“Glad to hear it.” My fingers itched to touch her again, but I knew better. Even if she’d welcome the touch, I needed to stay very far away from her. A girl like her would tear me up inside. I knew what I was. And once she found out the same, she’d run for the hills. I was better off staying away. “Next you’re going to tell me she has a name.”

Abbie grinned and took two steps toward me. Hell, if she came any closer, I’d forget about my damned don’t-touch-her rule.

“I call her the badass money maker.”

I laughed. “Are you serious?”

“Of course. I’ve taken all my best photos with her. I have another two cameras, but they don’t seem to do it the same way she does.”

I held up my hands. “Okay, okay. Fair enough. Badass money maker it is.” I rubbed my jaw. “My brother’s a photographer, and I don’t think he names his cameras. His other appendages yeah, but never his cameras.” The moment I’d let it slip about Xander I wanted to bite my tongue off. I prayed she didn’t ask if she might have seen his work. I didn’t need her going all starry-eyed once she knew about the infamous half of the Chase brothers.

Abbie cocked her head. “You can’t mock her name. I like it. Besides, your name is Lex. Please tell me your parents had a sick sense of humor and your last name is Luther. That would be perfect.”

“A Superman lover, I see.” Well, wasn’t she full of surprises? “And Mum and Dad do not have a sense of humor, thank God. It’s Chase, actually. Alexi Chase.”

Abbie frowned “Is Chase a common surname in the UK?”

He inclined his head. “Common enough. I suppose it’s like the surname Smith. Why?”

She shook her head. “No reason.” She studied me carefully. “Anyway, I like it. Alexi sounds Russian.”

“My maternal grandmother was Nomean actually. Grandfather was Greek. Nomea is this little island off the coast of France. Dad’s British.” I cleared my throat and watched her carefully. She tucked one of her braids behind her ear, and I longed to touch her. Who was I kidding? I couldn’t be casual with her, and I couldn’t let her get too close and see me for who I really was, so my only option was to stay away from her. I could try to be good.

“I think I prefer Alexi.”

“And is Abbie short for Abigail?”

She wrinkled her nose. “No. It’s Abena. Abena Nartey.”

I cocked my head. “Beautiful, like its owner.”

She ducked her head. “Uhm, thanks. I guess I should be grateful I wasn’t born on a less attractive sounding day.”

I furrowed my brow. “I don’t understand.”

“Like Sophie, I’m from Ghana. My name means born on Tuesday.”