Page 30 of Driving Wild

Standing up from my bed, I grab my phone off the bed and hold it up once more so that I can see Tinley. Ryan has come back into the frame and is grinning like an idiot.

“Have fun at the fundraiser with Mila. She can meet some of those Boston Rebels. Lordy, I've seen that roaster and talk about drool worthy,” Tinley jokes just as Ryan grabs her, throwing her over his shoulder.

Her phone abandoned on the couch.

“Well, okay. Bye, guys. Thanks for the help.” I hear Tinley squeal as I hang up the call.

Saturday night and I’m standing in a large ballroom, sipping fancy champagne and hoping I can just hide in the background until it’s time to go home. The only reason I’ve come tonight is to make promotion contacts and introduce Mila to a few potential sponsors.

“This may be one of the biggest events I’ve been to, Grace. Thanks for letting me tag along,” Mila says, coming to stand beside me. The woman is gorgeous on a normal day, but tonight, she’s next level. She’s wearing a floor-length, dark-purple dress with a slit up one side, and her dark hair is styled into loose curls down her back. As we walked into the event, I noticed more than a few glances our way.

Just as we refill our glasses, my cousin, Cort, finally makes his way over to us with a beautiful red-headed woman.

“Grace, Mila, this is Dylan, my other half and the woman who has finally stolen my heart,” he says, and damn, those heart eyes he makes when looking at her are so sweet.

“Dylan, it’s so nice to finally meet you. My cousins are talking about you all the time. The woman who tamed The Man Bun here,” I say, laughing as my cousin hates that nickname, but it stuck long ago.

“It’s just in the stars, I guess. Well, that and the little rug rats we have running around at home.”

“Thank you again for inviting us, Cortney. I’m just excited to get dressed up and not be around motor oil for a weekend,” Mila says, taking a sip of her drink.

Just as we finish up small talk with Cort and Dylan, I note a very sexy man looking our way. He looks like an Abercrombie and Fitch model in a baseball player's body. Dirty-blond hair is styled exactly right with the slightest bit of highlights. He’s clean-shaven and is on the hunt. Lucky for me, he looks like his sights are set on Mila.

“Hello, ladies. I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before. I’m Kyle Bosco. I play for the Rebels.” He introduces himself with a cool deep voice that I can only assume makes all the women drop to their knees. But he’s out of luck with this woman. The only man I’m going to drop for has a Southern accent and makes me scream all night long.

“Hi, Kyle. I’m Mila and this is Grace. You might know Grace's cousin, Cort,” Mila says, turning to face him as I walk toward our table to get seated for dinner so she can flirt.

I know about Kyle’s reputation. I may not be in Boston but that doesn’t mean I don’t follow baseball. The man is a known manwhore. But hey, if Mila wants to take a turn on him, she can be my guest. I don’t think she should be ashamed for going after what she wants.

Sitting down in my seat, I reach for my phone to check if I have any messages and to get an update on the race.

Matt McCall 10th place—110 laps to go.

Matt’s doing great. He was so worried about Texas, but I told him he would do great. He’s on an uphill swing and has run great the last few weeks with a win and top-ten finishes. He only has one race left before the cutoff with the final four, and he’s sitting in a great place right now.

“Grace, you didn’t tell me that literally all the hottest guys on the planet would be in one room,” Mila shares, coming to sit with me minus Kyle.

“Ha ha, would that have been a deciding factor in you coming with me tonight?”

I can’t help laughing even harder at the face she’s making when she sees that Kyle is hunting her down like a dog with a bone.

“Girl, be careful with that one. He can be a handful from what I’ve heard,” I tell her just as he comes to sit with us, remembering I was saying this same thing to myself a few months ago.

The fundraiser ran into the night, raising money for the local women’s shelter, and when all was said and done, they raised more than one hundred thousand dollars. It’s amazing to see so many people step up and help the community. It’s even better to see my cousin finally finding his place now that his baseball career is over. He tells the story that Becket can’t run it without him and that’s why. But I think it’s more that he wants to keep this baseball program running a certain way, and with him at the helm, he can.

I lost Mila about halfway through the fundraiser, and as I’m a good friend, I had text her before calling my Uber to head back to my parents’ house.

Me:

Just wanting to make sure you’re not in a ditch somewhere and that you’re safe.

After waiting to hear back from Mila and wondering if she’s off somewhere right now having sex with Kyle, I finally see the thinking bubble pop up on my screen.

Mila:

Hey, girl. Oh yeah, I am just fine. I’ll see you back in Charlotte next week.

Me:

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