Chasing Kade (Thrill of the Chase Book 1)

by Anna Paige

  Kade slugged him on the arm. “It’s my life’s mission to take care of her, and I don’t need reminders from your punk ass.”

  “Language!” Kade’s mother—Sandy—admonished. “And be nice to your brother. He’s just looking out for our new family member, you grump.” She looked to me and winked. She was beautiful, with the same gray eyes and blond hair as her sons, though her hair was much lighter and had what appeared to be natural curls. She had a round face that was made more pronounced by her constant smile.

  “Ha ha!” Kane pointed at his brother and grinned. “You got in trouble.”

  Kade flipped him off.

  Sandy shook her head and called out behind Kane, “Make that two mimosas. You boys have finally driven me to drink.”

  I’d only met Sandy the day before, but I adored her already. She had that same charisma her boys had, a little of the scary and a lot of the sweet. She’d taken to me immediately, even bringing along several family heirlooms to be my something borrowed, blue, old, and new.

  In spite of all that, I knew she wouldn’t hesitate to shred my ass if I ever hurt one of her boys. She just had that ‘doting mother lion who would bite your effing head off’ thing going, and I respected that immensely. I was protective of her boys, too.

  I was protective of them all.

  Ethan looked over at me from across the table and smiled. “You know, I didn’t mind all the charity work and promo stuff you had us do to get that awful headline out of people’s minds.” Sandy shuddered a little, and Ethan gave her an apologetic look. “But if you would have just publicly proposed weeks ago, it would have been just as effective, and we could have slept in more often.”

  I shrugged, smiling. “I’m a little dense.”

  “Clearly. You married Kade didn’t you?” Lennox sat down across from me and immediately yelped. “Who kicked me?”

  There were looks all around, and I caught a trace of a smile on Sandy’s pointedly expressionless face as she sat there on the other side of Kade.

  Yep, I adored that woman.

  Kade must have seen it too, because he snickered beside me and ignored Lennox’s question. “So, we’re making new headlines?”

  I already knew we were, because even though I’d staunchly avoided the news and social media, Rhonda had texted about a dozen times, offering her congrats and asking questions. I’d wanted to have her in AC with us, but she had a sick kiddo, so I promised to text lots of pics and call when I could.

  “Oh, yeah.” Jared nodded.

  “Everyone is so interested in the proposal news, there is barely any talk of the other… stuff.” Ethan grimaced over at Kade’s mom. “There are still a few asshats who are pointing out how little time had passed between the photo scandal and the proposal that broke a million hearts.” He rolled his eyes. “And yes, that’s what they are calling it, like your ego wasn’t big enough already.”

  “If it starts looking like the focus is shifting to that stupid pic again, I know a great PR girl who can spin it back in the right direction.” I winked at Ethan.

  “Just don’t take away our social media again. I almost died last time.” Lennox was still rubbing his shin, eyeing Kade like he thought he was the culprit.

  “Of course, the best way to take the heat off of us would be for one of you to get hitched. Who wants to fall on that grenade?” I looked around the table expectantly, watching with amusement as all of their faces turned green.

  My husband thought it was particularly funny, laughing heartily for a beat before patting my shoulder. “That would definitely get us put on the back burner, if there was any chance in hell of these jerkoffs getting married. Kane,” he shot a look at the bar where his twin was waiting for our drinks. “would have lost his shit even hearing you say such a thing. Jared can’t even converse with a woman, much less manage a proposal. Lennox,” he looked to his platinum spiked friend, who was shaking his head with alarming vigor, reminding me of head-banging fans at their concerts. “is too fond of variety to entertain the thought. And Ethan, well, he’s…”

  All eyes turned to Ethan, who had been oddly quiet.

  He looked up, not bothered by the attention as he flashed a sarcastic smile. “Ethan can’t get his own life together, much less take on the troubles of some poor, unsuspecting woman.”

  There was a round of laughter at that, but I saw something flash across his face that told me the sarcasm was laced with more truth than he was letting on. I made a mental note to check in with him later.

  Kane appeared with two drinks and sat them down in front of Sandy and me, pulling out his phone and speaking to Kade. “What are we talking about?”

  Everyone chuckled and I gave him a nod of thanks, lifting my glass to take a tentative sip.

  Kade gave him a roundabout answer, “Creative ways to make headlines.”

  He grinned. “Haven’t you already done enough? You broke the internet. There are about a million posts, tweets, and articles going up an hour. Everyone is dying to know who this mystery woman is who stole your black heart.”

  “Black heart? Sit down next to me, son.” Sandy told Kane in a flat tone, eyes narrowed.

  He studied her suspiciously, not moving an inch in that direction. “Why?”

  “So I can kick you, too.”

  “You!” Lennox gasped, pointing at her, eyes wide.

  “Nope. I’ll stand,” Kane chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “Just sit here,” I told him, motioning to the chair next to me. As soon as his ass was in the seat, I stomped on his foot.

  He yelped and turned an accusatory eye at Sandy. “Already recruited her, I see.”

