Page 27 of Chasing Sunrise

He smiled at her and then turned toward Gloria. “What you saw is what actually happened.” He spoke to everyone in the room. “In case you haven’t heard yet, this morning Star Breeze aired footage of my proposal to Harper. She refused.”

It seemed everyone had a question. Kasey patiently answered all of them. When someone asked if Harper was involved with someone else, Amanda saw Shelly flinch. Kasey just shrugged as an answer, not mentioning Ethan’s involvement.

Amanda hated the situation for him. He vibrated with an energy boiling under the surface that she read as he’d rather be doing anything else at this moment. This must be what people in the public eye dealt with constantly. Everyone so interested and curious about their private lives. It seemed exhausting.

Once most of the people left, Amanda and Kasey cleared the food from the table. He washed the dishes and she dried. His mother talked with the last stragglers at the front door.

“I wish I could get out of town for a few days,” Kasey said. “Away from the media and the world. Except I have to be back on location Monday morning.”

“I understand.” She grasped a wet dish from the drying rack. “I couldn’t believe how everyone kept blasting you with questions. I mean, I know you’ve known them for years, but it was ill-mannered in my opinion.”

He grinned. “You were quite interested last night.”

“I ... I ... I ...” Damn. She was like everyone else. “I was. Forgive me, I offered to listen because I simply wanted to be your friend.”

“I appreciate that, and I believe everyone here tonight was doing the same.” He studied her for a moment. “How would you like to take me and Marisol to a baseball game tomorrow?”

Surprised, she tilted her head. “What time?”

“The game’s at one. You and Marisol seemed to get along well, and I like having someone on my side with all the media hype.”

“I’m sure everyone is on your side.” When she’d watched the failed proposal news footage earlier today, her heart dropped to her toes in sympathy for Kasey. Yet, she knew he didn’t want pity. “Okay, I’ll pick you and Marisol up about noon.”

He smiled. “Can’t wait.”

“I better be going.” She grabbed her purse. “See you then.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She stopped herself from hugging him and kissing his cheek. Rebound woman was not her destiny. Not even in the short-term. After hugging his mom, Amanda walked out to her car. She started the engine and buckled up when a knock on the passenger window startled her. She hit the button for the window to go down.

Kasey stuck his head inside. “I have a couple more questions about the book.” He opened the door and sat beside her. “Why did you suggest the club readTo Each Her Own?”

“I enjoy the writer’s style. The way he leaves out certain things lets me interpret what he writes the way I want it to play out.”

“Are all his books written that way?”

“Not all. Just this series, there’s eleven books so far.”

“I enjoyed it. It held my attention.”

His attention. With the way he seemed to vibrate with energy, she guessed holding his attention was a feat.

“It's a great day for a ball game; let's play two!” ~ Ernie Banks

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