Free Chasing Olivia (Trace + Olivia #2) by Micalea Smeltzer Page B

cry, Ace began to bark and tried to pull the leash from Trace’s hand so he could run after it.
    “Bartholomew! Come back!” Trent chased after the ferret. “I swear I put him away!” Trent called to us. “He’s a little escape artist! Aha! Got him!” Trent exclaimed, grabbing up the furry little creature. “Bad,” he scolded the ferret, before putting it back in its cage. He ran his hand through his hair and smiled crookedly. “Sorry about that.”
    “Yeah, well,” Trace said dryly, “are you sure you can handle this?”
    “Having doubts about me so soon?” Trent batted his eyelashes. “I’m offended. Especially after you forced me to agree to this.”
    “I didn’t force you,” Trace groaned.
    Trent raised a brow.
    “Okay, so maybe I was a little pushy,” Trace shrugged.
    “A little?” Trent shook his head and then smiled at me. “I don’t know how you put up with this idiot.”
    “Sometimes I wonder myself,” I laughed.
    “We need to get on the road,” Trace held the leash out for Trent to take.
    I bent and said goodbye to Ace, then hugged Trent.
    “Thank you for doing this,” I whispered in his ear so Trace couldn’t hear, “I’m sorry he was so bossy.”
    “It’s fine,” he whispered back, “I like to give him a hard time.”
    Trace was watching us with narrowed eyes. “I know you two are talking about me. I’m not stupid.”
    “Never thought you were,” Trent smacked his brother on the shoulder, “now get out of my house. I don’t want to see your sorry ass for at least two weeks.”
    “How I got stuck with you for a brother is beyond me,” Trace shook his head as he left.
    “Have fun,” Trent chuckled, waving goodbye to me.
    I waved back, closing the door behind me.
    Trace was already waiting in the Camaro with his sunglasses on and the windows rolled down.
    “Where are we heading first?” I asked, buckling my seatbelt.
    “Pittsburgh,” he answered, speeding out of the neighborhood, and making a sharp turn. If he slung me against the door so help me—
    “Trace!” I groaned, when my shoulder slammed against the door. “Don’t do that! It hurts!”
    “Sorry,” he grinned, so I knew he really wasn’t sorry.
    “Why are we going to Pittsburgh?” I rubbed my shoulder.
    “It’s a surprise,” he sat back, a small smile playing on his lips.
    “You and surprises…I’m not sure I’m fond of this idea,” I eyed him.
    “It’s nothing bad . I promise.”
    “Now I’m scared,” I pulled my hair to the side and began to braid it. Leaving it down to whip around my face was not an option in my book. I didn’t want to spend an hour having to untangle the wavy ends because Trace had the windows down.
    “It’s okay to be scared,” he took my hand, “that makes the end result all the more fun.”
    “You have a twisted sense of logic,” I laughed, tucking my legs underneath me.
    “There’s a method to my madness,” he squeezed my hand. “Wait and see.”

    And that’s how I found myself parked outside of the old Heinz factory that now served as a museum on the company and the city of Pittsburgh. There was a large lit up ketchup bottle that was filling up the Heinz sign with ‘ketchup.’
    “Really, Trace? Really?” I placed my hands on my hips and stared him down. “Ketchup? That’s the first thing you want to do on this road trip?”
    “It’s a museum dedicated to the founder of the best ketchup , of course this was the first thing I thought of. Don’t ever doubt my love of ketchup,” he grinned, sliding out of the car, and opening the trunk.
    I followed, eyeing him with suspicion.
    “What are you doing?” I asked as he rummaged through his suitcase.
    He held a hand, halting me.
    I sighed, taking a step back and crossed my arms over my chest.
    “Found it!” He cried, pulling out a red piece of fabric and zipping his suitcase closed. Much to my dismay he began to remove his trusty plaid shirt and wife-beater in the middle of the parking lot. He