  Sandy laughed, and I offered him a sweet smile.

  “The worst part is,” I told him, “When we were just friends, you could have gotten rid of me, but I’m your sister-in-law now, buster. You’re stuck with me.” I looked around the table with a smirk. “All of you are.”

  Kade leaned over and grabbed my hand, lifting it to his lips. “And we wouldn’t have it any other way, would we?” He looked up as everyone around the table nodded, smiling over at us.

  “You were always family in our minds, but now that you’re one of us as far as the media is concerned, you’re going to be the center of attention—even when you don’t want to be. Be prepared,” Kane cautioned, my little coup with his mother already forgotten.

  I thought about the accident, about my issues afterward, and what the media would do with information like that. Then I decided I didn’t care. “I appreciate the words of warning, but I truly don’t give even the tiniest hair on a little rat’s ass what people think of me. Let them talk. It will all be sour grapes anyway, because I have all of you and they don’t.”

  Sandy and the guys offered a toast to that, and we all settled in for our first family breakfast.

  What I told them was true. I didn’t need anyone’s approval but my own. Not the media’s, or Miles’, or even my parents’—though I missed my mom and dad more than words could say. This was my life now. I’d found my adventure of a lifetime, and I had this amazing new family who would support and encourage me no matter what.

  The rest was just noise.

  And I wouldn’t let it drown out the amazing melody that my life had become.

  It was the greatest song ever written, and it belonged only to me and my husband, my Kade.

  The End

  Curious about the Denson crew?

  Clay, Spencer, and Brant’s stories—complete with lots of Gran’s shenanigans—can be found in the Broken Series.

  Broken Ground

  Flawlessly Broken

  All the Broken Pieces

  Ready for the next installment in the Thrill of the Chase series?

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  Acknowledgments

  Shaun: my husband, my best friend, my most loyal supporter… none of this could have happened without your encouragement. You never let me give up, celebrate even the smallest of accomplishments with me like I’m the rock star instead of my characters, and let me know every single day that you are proud of me. I don’t know how I got so lucky as to capture a heart like yours, but I’m thankful every minute of every day that I did. No matter how many books I read or write, our love story will always be my favorite.

  Trenda T-Bird Lundin: I don’t know what I would do without you. Your feedback, your encouragement, and your inherent understanding of the stories and characters I send your way make you absolutely indispensable. Thank you so much for loving these stories as much as I do. From my very first book, we’ve been a team, and we’ll continue to be until my very last. I love you, lady.

  Kiezha Ferrell: Thank you so much for your editing expertise, which is amazing, but also for your continued friendship. I’m so lucky to have met you early on in this journey; having you traveling with me makes all the difference in the world. You went from Smuffin Sister to a true sister in no time at all, and I couldn’t imagine doing any of this without you.

  My betas: Saleena, Shasta, Sandy, Jacinda, Monique, Heidi, Ellie, and Jennie: You ladies are remarkable, every single one of you. Your feedback and attention to detail make my book babies as close to perfect as they can possibly be, and I cannot thank you all enough. Your messages of encouragement and kind words help so much with my pre-release jitters— those moments when I worry the most about how my stories will be received. Your support is invaluable, and I count myself incredibly lucky to have each of you on my team.

  Jo-Anna Walker: Thank you so, so much for Kade’s amazing cover and beautiful formatting. Thank you for putting up with my endless emails about teasers and logos and whatever random questions popped into my head over the last few months. You’ve got the patience of a saint and the talent of a true artist. I cannot wait to work on the rest of this series with you. I know these covers are going to totally rock, no pun intended.

  Ella James: My friend, I can’t thank you enough for your encouragement and expertise on all things bookish. I can’t wait for the day when we finally meet in person so I can give you a proper tackle-hug. And I will. You’ve been warned.

  AF Crowell, Alex Grayson, CP Smith, Allison Michaels, AM Wilson, and the countless other authors who I’m lucky enough to work with and call friends: Thank you all so much for every message, email, text, chat, and phone call. Every answered question or shared post. Every shout out and whispered word of encouragement. You ladies are the best, and I love you all to pieces.

  To my friends Monique, Martha, and Dannielle, who are incredibly supportive of my work: Thank you, ladies, for always being ready to take a road trip to a signing, for inquiring on my progress and pushing me to keep moving forward, and for being just as excited about my releases as I am. I have some of the best friends ever. Love you bunches.

  To every single blogger who has signed up, given shout-outs, shared, pimped, and posted on my behalf… thank you all from the bottom of my heart. You are what make this community great.

  Finally, to the readers who have taken the time to read my work, leave reviews, and/or message to tell me how much you enjoyed my stories: It’s mind-blowing to sit and think that people out there have taken time—hours and hours—out of their lives to read something that came from my imagination. That has to be the highest compliment ever, I think, for someone to dedicate that kind of time to your work. I’m truly grateful to every single reader who honored me in that way and always strive to ensure that, at the end of those hours, you find it was time well spent.