The Best Mistake - Cookie O'Gorman Page 0,55

to interview you.”

“Me?” Chase said, inserting a bookmark and closing his book. His brow furrowed. “Why would you want to do that?”

I shrugged. “You are the star pitcher of the Wolves.”

“Yeah…”

“And you’re also the golden boy with the golden arm who’s lead your team to three consecutive championships. Not to mention, you’re the third oldest O’Brien brother—and obviously the one with the best taste in books.”

Chase tried to hide it, but I saw the grin he bit back. “I get it from my Aunt Genevieve. She’s a total bibliophile. Emmy has pretty good taste, too.”

“I’ll have to check out her shelves sometime when I’m back home,” I said, making a note in my mind to do just that.

He tilted his head. “And you sitting here, starting with me…it has nothing to do with whatever’s going on between you and Archer?”

My throat tightened. Was I really that obvious?

I must’ve been because Chase nodded a second later. “That’s what I thought,” he said. “You know, he can’t stop looking back here.”

“Really?” I said, eyes wide, not daring to look.

“Yeah, he’s bound to have a crick in his neck at this rate. Well Honor, if we lose the game, you’ll know it was all your fault.”

That startled another laugh out of me. “And a sense of humor, too?”

Chase grinned outright.

“Oh now, I can’t wait to interview you,” I said.

“I don’t want to disappoint,” he said, “but I should probably tell you. I’m not all that interesting.”

I shook my head at how wrong (and humble) he was. “We’ll let the readers be the judge of that, hm?”

Chase nodded. “Alright.”

“I just have a few questions. Fair warning, some are pretty personal because I got them directly from the readers’ comments on the site. Your fans are kinda nosey. I hope that’s okay?”

“Like I said, I’m boring,” he laughed, gesturing with his hand for me to continue. “Ask me anything. I’ll try to be as open as possible.”

Lifting my pen, I asked the first question, “What do you love about baseball?”

“How much time do you have?” His eyes took on a faraway look. “I love being on the mound, the power that runs through my arm as I release the ball, the satisfaction I get from every good pitch. There’s nothing else like it. I love being a part of a team, knowing that I’ve got their back and they’ve got mine. Having my family there with me is a huge bonus.”

I smiled while taking notes. “Think you’ll go pro someday?”

Chase shrugged. “That’s the dream. Not sure if it’ll happen, but I’ve never been afraid of hard work.”

“Great answer.”

“Thanks.”

“Okay, here’s where it gets personal,” I said. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No,” he said.

“No one special in your life?”

His eyes lit up at that. “Just baseball and books.”

“Okay, I think they’ll actually love hearing that,” I said. “A lot of them were hoping you were single. Next question: Boxers or briefs?”

Chase blinked. “People actually want to know that?”

I bit my lip to hold back a laugh. “It’s actually one of the top things they want to know about each of you. Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” he said as a blush stole up his cheeks. “I was just surprised.”

After a muttered “briefs,” we moved on to the next question.

“Do you prefer blondes, brunettes or redheads? And as a follow-up, the next question is: Can you please describe your ideal woman?”

“Hmm, I ‘ve never really thought about it before…”

After a beat, Chase shook his head.

“I don’t know who my ideal woman is—but I’ll know her when I find her.”

I wrote that down as quickly as possible then asked if he could explain what he meant. To say his answer shocked me would be an understatement.

“I’m looking for my soulmate,” he said simply without even a hint of sarcasm.

“Seriously?” I asked.

Chase nodded. “If my parents taught me anything, it’s that love is real. There’s someone out there for each of us. We just have to be patient and keep our eyes and hearts open.”

“You really believe that?”

“Hell yeah, I do. And what’s the point of dating a whole bunch of women who aren’t the one? How do you look at your soulmate once you do find them and explain why you kissed or made love to other women? No way. I’m more than ready to fall in love with my soulmate. But until then, I’m content to wait.”

“Chase…” I set down my pen and looked him in the eyes. I tried to hide the incredulity in my voice but wasn’t sure I