Blitz (Blast Brothers #3) - Sabrina Stark Page 0,72

stare as he once again closed the distance between us.

To think, he'd been all mine, if only for a little while.

I was still smiling when he returned and gathered me up in his arms. Into my ear, he whispered, "I just know a few tricks, that's all."

Boy, if that wasn't a massive understatement. Even now, my body was still tingling.

And in that moment, as I burrowed tighter against him, life felt as blissful as it could be, even in spite of those dreaded voices.

But it didn't matter. Thanks to Chase, we were safe from discovery.

Unfortunately, as I learned a few minutes later, I wasn't nearly as safe from humiliation of a different kind.

Chapter 48

Chase

At the sound of the barn doors sliding open, Mina stiffened in my arms.

Into her ear, I whispered, "Shhh…it's alright."

And if it wasn’t?

I'd make it right.

If it came down to it, I'd throw myself to the she-wolves before I'd ever let them sink their teeth into Mina. The way I saw it, they'd gotten more than enough of her in the kitchen.

They were done.

With the doors now open, their conversation became more audible. The mom – Ginger – was saying, "They have to be around here somewhere."

The daughter scoffed, "So what if they are? He's obviously lost his mind."

I frowned. Me?

Maybe I had lost my mind. But with Mina in my arms, I was finding it hard to care. She felt just right nestled against me, and in that moment, I discovered a nearly primal urge to protect her, not just from the two unwanted visitors, but from anyone or anything.

The sensation was new and surprising.

What was that about?

As they moved deeper into the barn, Ginger said, "Of course he's lost his mind. She's a lot prettier than you ever give her credit for."

"Oh, please," the younger one scoffed. "She's not prettier than I am."

What the hell? Okay, I'd been called cocky. I'd even been called arrogant. But even I thought this was a bit much. Plus, she was dead wrong.

Mina wasn't just pretty. She was beautiful – and not only on the outside.

But the chick in the red dress? Sure, she was pretty enough. Some might call her beautiful. But there was something cold and hard in her eyes that told me her beauty was skin deep at best.

My frown deepened. Since when did I care?

Weird.

The mom said, "Just because you stole one boyfriend, there's no guarantee you can steal another."

"You mean Bryce? I didn't steal him. I just borrowed him for a while." She gave an ugly little snicker. "Is it my fault she didn't want him back?"

In my arms, Mina went very still.

So did I.

Bryce. I knew that name. He was the ex-boyfriend, the one her dad hated for reasons I hadn't understood until now.

That fucker.

I didn’t mean her dad. I meant the guy who'd been dumb enough to cheat on Mina – and with someone who wasn't worth a fraction of the girl in my arms.

Below us, the younger one was still talking, "And besides, Chase Blastoviak isn't her boyfriend. That whole thing – it was so fake."

"Say that all you want," the mom said. "That doesn't make it true."

"But it is true," the daughter insisted. "Did you see the look on Mina's face? She didn’t believe it any more than I did."

"Yeah, well I saw your face," the mom said. "So don't tell me you didn't believe it."

"Alright, fine. Maybe I believed it for a little while. But the more I think about it, the more they make no sense. I mean just look at him. And just look at her."

"I did," the mom said. "And I'm telling you, she's more appealing than you think."

What the fuck?

Even though her statement had been a compliment, there was something about it that made me gather Mina tighter against me, as if I could shield her from the ugliness below.

I didn't say anything, but I sure as hell wanted to.

Downstairs, the daughter replied, "Well, she can't be too 'appealing' if she was only runner up."

The mom sighed. "This again?"

"Hey, I'm just saying, you need to remember who came out on top."

"And maybe you need to remember that your stepdad was on the committee."

The daughter snorted, "Which one?"

"You mean which committee?"

"No. Which stepdad."

"Very funny," the mom said. "You know which one."

"If you mean Chester, he wasn't my stepdad at the time."

"Yes, but he was close enough."

"So, what are you saying? That I only won because of him?" The daughter's voice rose. "Because of you?" She gave