The Chase (22 page)

“What the hell does that mean?”

“You reek of bitterness and I get it. It’s not my fault that I was born a boy and you were born a girl. It’s not my fault I get to drive and you don’t. Nor should it be a strike against Kendall that she beat the odds and made it to the series as a woman. Those are your issues, not ours.”

His sister picked up a throw pillow and threw it at him. “Fuck you. I’m grateful I wasn’t born a man. I just wish I didn’t have to be surrounded by them all the time. And you just saved me seventy-five percent of my stress by getting out of my life.”

He dodged the paltry missile. “Glad I could be of help.”

“I just bet you are. Now get out of my apartment and good luck running your career without me. You’ll be up shit creek in a week.” Eve smirked. “Oh, wait. You already are.”

Evan’s first response to Eve was always to give as good as he got. But for some reason, today he felt her palpable unhappiness, and it made his anger deflate. “Being with Kendall makes me happy. I hope someday you can be happy, too.”

If he was hoping for a Hallmark moment, she didn’t give it to him.

“Thanks, I’ll put that on my calendar. Be happy on Thursday.”

Holy shit.

Stunned, Evan realized that his sister sounded exactly like he had for the last ten years.

And a way he never wanted to sound again.

“I
thought we were going to lunch,” Evan said as he sat down in the Adirondack chair next to Kendall on her patio.

Kendall was trying to relax, trying to enjoy the sweep of early spring they were getting in North Carolina, but she stared out across the green space behind her condo development and fretted. “I can’t stop thinking about what Carl said to me this morning.”

“It’s not a big deal.” Evan seemed to have no problem relaxing, stretching his legs out in front of him, kicking away a pile of leaves that had clung to the furniture legs all winter. “God, it’s gorgeous outside. It must be eighty degrees.”

Kendall didn’t get his total nonchalance. “Carl is pissed, Evan. He said the commercial shoot was ‘not the direction he intended for us to take’ and that we should be aiming for funny, for a sense of camaraderie between teammates, not a sex fest campaign.”

“We didn’t write that commercial. It’s not our fault.” Evan sat forward and peeled his T-shirt off, before leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes, the midday sun caressing him.

He was gorgeous without his shirt on, all hard muscle and tapered waist, and Kendall felt a physical reaction to him at the same time she wanted to grab his shirt out of his hands and jam it back over his head so she wouldn’t be distracted from the real issue at hand. “I don’t think you’re understanding the severity of this situation.”

One eye popped open. “Apparently I’m not.”

“He told me that you and I dating is bad for my career. That to come out of the gate with the image of sex symbol will be establishing a pattern and reputation that will follow me for the whole of my career. I don’t want that.”

“How does dating me establish you as a sex symbol?”

“The commercial, the paparazzi shots . . . the fact that we give off pheromones whenever we’re around each other.” She didn’t understand what he wasn’t understanding about this.

Evan grinned. “That’s true. We do look like we’re about to tear each other’s clothes off most of the time. So, okay, what are we supposed to do about it? I can cut down on PDA, not that we’ve really done any of that so far. We haven’t even had a chance to go out on a real date, let alone make out in public.”

Kendall bit her lip. He wasn’t going to like this. She didn’t like this. But given his conversation with the team owner, and hers, it was in both of their best interests to proceed with caution. “I think we should either stop seeing each other for now or do it very, very discreetly.”

“What?” Evan sat straight up. “Hell no. We just started seeing each other, I’m not about to pull the plug already.”

Part of her wondered if she had thrown that out there as a test, to see how he would react. Because even as she was saying that they shouldn’t see each other, Kendall knew she was falling harder and harder for Evan. It was old feelings blending with new and taking her out at the knees.

She wanted to be with him desperately.

But she wanted her career, too.

And she trusted that if she gave it her all, her career would last.

With Evan, she wasn’t so sure. It hadn’t lasted the first time around.

“I just think it’s dangerous . . . me in my rookie season, you in a transitional phase . . . we need to be careful.”

