Page 71 of Racing Heat

“You’re wounding me, woman.” He grabs for his chest, then shrugs. “I just needed a change. My life in Manchester was fine, but that was the problem. I wasn’t moving on. I wasn’t really going anywhere. There weren’t a lot of coaching options for me there. I mean, I could get some work, but not what I wanted. She had moved on and was happily dating someone else. My brother was talking about kid number three. My parents were traveling. It just felt like everyone had moved on and I was standing still. Almost like I had graduated and hadn’t taken any of the necessary next steps. So when the Cromwell’s came calling, I talked it through with my agent and got on the next flight.”

“That is less dramatic than I had imagined.” I take another bite before asking, “Do you regret it?”

“Sitting here with you, I don’t regret a single decision I made that brought me here.”

I get the feeling that he’s not just talking about coming to the US. “I’m so happy that you took a chance on this team and came here. But more importantly, I’m glad we’re taking this chance on us.”

“Me too.” He reaches across the table and clasps my hand. “This was a good move and I’m so happy that I’m here with you right now. I know this is going to be complicated, but I’ve done ‘safe’ my whole life. I think it’s time I tried to make things a little complicated.”

I nod. “Let’s let the chips fall where they may.”

“You realize that could end up with both of us out of jobs.”

I consider this for a moment. “I get that, but I don’t care. Besides, you have an agent. Maybe he could get me a job playing for Manchester or something. Then you could come back home with me, and I can punch that sorry ex-wife of yours in the mouth.”

Jase’s eyes widen. “You would do that for me? Fight the ex? How do you know I wasn’t the bad husband or something?”

“Because, Jase, someone like you couldn’t have been. She doesn’t know what she’s missing.”

“Thank you for saying that. Our relationship was a bit more complicated than that, but I think in the end, it worked out for the best for everyone.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” I lean back in my chair and place my hands on my stomach. “I’m not sure I can eat any more.”

“Wanna get out of here? Walk on the beach or go back to my place?”

“I like it when you’re direct,” I say with a smile.

“So…my place?”

“Yeah, your place.”

“I’m going to break so many speeding laws getting you home.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

~CASSIE~

Jase hasn’t stopped touching me since we left the restaurant. I’ve never seen a man pay his check so fast. He took me by the hand and pulled me out of the restaurant, and his hand has been on my leg or holding my free hand across the console since we got into the car. I like it. And I like the comfortable silence that has fallen over us. He picks up my hand and kisses my hand.

“Do you want to spend the night with me?” His voice is soft and gentle.

I wish he wasn’t driving, because if he keeps acting so sweet, I might not be able to wait until we get home.

“Yes, I do.”

“And not in a car this time?” he teases me.

I don’t mention that I’m thinking about having him pull over and take me right here and now. “But you know, if you wanted to drive a little faster, I wouldn’t be opposed to that.”

“We’re almost there,” he says as he winds through the streets that lead to his development.

“And you didn’t have to break too many speeding laws to do it.”

“Longest car ride of my life,” he says with a chuckle.

We pull into his driveway, and I notice his house is lit up like the rest of them. The front porch light is on, and the same with the front lamppost. All of the houses kind of have the same feel. Some of them are white, just like Jase’s, and some are blue and maybe another color. But it’s hard to see in the dimness of the night.

He hits a button on his visor, and the garage door slowly opens. It’s empty except for what looks like a folding chair you’d use at a sporting event or cookout. He has a ball rack that has a couple of soccer balls and basketballs on it. But otherwise, nothing.