Blitz: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romantic Comedy (Blast Brothers Book 3), стр. 45

Chapter 40

Chase

She didn't tell me.

Instead, she served up some bullshit answer about the weather, something about it being unseasonably warm, a good day to tour the fairgrounds, and so on.

It was nothing I hadn't known already.

The funniest thing was, she'd taken maybe five minutes to say it, talking with barely a breath until I'd parked in the designated area and cut the engine. And then, she'd bolted from the car so fast, you'd think the thing was on fire.

She'd said nothing about Bryce.

But now, she was saying plenty about the Tomato Festival as we walked through the fairgrounds, giving it a preliminary look.

There wasn't much to see.

What Mina called the fairgrounds was maybe ten acres of open field with a couple of paved areas, a big red barn in the distance, and a large cinderblock rec center that she was calling Hazelton Hall.

I saw nothing impressive except the girl I was with. Her hair was golden blonde in the afternoon sun, and her eyes were so blue, they put the sky to shame.

I wasn't one to wax poetic, but there was something about her – something fresh and interesting that was making it hard for me to keep my mind on the campaign.

As we walked along the empty field, she pointed somewhere off to our left. "See that spot over there?"

I looked. "Yeah?"

"That's where the midway will go."

Absently, I replied, "Good to know."

She pointed again. "And right there, they'll have a stage. That's where they'll have a band if there is one – and where they'll crown the Tomato Queen, too."

I recalled one of the first two photos she'd shown me by accident. It was the pageant photo, the one of Mina with her sash and crown. According to the sash, she'd been first runner-up – a real travesty the way I saw it, unless the winner was Venus herself.

As we continued to walk, Mina pointed out several more spots – where vendors would set up tents, where the Ferris Wheel would go, where there'd be a first-aid station, and so on.

Some of this, I already knew. Some of this, I didn't. All of it was of no interest compared to the other questions rolling around in my brain.

Who was Bryce?

What had he done?

And here was the real question. Why did I care?

As far as Bryce, I knew that he was her ex. But that told me almost nothing. Was their breakup a recent thing? Or was it something from a while back?

And what had he done to piss off her dad?

Here was another question. Why was Mina acting so different?

Yeah, she was the same girl I'd met all those weeks ago, but she was talking non-stop, as if her life depended on it.

Was she nervous? Or was she worried that if she left me an opening, I'd call bullshit on her broken promise to tell me what she was thinking?

I should call bullshit.

Normally, I would.

She had it coming.

She'd reneged on our deal.

I knew it. And from the look in her eyes, she knew it, too.

She was still talking up a storm when we headed for the big cinderblock building. Yesterday, Mina had gotten the keys from the committee so we could take a look inside. But when we reached the main door, it was already open – not just unlocked, but propped open a few inches with a rubber doorstop.

Mina paused to look. "Well, that's odd."

When she made a move to go inside, anyway, I said, "Hang on. Lemme go first."

She hesitated. "Why?"

"Just in case."

"In case what?"

I gave her a look. "In case whatever."

"Oh, come on," she laughed. "I'm sure it's fine."

"Me, too," I said. "But I'm still going first."

Finally, she moved aside, and I entered the building. The lights were already on, and I heard female voices coming from somewhere in the distance.

From behind me, Mina said, "Oh, someone's in the kitchen, that's all."

She moved beside me and pointed to the far end of the building, where a wide metallic shutter was pulled down low over a long white countertop.

She said, "The kitchen's over there, behind those shutters. Whoever's in there, they're probably just setting up for a wedding."

I could think of a million better places to be married, assuming I ever did such a crazy thing. "A wedding, huh?"

"Well, actually the reception," Mina said. "Probably, they'll be married in a church. But this is where they'll have dinner and dancing afterward." As she spoke, her tone grew wistful. "I just love big weddings, don't you?"

Nope. I didn't love any weddings – big or small. To me, marriage had always seemed a risky proposition – giving up too much to get too little.

When I answered with only a shrug, Mina added, "Oh, and they also have Bingo here on Tuesday nights."

As she said it, an attractive redhead, maybe in her fifties, appeared in the kitchen doorway. When she saw us, she frowned.

When I looked to Mina, she was frowning, too.

Judging from their expressions, neither one of them was happy to see the other.

Huh. What was that about?

Chapter 41

Mina

Damn it. Of all the people to run into, why on Earth did it have to be Ginger Hawthorne? I had never liked her.

And of course, the feeling was more than mutual.

If I hadn't known this already, the look on her face would've made it crystal clear. She was looking at me the way I'd looked at Uncle Joe's festering foot.

But then, she plastered on a bright smile and called out, "Oh, Mina. Hi!"

I knew that smile. It was the same frenemy smile she used on my mom. I snuck a quick glance at Chase before plastering on a smile of my own. "Oh, hi!" Under my breath, I added, "Funny seeing you here."

It was even funnier a moment later when Ginger asked if I wouldn't