She had thought she was so cunning, feigning ignorance to the prior knowledge of his schedule. After saying yes, she figured she had bought herself some more time and gave him one more chance to get permanently distracted. Chase already knew the Cold Creek was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, the only days she would consider accepting a date. She had had the foresight to agree to an invitation that fell when he had to leave for a road trip to Cleveland. She never expected him to phone both his coach and the Kings’ general manager immediately from the bar. He informed them that something important had come up and he would not be flying out with the team on the designated travel day, but flying out independently, and assured them he would arrive in plenty of time before Tuesday’s game. He apologized for deviating from the normal practice, but gave no excuses or explanations and none were asked for. Then he called his own pilot and told him to be ready Tuesday morning to take him to Cleveland. The moment he pushed the Off button on his phone after making his final call, Chase asked for her address and told her he would pick her up Monday at seven. Then, with what Eric described as a “shit-eating grin,” Chase abruptly left the Cold Creek and didn’t return in the interim. Four days of her watching the door, only for him to suddenly become a noticeable no-show.

She should’ve figured he had his own plane. She would’ve never guessed he was a master at how to create buildup and tension.

So now Amanda waited, glancing at the clock again. The five-minute countdown to seven was in motion. Maybe he would be late, and she could be righteously ticked off at his discourtesy. At five minutes after seven she would grab her keys and take a powder.

But she knew he wouldn’t be late; he ran like clockwork. For the past three weeks, whenever he had a home game, he arrived to occupy his barstool or table exactly an hour and twenty minutes after the last pitch was thrown, even if it was near midnight when he arrived, as had occurred when a night game went into extra innings. Of course, her entire staff was more than willing to stay past their usual closing time of one A.M. to accommodate him, and not just because he was such a generous tipper. He had won them all over after his third night there.

He probably owned a helicopter, too, although she hadn’t heard any reports of one landing on the street. He could be the speedboat type. Or maybe he just made use of a phone booth, Superman-style.

She considered quickly changing her clothes again, for the third time. He told her to wear whatever made her comfortable. She finally settled on a burgundy Anne Klein dot flared sweater dress with three-quarter sleeves. Something about the spin-worthy flared skirt called out to her and against Nicki’s choice of the standard little black dress.

There was a knock at her door. He was three minutes early, curse him. Amanda took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.

The charisma blew in like a wind gust as soon as she opened the door. The good looks, polish, and impeccable fashion sense were hard enough to handle, but the charisma got her every time. She could blame his clean, expensive cologne, but she knew she’d only be fooling herself. And this was no time to take a departure from reality. It didn’t help that his absence had made her heart grow fonder, which in turn was cause for more worry.

“Hi,” she squeaked, then gulped for air.

Chase smiled at her as if he hadn’t seen her in months and she was a sight for sore eyes.

“Hi, beautiful,” he said. “You ready to go?”

“I already agreed to this,” Amanda said, regrouping and irritated by her own greeting. She reached for her purse. “You don’t need to keep flattering me.”

“I’m not flattering,” he responded easily. “It’s more like an observation. And you better get used to it, because I’m very observant and fully appreciate the finer things.”

Boy, is this guy smooth, Amanda thought as they left her apartment and she locked her dead bolt. Finding his flaw was going to be a challenge. Stop it, she told herself, there is no flaw to find. This one just isn’t for you. Together they made their way down the hall to exit her building.

“No security guards tonight?” she asked dryly.

“I didn’t think I was in any danger this evening,” he replied. “I need security?”

“One never knows.”

“I’ll take my chances.” He chuckled as he ran a few steps ahead to hold the door open for her.

The same British metallic green Jaguar XKR-S she remembered from the night she met him was parked in front of the building. It was sleek and beautiful and looked powerful. The same could be said of its owner.

“This car looks familiar,” she commented as he rushed to open the car door for her.

“You sound disappointed,” he replied as she slid into the car and onto the soft camel-colored leather seat. He closed the door and ran to the driver’s side.

“Aren’t people like you supposed to own a car for every day of the week?” Amanda said after he took his place behind the wheel.

