charity gala now and