Blitz: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romantic Comedy (Blast Brothers Book 3), стр. 26

And when I ask her what's wrong, she tells me that she's locked out of her car, and that her spare keys are forty-five minutes away at her dad's place."

It was easy to see where this was going. "So you offered to take her there."

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Not hard to guess."

"Why?" she laughed. "Because I seem like a sucker?"

Sucker. It was another clean word that sounded too nice on her lips – not dirty, but thought-provoking. I shifted in my seat. Too thought-provoking.

Absently, I replied, "No. Because you seem like a decent person." Shit. My own statement caught me off-guard, even more so because I meant it.

What the hell was that about? Could someone be decent and crazy? It was hard to say.

From the look on Mina's face, she was just as surprised as I was. "Oh. Well, thanks."

"You're welcome. Now finish the story."

"Alright, so we're in the car like two minutes when she launches into a sales pitch, telling me about these dietary supplements."

"Supplements?"

"Right. For fitness, hair loss, all kinds of things." Mina made a scoffing sound. "Apparently, she sells them on the side."

I had to laugh. "So she tried to sell you some?"

"No. It's even worse. She tried to get me to sell them."

"No kidding?"

"No kidding. Anyway, she tells me how it's this spectacular opportunity, and how it gets even better if I recruit other salespeople, because then I get money for what they sell, too."

"So, multi-level marketing, huh?" I knew how that went. The people on the top made all the money, while the people on the bottom pestered their friends for peanuts.

"Right," Mina said. "And she wanted me selling underneath her."

Underneath her. That sounded like a nice place to be, even if that's not what Mina meant. Again, I shifted in my seat.

If I were smart, I'd think about supplements instead. "So, what'd you tell her?"

"I told her flat-out that I wasn't interested. But I said it nicely, which apparently, was a huge mistake."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"Because she won't give up. And the closer we get to her dad's place, the more she pushes – you know, because I'm a captive audience. And the harder she pushes, the harder I resist. And pretty soon, all I can think is, 'Why did I ever let this person into my car?'"

Finally, I got the connection. This time, Mina was in the passenger's seat, looking to make a deal. And me? I was her prospect – one she didn't want to piss off.

Her logic was sound, especially for a nutjob – except more and more, I was doubting my initial assessment.

By now, I was doubting a lot of things.

I asked, "So how'd the drive end?"

"Terrible," she laughed. "With me getting a ticket."

"For what? Tossing her ass out?"

"No. For speeding, which I was. And you wanna know why?"

"Why?"

"Because I couldn't wait to get her out of my car."

I gave my speedometer a quick glance. I wasn't speeding. What the hell did that mean?

Nothing good, that's for damn sure.

I asked, "So how fast were you going?"

"Let's put it this way. I'm just lucky I didn't get a ticket for reckless driving."

I smiled. "That fast, huh?"

"Oh yeah," she said. "In the end, my 'good deed' cost me over two-hundred dollars."

There was a time when this would've sounded like a lot of money. Now it was pocket change. But I saw what Mina meant.

And I had to give her credit. She was no Tanya Whoever. She knew when to push, and when to let it go.

And she learned from other people's mistakes. It was a rare quality – and another surprise.

Silently, I added another mark in the "not-crazy" column. By now, they were adding up.

I told her, "Listen, I see what you're getting at."

"You do?" She sounded surprised.

Why?Did she think I couldn’t read between the lines?

It was time to remind her who she was dealing with. "Yeah, but I've gotta be straight with you."

"About what?"

"Bad news." I gave her a long, serious glance. "Sorry, but I'm not gonna sell your supplements."

She was silent for a long moment, and then burst out laughing. Her laughter filled the car, warming me to the bone. And for once, I didn't mean the bone in my pants.

I liked the way her laughter sounded against the purr of the engine and the beating of my heart.

I wanted to make her laugh again.

And other things.

I glanced at the GPS. Three more minutes.

And I hadn't begun to bargain.

"Listen," I said. "I'll make you a deal."

"What kind of deal?"

"You tell me what I asked, and I'll agree to the sponsorship."

"Seriously?" She turned in her seat to face me. "You will?"

I'd been leaning that way, anyway. But she didn't need to know that, did she?

I replied, "As long as you answer the questions."

With a breathless laugh, she said, "Sure, anything. I mean, wow. So, um, what were the questions again?"

Chapter 24

Mina

Feeling lighter than I had in weeks, I practically floated up the front steps to my parents' front door. I'd done it. Finally.

My parents lived in a white two-story farmhouse with light blue shutters and a wide, welcoming porch. Surrounding the house were acres of dark, Michigan soil – some of the best in the world for growing all kinds of vegetables.

And yes, this included tomatoes, even if they were technically a fruit.

From the driveway behind me, I could still hear the low rumble of Chase's sportscar, whatever the thing was.

He wasn't leaving. But for the life of me, I couldn’t imagine why. Maybe he was making a phone call or something?

My only other theory – that he was waiting to make sure I got safely inside – seemed too far-fetched to consider. But then again, the day had been full of surprises.

As far as Chase's two questions, they weren't even hard. He'd wanted to know why I hadn't called someone for a ride, and what exactly did my mom want to hear.

I'd been able to answer both questions in less a minute.

I hadn't called for a ride because