Justin laughed
in spite of his discouragement. “Tell me how you really feel,
Nick.”
“It’s not that
he’s a bad guy. He’s just not the guy for my sister.”
“How do you
know?” Justin reached for his beer.
“The right
relationship is supposed to bring out the best in you, right?”
Justin
shrugged. “You’re asking the wrong guy. I don’t know shit about
relationships.”
“Well, Tom
brought out the worst in Anna. She’s always been pretty
straight-laced, ya know? Never gave the folks any trouble, always
got straight As.”
Justin smiled.
That’s exactly what he would have expected. “And that’s a bad
thing?”
“It was for
me,” Nick said, scowling. “She was always makin’ me look bad.”
Justin laughed.
“I know what you mean. I’ve got two sisters who stayed the course,
too.”
“The thing is,”
Nick said, lifting his baseball cap to push his dark hair back,
“with Anna, I always get the feeling that she’s dissatisfied,
especially with Tom. He fed her fears about steppin’ out of her
comfort zone, tried to make her into his idea of the perfect little
woman.”
As far as
Justin was concerned, she was already perfect. He wouldn’t change a
thing about her. “What do you mean?”
“He wanted the
stay-at-home wife who drives car pool and takes their kids to
little league and dance recitals.”
“And you don’t
think that’s what Anna wanted?”
“I do, but I
think she wants more. Take her kids’ stories. She’s always been
passionate about them, but Tom never encouraged her to pursue
publishing them. I think he was threatened by anything that would
take her attention away from him.”
“Is that so?”
Justin clenched his fist. Thinking about Anna wasting so many years
with a man who didn’t deserve her angered him. “Why do you think
she agreed to marry him at all?”
“He was a safe
bet.” Nick smiled. “Anna doesn’t like to gamble, especially when
her future’s at stake.”
“Which is why
she’d never give a guy like me a chance, huh?”
Nick grinned as
his eyes landed on the dance floor. “I don’t know. Why don’t you
ask her yourself?”
Justin’s heart
nearly stopped when he spotted her in the middle of the dance floor
talking and laughing with a group of her girlfriends. His mind
flashed back to their kiss on the beach, and suddenly the only
thing he could think about was getting another.
“Jesus, Nick, I
didn’t even know she was back in town. You could’ve warned me.”
“You didn’t
ask.”
“I need to talk
to her. Just give me a minute.”
Justin could
barely breathe as he forced his way through the crowd of people. He
hadn’t expected to see her again so soon, and the shock nearly
rendered him immobile.
Anna gasped
when he grabbed her arm and spun her around. “Oh my God! What are
you doing here?”
“I was having a
drink with your brother.”
“I don’t mean
what are you doing at Jimmy’s. What are you doing in
Nashville?”
“I have a
little business here.” She didn’t need to know his
little
business generated more than fifty million dollars in revenue last
year.
He’d never been
very involved in Hotshots
,
preferring to act as the silent
partner for an old college friend who’d approached him with a
proposal and asked him to invest. But if it gave him an excuse to
visit Nashville more often, he may have to become a little more
hands-on.
“You do?” She
looked suspicious when she narrowed her eyes and tipped her head to
the side. “What kind of business?”
“Dance with me,
and I’ll tell you about it.” He smiled when the band slowed it down
with a Lee Bryce song.
“I guess one
dance wouldn’t hurt,” she said, stepping into his arms.
The group of
girls she was dancing with giggled and whispered as they cleared
the dance floor.
“It’s good to
see you, Anna,” he said, drawing her as close as propriety allowed.
He knew this was her home turf, and he didn’t want to make her
self-conscious by giving people reason to gossip about them.
“It’s good to
see you too,” she said, tipping her head back to smile at him.
“You’ve done well since you got home. Congratulations.”
He couldn’t
hide his satisfaction. Knowing she’d been following his races made
him feel good. “I didn’t know you were a racing fan.”
“I’m not, but
most of my family are, especially my daddy and Nick.”
“I met your
Uncle J.T. outside. He said he was a racing fan too. He seems like
a nice guy.”
“He’s the
best.” She smiled. “We’re all pretty close.”
