Hey! Long time...no write (??). I'm really busy atm and I'm finding it hard to continue the sequel to Chase but while I do so, I've got a little extra about the bit in between. It will only be a couple of chapters long but I hope you enjoy it. more slush than action...you have been warned!!

Axx

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It was the most beautiful August evening. Still warm, with a honeysuckle scent in the air, and the darkness lit by tiny fairy lights draped across the wall. I took a sip of white wine, feeling the alcohol rush through my veins. It was close to midnight, the moon high in the inky sky, and in only minutes, it would be my wedding day. My stomach clenched in nervousness and I took another, desperate sip of wine, and then, for good measure, another after that.

‘Babe?’

I started guiltily,

‘Chase!’

He glanced at the small group of empty wine glasses, then at the one in my hand. I felt my cheeks redden and I clutched it, defiantly,

‘Hello, darling.’

He blinked,

‘You’re drunk.’

I shook my head,

‘No. No, Chase. I’ve only had…’ it took two tries, but I eventually managed to count the empty glasses, ‘five glasses.’

His mouth twisted,

‘And the two shots you had with your brother?’

‘Hours ago,’ I huffed, ‘they don’t even count anymore.’

‘Babe,’ he slid onto the bench beside me, ‘put the glass down.’

‘I’m drinking it.’

‘No,’ he said firmly, ‘you’re not.’

I blinked in disbelief as it was removed from my hand and set down, out of reach,

‘Chase!’

‘Etta?’

I scowled,

‘What? Why cant I have some wine?’

‘Because I don’t want you drunk.’

‘You get drunk,’ I said crossly, ‘on Saturday night, you were so drunk, you…you fell asleep in the doorway and I had to…’

‘I know,’ he kissed my lips, lightly, ‘but I was a happy, celebrating drunk. And you…sitting on your own and working your way through a case of wine.’

I flushed,

‘I’m thinking.’

‘About tomorrow?’

There was a long, awkward silence. I could feel Chase’s gaze, steady and unflinching on my face.

‘I don’t know!’ I burst out suddenly, ‘Chase, what are we doing?’

‘Etta…’

‘We hardly know each other! I know nothing about you! And what I do know could get me killed!’

‘Etta…’

‘What if it goes wrong Chase? What if we start to hate each other? What if you stop loving me? I mean, you’ve only just decided that you do! And if it’s so recent, you could change your mind again…and then where would I be? Because I love you and what if getting married means that we don’t love each other anymore?’

‘I…’

‘We’ll nag each other and I’ll get cross about the dishes! And you won’t talk to me anymore, you’ll just watch television on Saturdays and ignore me. And we’ll stop having sex and just get cross with each other, and…’

‘Etta!’ he snapped suddenly, furiously.

I fell silent, a thousand other words and fears brimming on my lips. He sighed,

‘You’re an absolute idiot, Etta. Everything you just said was a load of utter bollocks.’

I blinked at the anger in his tone,

‘It’s not…I…’

‘Do you not want to marry me?’ he said quietly, ‘is that what you’re saying?’

‘No,’ I shook my head quickly, then stopped as my head spun, ‘Chase…darling…’

He looked at me coolly,

‘What do you need to know about me, Etta? What is it that’s giving you such misgivings?’

I frowned,

‘I…’

‘Ask me,’ he snapped, ‘now! Because tomorrow will be too late. And you’ll be trapped in some dreadful marriage with…’

‘No,’ I felt my eyes flood with tears, and then as the coldness of his tone sunk in, they spilled over, ‘it won’t be dreadful…’

He sighed,

‘What do you need to know, Etta? What do you want to hear?’

‘I need to know that you’ll keep loving me, Chase. And I need to hear that even when I’m old and fat, or PMS-y and cross, that you’ll love me. And that you’ll love me as much in fifty years time as you do now.’

There was a long silence, filled only with the distant murmurs of other hotel patrons in the garden.

‘I can’t do that, Etta,’ he said quietly, ‘I can’t promise you that.’

‘Chase…’ I swallowed hard, my heart breaking into a thousand pieces, ‘Chase…’

‘Because,’ he said quietly, ‘in fifty years time, I’m not going to love you as much as I do today, I’m going to love you more.’

‘Oh,’ and now I felt choking, choking guilt, for the beautiful man who I had hurt and doubted, ‘oh, Chase, I’m sorry, I….’

He stood up, set my wine glass down in front of me, and moved away,

‘Good night, Etta.’

I glanced up as a light flickered on in the hotel, catching a brief glimpse of Chase’s silhouette before the blinds drew down. We had chosen to sleep in separate rooms, due to my determination that the wedding have at least a little tradition to it. I closed my eyes and rested my head on the table,

‘I’m a complete and total fuck-up.’

There was no one to disagree. No Chase to emerge from the darkness and defend me against myself. I sighed in exhaustion, I was in love with Chase, I would not let him get away. I would go and apologise, I would make everything right…just as soon as I’d had a little nap…just for a second….

‘Madam? Madam?’

I jerked awake,

‘Hmm!’

A hotel waiter was standing beside the wooden bench, staring at me oddly,

‘Madam, it’s two in the morning and our gardens are closed.’

‘Oh…yeah…’ I winced as I turned my stiff neck, ‘yeah, sorry, um…’

‘Are you all right?’

‘Yes,’ I nodded frantically, ‘I’m fine. I just… I’m getting married tomorrow…’

‘Congratulations, madam!’

‘Yes, I know,’ I glanced up at Chase’s dark window, ‘I should…get some beauty sleep…’

He smiled,

‘Your fiancé’s a very lucky man.’

‘Hmm,’ I smiled doubtfully and ambled inside, feeling vaguely and unhappily drunk.

I stepped out of the elevator and sighed, my room was at one end of the small corridor, and Chase’s was at another. I could not go to sleep, not with him thinking that I was unhappy and that I didn’t want to marry him. I tiptoed, foolishly and drunkenly, down the hall, turning the room door handle as if I expected it to open. It was, of course, locked. I grinned to myself, pulled out my credit card, and using a nifty trick that Greg had taught me, unlocked the door. I crept in, stifling a drunken giggle,

‘Chase?’

The light switched on, abruptly, he was standing by the bed, gun in hand,

‘What do you want, Etta?’

I blinked, squinting in the light,

‘The light…Chase…’

He ignored me,

‘It’s two a.m. Etta, what do you want?’

‘I came,’ I said unsteadily, ‘to say that I love you and I do, do, do want to marry you and I’m sorry I’m so horrid.’

He blinked,

‘It was necessary to tell me this. Now?’

‘Yes,’ I lurched towards him, ‘Chase, I’m a silly idiot!’

His face slowly broke into a smile and he balanced me with a gentle hand on my waist,

‘Babe, you’re still drunk.’

I sighed,

‘Stop obsessing on my being drunk. It doesn’t matter.’

‘Then what does?’

‘We do,’ I slipped my arms around his waist, resting my head on his warm chest, ‘you…and me.’

He kissed the top of my head,

‘I guess you’re sleeping here?’

I nodded,

‘Too tired…don’t remember…number…’

He settled me on the bed,

‘I hope you’re sober tomorrow. I want you to remember our wedding.’

‘Of course,’ I yawned sleepily, my eyes drifting shut, ‘Mr and Mrs Chase.’

He smiled, kissing my forehead, gently removing my clothes,

‘That’s right.’