Page 39 of Kiss & Collide (Racing Hearts #2)

Los Angeles, California

A woman with a clipboard and a headset ushered Madison on to the next reporter, and Chase dutifully took his spot at her side, ready to smile politely and compliment her hard work in the movie, even though he hadn’t seen it yet.

“Madison, it’s a big night for you,” the next reporter said.

She was young, about their age, with short dark hair.

They’d heard that half a dozen times already, but Madison lit up with a smile, as if her enthusiasm and delight were brand-new and one hundred percent genuine.

Truly, only twenty percent of the acting work she did was caught on film. The rest was all out here.

“Working on this film was an honor, and a highlight of my career,” she said. “I’m just thrilled to finally share it with the world.”

She’d said some variation of that to the last six reporters they’d talked to, and somehow she’d had yet to repeat herself. It was a gift.

“How did you like your first Formula One race?” the reporter asked. “Was it exciting to watch Chase race from the garage?”

Madison flashed Chase a twinkling smile. “Oh, so exciting. No words for it, but it was such an adrenaline rush.”

“Chase, how did it feel, having Madison there to cheer you on?”

His brain spun, trying to find something to say that would put her in the best light. “Honestly, anybody who has Madison Mitchell cheering them on is the luckiest person on earth.”

Both Madison and the reporter nearly let out audible dreamy sighs. Madison gazed up at him with adoring eyes. He never could tell when she was acting and when it was real.

“Isn’t he the sweetest?” Madison gushed to the reporter.

“The absolute sweetest! You’re one lucky girl.”

Madison squeezed his hand and leaned against his shoulder. “I sure am.”

As they made their way through the slow-moving crowd entering the reception room, she leaned in to whisper to him.

“Sorry, but it’s not much better inside. Just a different kind of grilling. But at least there’s alcohol.”

An hour later, he knew what she meant. The reception inside was an endless parade of industry small talk, all of it like thinly veiled negotiations.

It reminded him of his conversation with Eric Lenore.

Whenever they had a moment alone, Madison would fill him in.

This producer was a potential investor in some project she was hoping to work on.

That director was about to start casting his next movie.

She’d told him she saw it all as a strategic game, and watching her in action backed that up. Outwardly she was all smiles and bland chitchat, but inside her mind was working away, moving those pieces on a board, all to angle herself into a better position.

Violet would have been impressed.

And now he was thinking about Violet, in the middle of this fancy Hollywood party, when he was here as Madison’s date. He’d come here to give things a go with Madison, since it was becoming clear Violet was never going to let him in. He owed it to Madison and himself to take it seriously.

Three hours later, after the reception and the screening of the movie (which wasn’t half bad), they were free, at least momentarily. The official premiere was over, but the director was throwing an after-party at some nightclub, and since everything was about networking, Madison had to go.

They were in the back of her chauffeured SUV, crawling through LA traffic as she answered the blizzard of texts she’d gotten.

“You were great tonight,” she said without looking up.

“I was? I barely said a word.”

She glanced up, flashing him a smile. “You didn’t have to say much. You’re a natural, you know. Everybody loves you.”

That’s exactly what Violet had told him when this whole thing had started. His thoughts just kept circling back to her, like an itch he couldn’t quite reach.

He forced himself to smile back at Madison, who was great , and deserved his full attention. “Glad I could help.”

She set down her phone and turned to him. “I hope it was fun for you, too?”

“Sure. Oh yeah, tons of fun.”

She chuckled. “You don’t have to lay it on quite that thick.” She paused and reached out for his hand, where it rested on his knee. He let her take it.

“Chase.” Madison’s eyelashes fluttered down as she considered something. “I asked you here to see if there was any possibility of this thing we’re doing for show to become something real.”

“Yeah, I picked up on that.” He liked how open she was being, how up-front. But there was just so much hesitation inside him.

She shook her hair back over her shoulders. “See, it’s kind of hard for me to casually date. I can’t exactly go on Tinder. Dating costars is its own kind of hassle. And I’m not going to date randos who approach me in public.”

“I see how that could feel impossible.”

She smiled and shrugged. “But you’re already ‘vetted,’ for want of a better word. I know you’re safe. I know you’ll be cool. You won’t sell my salacious secrets or texts to TMZ or whatever.”

He felt a little bit like one of her game pieces being moved into place. Not in a bad way. It was just … there was a calculation to it that he wasn’t used to. Although seeing how she handled her career, he shouldn’t be surprised she handled relationships in the same way.

“You’re nice. We get along okay. You’re very easy to look at. I figured it was worth a shot.”

Chase swallowed over the sudden lump in his throat and smiled. “I, um … I’ve been thinking the same thing.”

He had been thinking that, but now that he was here, he realized he couldn’t be as calculated about it as Madison. All of those things were true, and he genuinely liked her. But that spark, that heat, just wasn’t there. Not like it was with—

“Except I think you’re already into someone else,” Madison said, squeezing his hand briefly before releasing it.

He paused for a second, which made him feel shitty.

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

Again, he hesitated. “I’m sorry if I’ve been distant. I was … kind of casually involved with someone, but it’s not going anywhere, and so I thought I should … you know, move on.”

“Violet, right?”

His eyes snapped up to hers. “How did you know that?”

She shrugged. “Chemistry? I noticed it between you two in Paris, and again in Austin. It’s kind of like you with the press. It’s just there , a natural occurrence.”

“Okay, yeah.” He exhaled. “It’s her. But … I’m into her and I’m pretty sure she’s never going to want that from me.”

It was a relief to admit it out loud at last, even if it was to Madison. He wanted Violet. For real, officially, out loud. Not … whatever they’d been doing.

“Have you tried?”

He let out a frustrated huff of laughter.

“I thought I had? Then she turned around and was with her ex in Las Vegas. She doesn’t like to be pinned down.

I know that about her. She’s been very clear about what she wanted and what she didn’t want.

So if I’m the idiot who’s hung up on her now, it’s my own stupid fault. ”

“Well, I don’t know anything about her ex, but the fact that he exists means she didn’t mind being pinned down at some point. And as far as you and her? I noticed how you were around her, but I also noticed how she was around you. It goes both ways.”

“She finds me attractive. That’s not the issue. It’s … the rest. Being in a relationship. God, I can’t believe I’m saying this. I can’t believe it’s what I want. And I’m saying it all to you. I’m really sorry, Madison. I’m being a total dick right now.”

Madison laid a hand over his again. “Relax, Chase. It’s true that you’d have made a convenient option for me, but don’t worry. I wasn’t in love with you or anything.”

Sure, Madison was calculated, but she was honest about it.

What she wanted wasn’t really all that different from what he and Violet had been in the beginning.

In another universe, where Violet didn’t exist, he might have given it a try with her.

But Violet did exist, and, however they’d started, now it had turned into something else. Something real.

“You’re great, Madison. You know that, right?”

“I do, but thanks.” She grinned widely at him. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you should give up on her yet. Talk to her about it before you write her off.”

Even hearing Madison say those words … write her off … made something go cold in his chest. God, he didn’t want to do that.

“You’re right. I will.”

Madison reached out and gave him a gentle shove. “So what are you still doing in LA? Drop me off at this dumb party and go get her.”

“That’s not the way my mom raised me. I’m not ditching you. At least not until our publicists have broken us up properly.”

“Okay, one more date for the media and then you and I are done forever .” The words were full of melodrama, but she was laughing as she delivered them. He and Madison weren’t going to happen, but he was pretty sure they’d always be friends.