Blitz (Blast Brothers #3) - Sabrina Stark Page 0,73

a loud huff. "That's just like you, trying to take credit for something I did. I'll have you know, I won fair and square."

"Yeah, well Libby doesn't think so."

"You mean Mina's mom? Oh, please. Of course she doesn’t think so. Unlike you, she has loyalty for her own daughter."

"Oh, shut up," the mom said. "If I wasn't loyal, I wouldn't be here." She paused. "And I wouldn’t have told you that Chase Blastoviak would be coming around today."

"Yeah, except you didn't mention that she'd be here, too."

She. Meaning Mina.

"Hey," the mom said, "I just heard that he was getting a tour. I had no idea who'd be giving it."

"Yeah? Well maybe you should've asked."

"And maybe you should stop being so ungrateful."

They were still bickering when they left the barn, slamming the doors shut behind them.

When their voice receded in the distance, Mina shifted in my arms and blew out a long, trembling breath. "Well…" she said. "That was awkward."

Chapter 49

Mina

Awkward didn't begin to cover it. In the span of just a few short minutes, Chase had learned way more about my history than I'd ever intended.

The thing with Bryce – it still hurt, not because I missed him, but because it had shaken my faith in relationships, and not only the romantic kind.

Plus, even though I wasn't the one who'd cheated, I still felt sullied by the whole thing. Of course, it didn't help that Emory hadn't been remotely ashamed of what she'd done.

No. She'd been proud – so proud, in fact, that she couldn't stop talking about it, even now.

But that wasn't the reason I was feeling suddenly sick to my stomach. It was because apparently, my humiliation was far from over. Way too late, it was dawning on me that Chase's rescue had come at a price.

Sure, I'd gotten some terrific short-term satisfaction. But long-term? That was a different story, wasn't it? After all, Chase and I weren't truly together – at least not the way he'd made it look in the kitchen.

And now, like a total idiot, I wanted to burrow deeper into his arms, as if he could protect me from the embarrassment sure to be coming my way.

He couldn’t.

And besides, I'd never ask him to.

Desperately, I tried to think. Maybe I could just flat-out announce to Emory that Chase had been joking. I mean, she suspected it already, so maybe I could play it off as being no big deal – a joke on her, not on me.

I bit my lip. Or maybe I could tell her that we'd broken up.

No. That would just make her laugh at me.

Maybe I could say nothing at all and avoid her like I'd been trying to do for years.

Yeah, right. Her mom was the biggest gossip in the county, which meant there'd be no true escape no matter what I did.

Regardless, the spell was officially broken. With an awkward laugh, I pulled away from Chase. "Well, I guess we should get dressed, huh?" Technically, I was still mostly dressed, even if I was far from decent.

I sat up and glanced around, trying to pull myself together.

But Chase wasn't moving.

So far, he hadn't said a single word about the conversation we'd just overheard. But there was something in his stillness that was making me a little uneasy, and I was having a hard time meeting his eyes.

But when several moments passed without him saying or doing anything at all, I took a deep breath and met his gaze head-on.

I'd expected him to be amused, possibly at my expense.

But here in the quiet loft, he looked anything but pleased. His eyes were dark and intense as he studied my face, probably exactly like I was studying his.

What on Earth was he thinking?

Should I ask?

As it turned out, I didn't need to.

He offered on his own. "Wanna know what I think?"

"What?"

"I think I’m starving."

Huh?

Chapter 50

Mina

Ninety minutes later, we were sitting at a prime table for two at Lombardi's, the nicest Italian restaurant in Bayside.

The restaurant was located downtown along the river bank, and we had a table next to the window, giving us a soothing view of the nearby river, sparkling in the setting sun.

Chase's condo was located within walking distance, also on the river. I knew this, because I'd seen it with my own two eyes.

I'd even gone "shopping" in his closet.

His idea, not mine.

Up in the hayloft, when I'd balked at the idea of going out to dinner in clothes of questionable cleanliness, he'd offered to take me home