“Transitional phase. That’s a nice way to put that I suck.” Evan winked at her. “But okay, I get what you’re saying. I respect it. But come on, Kendall, we can’t sacrifice spending time together, having fun with each other, on the whim of a team owner.”

Frustrated, Kendall stood up and leaned over the wrought iron fence that contained her patio. “It’s not a whim. These are our
careers
. The rest of our lives if you want to get overly dramatic.”

“Apparently you’re going to get dramatic enough for both of us.”

That was enough to send her opening the gate and strolling out across the grass, leaving him on her patio asking in surprise, “Where the hell are you going?”

“On a walk.” To figure out why nothing could ever be easy, and why when she was given some kind of happiness, it had to be taken away.

Was she destined to be a career woman only? Sacrificing love for the sake of getting ahead? Was that the irony of the glass ceiling for women? You shattered it, but then you sat at the top alone?

That didn’t seem fair. She wanted to drive, she wanted to be the best in her field, she wanted to win The Chase someday. But she also wanted love. Marriage. Maybe even kids.

“Slow down, Kendall, wait for me.” Evan caught up to her, his shirt in his hand. “Hey, talk to me.”

She sighed. “Is there anything to talk about?”

“Uh, yeah. Like the fact that we just agreed we’re going to spend time together and yet you’re running away from me.”

“I’m not running away from you. I’m thinking. Thinking that this is a sucky position to be in.” Kendall paused in her striding across the field to look at him. “I feel like I’m being forced to make a choice and I don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to make a choice.” Evan reached out and rubbed her forearms up and down gently, his brown eyes serious and compassionate. “We can do this on the down low. We can still see each other but not make a big deal out of it. We’ll redo the stupid commercial. It will all be fine.”

“This feels complicated, not fine.”

“It’s only as complicated as you make it.”

Was he right? She didn’t know. Feeling torn and dissatisfied, Kendall glanced over at the old barn tenaciously clinging to existence at the back of the field. “I wonder what it looks like in that barn.”

“Dirty.”

“Let’s check it out.” Kendall started walking towards it.

Evan pulled his shirt on. “We used to go drink beer inside it when we were in high school. What’s really cool is there’s a little tiny lake hiding behind it.”

“Yeah? It must be really hidden.”

“It is. The perfect place to make out.”

He tried to take her hand, but Kendall evaded his touch. She was too keyed up, too worried. Besides, holding hands felt like it belonged to a different Kendall and Evan, much younger ones.

“What, I’m not even allowed to touch you now?” Evan sounded completely put out. “We’re in a field and no one is anywhere around us.”

“I’m just wound tight today. Just let me worry for a while, alright?” Was that really so much to ask for? Sometimes she just needed to fret and worry things over until she came to some kind of peace with them. It was a process, and she wasn’t someone who could be teased or hand-held out of a fear or concern.

She expected him to tell her that was ridiculous, or crack a joke, or give her some kind of pep talk.

But Evan just walked in stride with her and said easily, “Alright, let you worry. I can do that. I can do whatever you need me to do, baby.”

That he could agree so easily, so nonchalantly, to give her whatever she needed, put the squeeze on Kendall’s heart. God, she didn’t want to lose this man, not again. Nor did she want to be stupid enough to shove him away.

Maybe she needed to embrace a little of his attitude and just enjoy yourself. Enjoy the success of her career, and the growing feelings between them.

Not to mention the absolutely amazing sex.

“Thank you.”

“My pleasure. I mean that most sincerely. I want to be with you, Kendall. In whatever way you’re offering.”

The simple words took her breath away. Kendall followed Evan into the dark interior of the barn, a little stunned at the intensity of the emotions coursing through her.

“See? Dirty. But a good place to hide from the world.”

“And make out.”

Evan’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you offering?”

She was. She wanted to feel him on her, feel that chemistry that sparked so quickly and burned so hotly between them, let his tongue sweep away her tension and make her appreciative, grateful, for all that she had.

“I’m not offering. I’m telling you. Kiss me now.”

