Chapter 3 The Racecar Driver
The door closed just before the crazy blonde fan could stick her hand inside, and Andrea let her breath go, glad to have gotten away. The other people on the elevator all looked at her funny, but no one seemed to recognize her. She wished she had on a hat and sunglasses.
Luckily for her, the elevator was going to the rental car area. She followed the other people in the elevator to the counters. A crowd stood in front of every single one. Andrea thought she was a gold member for one of the companies, but she couldn’t remember which one. She made a phone call to her assistant Kelsey who offered to book her a car online through Hertz, but they were out of everything but compacts and that seemed too dangerous, so Andrea declined.
Not knowing what else to do, she got in line for a different company. A couple was arguing with the woman at the counter. Andrea checked the time. It would be getting dark soon. All the customers in front of her were also restless. Still no text from her mom....
Behind the couple, she noticed a tall man with dark hair. He hadn’t turned around, but she thought he looked handsome, at least from the back. He liked like an athlete, like a runner, and his clothes were very nice.
Then he turned around.
Andrea recognized him immediately, but not for a good reason. He knew who she was, too. His green eyes widened slightly as he realized it was really her, and then a small smile tugged up one corner of his mouth. Andrea looked away, pretending she didn’t know who he was, but she was sure he had seen her expression at first and would see through that.
Case Meyer was a racecar driver. Andrea had never met him, but she knew Grandpa Jack would love to have his autograph. Ever since he’d started driving the 10 car a few years back, Grandpa had been cheering for him. She had even watched a race or two with Grandpa when she’d been home last summer.
That wasn’t the only reason why Andrea recognized him, though. Case had dated several famous women. With his good looks and success on the race track, he had become popular among the Hollywood elite. One of the women he’d dated was none other than Sarah Lockton, an actress Andrea didn’t like at all. At one time, she’d thought they could be friends, but when she’d beaten Sarah out for a roll in a movie a few years ago, Sarah had started bad mouthing Andrea all over Hollywood, and a rivalry had ensued. Andrea thought it was stupid, something people did in high school, not in the professional world. Now, Sarah’s ex-boyfriend was standing in front of her at the rental counter, and Andrea was pretending she didn’t know who he was.
Eventually, it was Case’s turn to talk to the woman at the counter. A few minutes later, he stepped aside, keys in his hand, the handle of his suitcase in the other. But he wasn’t moving toward the door. Instead, he was walking right toward her.
Andrea felt her breath catch in her throat when his emerald green eyes focused on her face. “Hi, Andrea,” he said, his voice a bit husky but friendly. “Where are you headed?”
She raised an eyebrow, wanting to see if maybe she could get away with asking him who he was. He must have seen that she recognized him earlier, though. “Uh... home. To Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.”
“Oh. The storm is really bad up that way.” He looked concerned. “Are you planning on driving yourself?”
“Yes.” She didn’t say more. It wasn’t his business.
“Listen, I’m heading to Seattle, but I would be happy to give you a ride. In this bad weather, it’s not a good idea for you to be traveling alone. You’d be safer with a professional driver.”
“Is driving a racecar a lot like driving on snow?” She knew she sounded rude, but she couldn’t help it.
“No, it’s not. But I assure you, I am a great driver on any surface. What do you say? Will you let me drive you? All of your fans would be so upset if something happened to you.”
The thought of getting into a car with a man she hardly knew seemed scary, but then, so did driving home by herself in the bad weather. She needed to get home as soon as possible. Her mother’s message had scared her.
Now, there was another problem. Over Case’s shoulder, she saw more people pointing her way. A few of them had that look in their eyes, like the blonde lady upstairs. Andrea found herself saying, “Okay, fine. I will let you, if it’s not too far out of your way.”
“It’s not too far out of the way at all,” Case assured her. He gestured toward the door, and Andrea followed him out to the garage, hoping the fans would not follow, and if they did, Case could protect her. She didn’t dare look back over her shoulder to see if they were following, but as the doors closed behind her, she heard one of them shouting her name. Andrea picked up the pace.