Blitz (Blast Brothers #3) - Sabrina Stark Page 0,106

sighed. "Yeah, but so is she."

Chase stared at Emory for another long moment. And then, he glanced at me before turning back and telling Emory, "Yeah, but she's the girl I love. You're not."

Chapter 72

Chase

Shit.

I hadn't meant to say it. Or maybe I had. I shoved a hand through my hair and tried to think.

In front of me, Mina looked first stunned and then horrified. So did Emory, as if it had never occurred to her that I might fall for a girl like Mina Lipinski.

But didn't Emory get it? A girl like Mina was worth a million of the other kind. And in my heart, I'd come to realize something. Mina wasn't the type to run off with another guy, especially someone who was married.

That wasn't her. And the fact I'd even entertained such an idea, well, it made me feel like an asshole.

Or maybe I was going soft and stupid, like countless other guys before me.

Deliberately, I turned my back on Emory and looked to Mina. I kept my gaze locked on hers. Say something, will you?

Finally, she did. "Nice try."

My heart sank. What?

But already, she'd turned and walked away, leaving me staring after her. The old Chase would have let her go. Her loss, right?

But it wasn't her loss. It was mine. I strode after her.

As if sensing me following, she stopped and turned around.

I moved forward and closed the distance. In a low voice, I asked, "Is that it?"

"Sure, why not?"

I stared down at her. In spite of her casual words, there was nothing casual about her demeanor. Her posture was stiff, and her eyes were glassy. She looked on the verge of losing it.

I couldn't let that happen. I tried again. "Don't you want to talk?"

"Fine. You wanna talk?" Her eyes narrowed. "Oh, we'll talk, alright." She glanced toward the parking area. "My car or yours?" She paused. "On second thought, let's make it mine."

I had never been inside her car, but I would've crawled across broken glass to learn what the hell was going on.

Already, she was heading toward the parking area, moving fast, as if she were hoping to lose me in the crowd. Not a chance.

With my long legs, it was easy to keep pace. What was difficult was resisting the urge to start the conversation along the way. Unable to stop myself, I said, "I saw the picture."

I meant the picture of Mina with Bryce. Of course, I probably should have said pictures, as in plural. And even though I'd pretty much decided that Mina hadn't run off with her ex-boyfriend, his arrival at the Buckville Fairgrounds did seem to be important.

How or why, I didn't know. But I was determined to find out.

Mina kept on walking, even as she replied, "Yeah, well I saw a picture, too."

Now that got my attention. "What do you mean?"

She gave me a quick sideways glance. "It was a picture of you, hugging someone."

I tried to think. Who the hell had I hugged in Buckville?

And then it hit me. Now, I couldn’t help but smile with relief. So that was the problem?

Shit. I should have known it was something simple. With a laugh, I said, "Lemme guess. A girl with long auburn hair, right?

"Yup. That's her."

I was grinning now. "Mina, you know who that was, right?" But of course, she wouldn't know, because the two of them had never met. I told her, "That was Cami, my future sister-in-law."

Mina kept on walking. "What, you think I didn't know that?"

Huh? Now I was more confused than ever. "But if you knew who she was, why'd you get so mad?"

By now, we'd reached Mina's car. She unlocked the driver's side door and flicked the switch to the unlock the passenger's side, too. I circled around the front and climbed into the passenger's seat just as Mina settled herself behind the wheel. We closed our doors at virtually the same time.

Mina turned to me and said, "You told me that you weren't getting along with them."

"Who?"

"Your family," she said. "You claimed that's why you didn't want me to meet them. But obviously you were getting along, which means you were lying to me."

I frowned. "So that's why you dumped me?"

Okay, I could see where she'd be confused, and maybe angry, too. But to end our relationship? Without even asking me about it?

It made no sense – unless Mina wasn't the girl I thought she was.

When she made no reply, I said, "Mina, I don't want to be a