Page 34 of Kiss & Collide (Racing Hearts #2)

Las Vegas, Nevada

C hase shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.

He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his suit pants, then took them back out.

He’d been at his first major function as a “brand ambassador” for Jet Energy drinks, a huge post-race party in Vegas, for all of an hour and it already felt like an hour too long.

This wasn’t his kind of place or his kind of people.

Everybody was being nice enough. He’d been surrounded by Arrow Beverages corporate bigwigs since he’d walked in the door, and they all seemed delighted to have him there, but he still felt out of his depth.

Violet was supposed to come with him tonight.

She’d have made everything easier, whispering in his ear all night, letting him know who was who, why they were important, and what he should say to them.

But at the last minute she’d found out Reece was planning a private post-race party of his own, so she’d gone there to make sure he didn’t embarrass himself or the team too much.

“How did you feel about the race today, Chase?” one guy asked.

Tim? Tom? He couldn’t remember. He was surrounded by a trio of nearly identical thirty-something guys in nearly identical gray suits, all of whom worked for Arrow.

All of them were drunk, enjoying a party on the company’s dime.

This was part of what the corporations got out of sponsorships.

He got money, they got VIP access to the races and one-on-one time with drivers.

“Oh, you know. There are some spots I felt I could have done better, but overall it wasn’t bad.”

“Has Pinnacle signed you for next season yet?” Ron? No, it was Rob.

“If they do, you’ll be the first to know,” Chase said with a grin. The whole little group of guys in suits laughed. Tom, Rob, and … He had no idea what the other guy’s name was, and now it felt too late to ask.

“Must have been nice having your girlfriend at the race this weekend,” Tom said.

For a second he was confused. She was there every weekend. Then he realized Tom wasn’t asking him about Violet. He meant Madison.

“Oh …” He paused, searching for the right words. He should have practiced this one with Violet. “I’m always pretty focused on the race, you know? I can’t afford to get distracted.”

“She’s a distraction, for sure,” Rob said, and the other guys chuckled.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he fished it out, hoping it was Violet telling him she was on her way to rescue him. Not Violet. Madison.

I have a movie premiere tomorrow in LA. Want to come?

It was the sort of public event Violet would go nuts for, but this felt different.

It hadn’t come through Violet and Cam. Madison had asked him herself. Which meant this probably wasn’t for a PR appearance. He got the sense Madison was asking him out. On a date.

Okay, this was officially too much. He’d been fine faking it as long as Madison had been faking it, too.

Nobody was getting lied to except the press.

But he’d felt uncomfortable introducing Madison to his family because now he was dragging his parents into the lie, too.

And now it felt like Madison wanted this to be real.

He had one rule. He didn’t sleep with other people’s partners.

And it went the other way, too. He didn’t get entangled with women when he wasn’t free, and while he and Violet hadn’t put a name on it, he now considered himself involved.

Wasn’t that what they’d figured out after that fight in Austin?

Not specifically, in words, but they were a thing now, right?

That meant he could not keep up this thing with Madison. It wouldn’t be fair.

Tomorrow he’d tell Violet and Cam to come up with some clean and equitable end to the whole situation that would allow both of them to walk away looking good.

And for tonight, he wouldn’t answer Madison.

He didn’t want to lead her on with any possibility this was more than it was.

If it was strictly business, he’d let the experts handle ending it.

“Gentlemen, do you mind if I join you?”

Chase looked up from his phone to see who it was. Eric Lenore, the team principal of Allegri.

Tom, Rob, and Other Guy greeted Eric with boozy familiarity, even though he was pretty sure none of them had met him before.

Eric reached out and shook his hand. “Chase. Good to see you again.” He’d never directly spoken to Eric Lenore in his life.

“Eric. Nice to see you, too.”

“You’re looking very strong this season.”

“Thank you. Allegri looks good, too.”

Eric smiled and shrugged with a bit of false modesty, because come on, Allegri was number two on the grid, second only to Lennox. René Denis had won two world championships for Allegri, one as recently as two seasons ago.

“We’ve got a good car this season,” Eric said simply. “And it’s looking even better for next season.”

“Is it?” Why was Eric Lenore telling this to him, of all people? Again, he wished Violet were here. She was so good at this stuff. She’d have seen Eric coming from twenty feet away, and instinctively known every hidden motivation and angle.

“Yes, next year’s car is going to be really special,” Eric went on. “Why don’t you stop by the garage in Mexico City? Our head of design, Karl Aurbach, is eager to meet you.”

“Me?”

Eric laughed, like he’d said the funniest thing, but Chase was still clueless.

“Sure. Swing by and let’s talk.”

“Okay? I mean, sure. Yeah, I’ll stop by.”

Eric shook his hand again. “Good talking to you. See you in Mexico.”

“Right. See you.”

Eric disappeared into the crowd. Chase watched him go in confusion.

Suddenly, Rob clapped Chase on the shoulder. “It’s gonna be a blast bragging that I was here when it happened.”

“What? When what happened?” He was more confused than ever.

“You moving over to Allegri next season.”

“What? He didn’t say anything about that.”

Rob slung his arm across his shoulders and leaned in. “That, my friend, was a corporate opening salvo. He’s poaching you.”

Chase looked from Rob to Tom and Other Guy. They nodded in agreement.

“Shit. Seriously?”

The drunk trio seemed to find that hilarious and all three of them cracked up laughing.

He paused to absorb that. Allegri wanted him? Holy shit. He had to tell someone. Violet. He needed to relate this entire conversation to Violet so she could dissect every word and intonation. He pulled out his phone to text her, but that wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted to see her. Alone.