The streak of sun from a hole in the roof was hitting the dirt between them, and Evan didn’t hesitate to step into it, closing the distance between them. “Offering, telling—either way, I’m taking it.”

“I don’t want to hide,” she told him as he wrapped his arms around her. “I just want us to be smart.”

“I know. It’s all good, sweetheart. We’ll work it out. One way or another, we’ll work it out.”

She didn’t know how or why, but looking deep into his eyes and seeing something there so familiar, so warm, so honest, she absolutely believed him.

“Okay.”

“I have something to tell you.”

There was something about the way he said that, the way he held her, that made her heart beat a little bit faster. “Yes?”

“I fired Eve.”

That wasn’t what she’d expected him to say at all. She wasn’t sure what she had expected, but something more romantic than that. “What?”

“I fired my sister. I felt like we were working at cross purposes.”

“Is that going to be a problem?” She didn’t imagine his family was going to be very happy with him.

But Evan just shrugged. “Everyone will just have to get over it.”

That was the confidence and blasé attitude she was totally missing. As Evan tugged her back outside by the hand and they strolled by the little lake, a few ducks splashing around in the sunshine, Kendall let his hand rest in hers. It felt good, right.

“Okay, that really wasn’t what I meant to tell you.”

“No?” She stopped when he did and glanced over at him. What she saw in his eyes didn’t make her heart beat faster—it just about stopped it. “What?” she whispered.

“I love you. I loved you ten years ago, and I love you now. Kendall, you just make me happy, plain and simple.”

His hand squeezed tighter in hers and Kendall swallowed hard, emotions welling up and threatening to overwhelm her. “God, I love you, too. And you make me happy.”

Plain and simple.

Just like that.

“Shhh,” he said, as he leaned down and brushed her lips across her temple. “Don’t tell anyone. It’s a secret.”

“Cross my heart,” she told him, her fingers mimicking his, before their lips met and she gave herself into the kiss.

TO
the average working American, having a housewarming party in the middle of the afternoon on a Wednesday might seem like a strange choice, but in the world of stock car racing, weekends were off limits for the most part, and it made more sense to pick a weekday. Which was why Kendall was stepping into Ryder and Suzanne Jefferson’s new house with a plate of brownies in her hand.

She had thought about sending her regrets instead of attending and having to be around Evan but not be with Evan, but she didn’t want to be rude. If any of the other drivers or their wives were willing to let Kendall into their social circle she wanted that opportunity. So often she felt like the outsider.

“Brownies, bless your heart.” Suzanne took the plate from Kendall and eyed the dessert squares with naked longing. “God, I love being pregnant. I can eat whatever I want and blame it on cravings.”

“Every girl needs her chocolate.”

“Well, not every girl.” Suzanne made a face at Kendall before looking behind her and calling a greeting. “Hi, Nikki, Jonas, glad y’all could come.”

Kendall turned and saw Jonas Strickland and his wife. They’d only been married a few months if she remembered correctly. Tuesday knew the gossip better than she did. But what Kendall did know for certain was that Nikki was, by far, one of the skinniest women she’d ever seen in her entire life.

“Hey, Suzanne! I brought a salad.” She thrust a bowl at Suzanne, who juggled it with the brownies.

“Well, thanks, Nikki. But sweetie, this is just a bowl of lettuce.” Suzanne peered closer. “With birdseed scattered on top.”

“Flaxseed. Protein and fiber, all you need!” Nikki went sailing past her into the house.

“Some of us need a little more than that.” To prove her point, Suzanne reached under the cellophane and took out a brownie.

Jonas nodded. “I hear ya.” He made sure his wife was really gone before he reached under his sweatshirt and pulled out a bag of Doritos.

Kendall and Suzanne laughed. “Here,” Kendall said, taking the bag from him. “I’ll carry it to the kitchen so you don’t get busted.” She opened the bag and offered it to him. “But grab a handful for the road.”

“Thanks.” He held his hand out, she shook a few chips into it, and he popped them all in his mouth. “God, that tastes good. I’m starving. Nikki has me on a diet.”