“I can only drive one car at a time.” Chase laughed, buckling in and starting the car. Then he looked at her, a look of warmth and attraction and way too much hidden meaning. “I get attached.”

He let the gaze linger and comment hang in the air before revving the supercharged 550-horsepower engine and adding, “Would you feel better if I told you I got a new one every year and also have an Escalade for when I need more room?”

Amanda slightly shook her head in an effort to break the spell. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you sound so spoiled.”

“It’s okay, I’m nervous, too,” he replied quietly before looking away. He shifted the car into gear and pulled out of the parking lot.

Amanda would’ve told him she highly doubted that. She made Chase Walker nervous? The thought alone was laughable. But he sounded undeniably sincere.

“Where are we going?’ she asked, avoiding the topic altogether.

He smiled and his eyes never left the road. “It’s a surprise.”

“I’m not sure I like the sound of that,” she said. “Your arsenal of surprises is probably pretty big. I’m starting to wish security was with you after all.”

“You think I’m going to take you someplace and attack you?” he said, laughing.

“No!” she quickly backtracked, laughing as well, mostly from how infectious his laugh was. He was making it difficult for her to keep her guard up, and they had been alone together for only five minutes. It was going to be a long night. “I meant that maybe there should be someone around if we’re going to do something extreme. You know, to pick up the pieces, yours and mine.”

“Amanda, whether you know it or not, I’m all the security you’ll ever need. I would never let anyone harm a single hair on your head.”

She wanted to scoff. She wanted to call him Casanova or something equally fitting for sounding so schmaltzy. But she was afraid all the butterflies in her stomach would try to escape if she opened her mouth. The line between charm and earnestness, which had already started to blur, was being swept away. He always seemed to be one step ahead of her, disarming her logic and ability to stay realistic. He met her sarcasm with sincerity. He knew how to hit all the right notes, push all the right buttons. She looked out the window at the scenery as he expertly maneuvered the car through traffic down streets she knew by heart, saying nothing. Where was he taking her? She glanced at the dashboard; he didn’t have GPS on, no clue to be gained there. She should’ve known. One step ahead of her, she repeated to herself.

“What’s it like to be living a dream?” she asked impulsively, thinking it might have some curveball of its own.

If she caught him off guard, he didn’t show it. He responded without hesitation. “It feels pretty good. Except you always have to find another dream after the other one comes true. Do you think it’s too late for me to be a cowboy?”

“If you mean play for the football team in Dallas, I wouldn’t be surprised if the answer was no.”

He took the compliment in stride. “No, I mean the real deal. Ride the range. Live in the saddle.”

“I’m not the right person to get that opinion from. I used to dream of being in the rodeo after hearing stories about my dad growing up on a Texas ranch. As soon as I was old enough, he bought two horses so he could teach me to ride.”

“Then I’m not too late,” Chase said, trying to tempt her. “To share the dream, you know? We could still go riding off into the sunset together.”

“I don’t think so.” She was torn between the discomfort of the memory and his latest endearing come-on. “On my second visit with the horses, my nose started to run, I broke out in hives from my neck up, and my eyes swelled shut.”

Chase chuckled, trying to remain empathetic. “That’s terrible.”

“You’re not kidding.” She tried to sound light, but there was a sad truth in her jest. “I spent a night in the emergency room and two days in bed. I was never allowed near them again; so much for the rodeo.”

Amanda didn’t tell Chase that she believed Rupert Cole never fully recovered, and she failed him in his turn at influencing his only child. The Thoroughbreds, Carlos and Santana, were sold and the incident was never mentioned. The father and daughter went on to pursue things they could still enjoy together, like sports and how to grill the best baby back ribs, but he also turned off “Black Magic Woman” whenever it came on the radio.

She also left out the part where her mother, during one of those days sitting bedside with the temporarily blinded ten-year-old Amanda, took the opportunity to tell her there was absolutely nothing wrong with second place, as long as you were consistent at it, because it meant that you never gave up. It was an odd logic that would twist around Amanda’s psyche for years, and she experienced multiple examples that seemed to reinforce the rule. Funny she would recall that conversation when she was up to her eyeballs in Mr. First Place.