Crazy Love(44)

“Not really. I was already at the track when she showed up. She wasn’t really happy to see me.” There was a fine line between sugarcoating things, which would give her false hope, and crushing her spirit with blunt truths. He was trying his best to walk it.

“Oh, I’m sure she was just tired. She’s not a morning person, you know,” his mom said, acting like she was the authority on Krista.

Chase smiled to himself. It made him happy to see that his mom and Krista were so close. When she’d actually been his girlfriend, he hadn’t brought Krista around because his dad was still alive. He’d always believed that Krista and his mom wouldn’t just get along, but more than that, they would love each other. It was nice to see that his instincts had been correct.

“I know she’s not a morning person, Mom. But it wasn’t just that. She’s not exactly my number one fan.”

His mom waved her hand dismissively. “That’s a bunch of malarkey. Krista and you are like Sonny and Cher, Captain and Tennille. You two kids belong together,” she said as she settled back into her bed to watch a rerun of I Love Lucy that was playing on the flat screen television mounted on the wall. He saw that dark circles had appeared under her eyes. She needed to rest, not worry about him and Krista.

Chase didn’t want to burst the bubble of hope his mom was currently floating in, but facts were facts. First of all, both of the couples she’d used as her examples had not stayed married. Neither of those twosomes had lived out their happily-ever-afters together. Second, just because he and Krista belonged together did not mean they would end up together.

He wasn’t going into this with any delusions. Chase didn’t kid himself. Getting back together with Krista was a long shot. One he was willing to put everything on the line for, to risk it all for, but there were no guarantees. He was more than willing to strap himself in for the emotional roller coaster of a ride that was sure to come and if he was alone at the end of it, so be it. He could accept that. Not that Chase had any plans on saying uncle and admitting defeat without a fight. He was going to do everything in his power to make Krista face what they both knew to be true.

They did belong together.





Chapter Twelve





“Man, you clean up nice, Chip.” Chase slapped his hand on Chip’s back as he, Chip, and Tully stepped through the back entrance of The Grill. All three of them were dressed in button-up shirts and slacks. Chip, of course, was rocking a classic fedora.

“I know I do.” Chip popped his collar as the three men made their way down the narrow hall.

They were headed to the engagement party in the banquet room at the back of the restaurant. Chase hadn’t wanted to take the chance of walking through the dining area and taking any attention away from the couple. So far, here in his hometown, people had pretty much treated him normally, but he didn’t want to press his luck.

“I still think that we should have lined up security for tonight,” Tully said nervously when they rounded the corner and walked into the large room filled to the brim with people, most of whom Chase recognized.

There were probably twenty tables covered in black or white linens. A DJ booth was set up in the corner of a decent-sized dance floor, and two portable bars were at either end of the room.

“It’ll be fine,” Chase assured his anxious assistant. “I promise.”

A young, pretty brunette server approached them with a wide smile. Chase noticed a blush spread across her cheeks as she spoke to Tully. “Can I get you gentleman anything?” She might have been addressing all three of them, but she only had eyes for Tully.

“Um…I… We…” his assistant stuttered over his words as he stared down at the cute server.

Chase came in with the assist. “We’ll have three Buds.”

“Make it two and a Coke,” Chip corrected. “I’m driving.”

Chase shook his head. “We can grab some cabs. Relax. Enjoy the party. You are off duty.”

“Well, all right. Make it three, darlin’.” Chip tipped his fedora to the waitress.

For the first time since she’d walked up, she pulled her eyes away from Tully, glancing first at Chip then at Chase. “Okay, three Buds coming right…” She stopped mid-sentence when she did a double take at Chase. After staring in shock for several moments, she closed her jaw and shook her head slightly. “Up.”

As she turned to walk away, Chase was happy to note that she did take one more look over her shoulder but her eyes didn’t fall on him. Nope, they were directed straight at his six-foot-tall assistant standing beside him. A small smile lifted on her face as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and hurried over to the bar set up in the corner of the room.