Chapter 3: Chapter 3

“You’re the dude that inherited like a billion dollars and bought up a bunch of run-down properties all over the city. You’re turning them into apartments and subsidized housing and centers for queer kids and battered women and stuff!” Chase shook his head, his eyes wide. “That’s like the coolest thing I’ve ever heard. You rock, man!”

I did actually blush then, heat washing over my face. Having Chase’s approval warmed the pit of my stomach.

“It wasn’t quite that much,” I corrected, not knowing exactly how to react to praise coming from this man. What was it about him that gave me butterflies? I stepped around him and started emptying bags. The frozen stuff was in danger of melting. “And it was only a few buildings, besides this one. I wanted safe spaces.”