Blitz (Blast Brothers #3) - Sabrina Stark Page 0,91

similar to what he might wear on an episode of Blast, and this was surely no accident, considering that the crowd wanted to see the guy they thought they knew from watching the TV show.

But they didn't truly know him. Or at least, they didn't know him as well as I did, thank goodness.

By now, the crowd was going absolutely nuts as Chase encouraged another round of applause, first for the winner and then for all of the drivers with enough guts to mix it up in the derby.

Afterward, he made a point to shake every driver's hand and pose for countless selfies. As the minutes passed, I couldn’t help but smile. He was really good at this sort of thing, and I loved watching him work.

The funniest thing was, the way he did it, it didn't look like work at all. It looked like he was having the time of his life.

Watching him, I felt warm and wonderful all over. It was a beautiful June night, and a cool breeze was drifting through the stands. And there he was – my guy, making all of those local guys, along with their families and team members, feel like they were the real stars of the show.

By the time Chase made his way back to me, there wasn't a guy on the field who didn't feel like a million bucks, even those who'd crashed out early.

The stands were mostly empty now, and the book in my bag faded further from my thoughts as Chase reached out and pulled me into his arms just the way I liked.

Into my hair, he said, "You should've come with me."

He always said that – not as a boss, but as a boyfriend, because surely he knew just as well as I did that Chase Blastoviak was the one they truly wanted to see – not some farmer's daughter from Hazelton.

I'd only be a distraction, and I'd told him so repeatedly.

Now I pulled back to say, "If there's ever a cakewalk, count me in."

"Yeah," he laughed. "And count me out."

It was an ongoing joke, because Chase had made it perfectly clear that there'd be no cakewalks, not on his watch.

I said, "And besides, I'm just dealing with the media, remember?"

"Wrong," he said. "You're dealing with me, too. And I'm a tough customer." He smiled. "Remember?"

By now, I remembered plenty – all of the nights cradled in his arms, all of the teasing and laughter, and the way he looked at me sometimes, like I was the only girl in the world.

As far as him being a tough customer, there was a time when I would've agreed. But somewhere along the way, my opinion of Chase had softened considerably. Or maybe I was having too much fun to give our relationship as much thought as it deserved.

"Speaking of tough," I said, "I meant to ask you something."

"Yeah?"

"Back in the beginning, you said you might enter one of the derbies. But you haven't. Are you still thinking about it?"

He grinned. "Hell yeah."

"So, you're gonna do it?"

"Nope."

"But you just said—"

"Yeah, I think about it," he said. "It would be fun as hell."

"But…?"

"But it would be a dick move, don't you think?"

I did think. But I was kind of surprised that he did. "You mean because you're the sponsor?"

"Yeah. And because I can't win."

"Oh." I paused. "You mean because you're the sponsor? Or because you don't think you'd do so great?"

"Forget that," he laughed. "I'd totally kick ass."

Now I couldn't help but laugh, too. "Well, aren't you cocky?"

"Nah, just desperate."

I almost rolled my eyes. Chase Blastoviak, desperate? I couldn’t even imagine. I gave him a skeptical look. "Desperate, huh?"

"Hey, I'd have to win," he said. "I can't look bad in front of my girl, can I?"

His girl. He didn't say it often, but every time he did, my knees still went wobbly.

When I made no reply, Chase added, "And then, when I won, you know who I'd be?"

"Who?"

"The douchebag who sponsored an event and ran off with his own prize." He flicked his head toward the now-empty field. "And these guys, they deserve their moment of glory, you know?"

I smiled. "Hey, that's my line."

"I know," he said. "I’m stealing it."

"Is that so?"

He leaned close to whisper in my ear. "And that's not the only thing I'm stealing."

"Oh yeah?" I pulled back. "So what else are you swiping?"

"You."

And with that, he reached out and grabbed my hand. As I laughed, he made a show of tugging me out of the stands