Justin wasn’t
surprised Anna’s family was close. He saw that in the way her
parents and Nick had interacted on the island. The McCalls often
invited friends and family Justin recognized from country music
circles, though he usually respected their privacy when they had
guests. He knew how important having a little down time was, and
since Ty and his friends were in the same position he was, always
trying to fight off autograph seekers, they had that in common.
“Yeah, your
family seems tight. I met your parents and brother plenty of times.
Why didn’t you ever visit the island?”
“I did.”
Her hand
slipped up to cradle his neck, though he suspected it was
unconscious. The subtle touch made him react the same way he had on
the beach. “So, how is it our paths never crossed?”
“Bad timing, I
guess.”
She ran her
other hand down the front of his button down shirt, and he began to
suspect she knew exactly what she was doing. Justin stumbled over
his words. “I’m… uh… glad we finally got it right. The timing, that
is.” His body seemed to have a mind of its own. The months of
dormancy finally caught up to him, and his body welcomed the
revival.
“You were
telling me about your business in Nashville.”
He wouldn’t
admit she was his main reason for making the trip until he had a
better read on what she was thinking. “My buddy and I own a hot
sauce company. Maybe you’ve heard of it… Hotshots?”
Her mouth
dropped open before snapping shut as quickly. “You own that
company?”
“Only fifty
percent. My buddy Deacon owns the rest. He’s really the brains
behind the operation. I just agreed to put up the money when he was
starting out. A few hundred grand bought me fifty percent when the
company wasn’t worth much.” He chuckled. “I don’t know that either
one of us thought it would grow to the size it has.”
She tipped her
head back to look him in the eye. “So you take risks in business
too, huh?”
“Some people
might describe me as a venture capitalist. I love investing in new
businesses and watching their growth.” He shrugged. “Or sometimes I
have to watch them crash and burn and take my money down with
them.”
“You don’t mind
losing all that money?”
He laughed.
“Nah, my accountant says I need the write-offs. Besides, if you
don’t take a chance, you never know what might happen, right?”
Business was the last thing on his mind as he fought the urge to
kiss her. He wanted her to admit she was ready to take a chance on
him.
“I don’t know
how you can do that,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m always so
careful with money. Of course, I have to be on a teacher’s salary.”
She smiled.
“Come on, don’t
give me that. Your old man is Ty McCall. You must be used to living
in the lap of luxury.”
“Not really,”
she said, obviously considering his statement. “We had a nice ranch
house when I was growing up, but it was definitely not luxurious.
My parents have a couple of vacation homes because they’ve always
been big on spending time with family and friends during their down
time, but as you can tell, they don’t usually go for the biggest or
flashiest house.”
Justin threw
his head back and laughed. “Unlike me, you mean?” He didn’t mind
her teasing him about his ostentatious taste in homes. Wait until
she caught a glimpse of his car collection.
She asked,
“What makes you think that was a shot at you?” with her tongue
firmly planted in her cheek.
They shared a
smile before the amusement was replaced by a more passionate vibe.
His eyes landed on her glossy, full lips. “Anna, I like you a lot.
If you want to know the real reason I’m here, it’s because I
couldn’t stop thinking about you.” Never before had he felt so
compelled to lay it all on the line with a woman.
Ever since
they’d lost Todd, he started approaching life differently. He could
be the next one killed too soon, and he didn’t want to lie on a
stretcher in the back of some ambulance knowing his moments were
numbered and struggle to come to terms with the things he didn’t
say or do.
“If you felt
that way, why did you leave?”
“I had to get
back on the track. I couldn’t allow fear to paralyze me anymore.”
That was true, but she needed to know there was more to it.
“Listen, can we take a drive? I’d really like to talk some more but
not here. Somewhere quiet.”
She looked
around, pointing to a table in the back. “I came with my friends. I
really shouldn’t leave them.”
He glanced at
the group of women, talking, laughing, and sipping on their drinks.
“I don’t think they’d mind if you bailed early.” He spotted Nick
chatting up a pretty blonde and knew his friend would understand if
he had to cut their time short. “Come on. I have to head back to
Charlotte tomorrow, and I’d really like to spend some time with you
before I leave. I feel like we didn’t get a chance to say a lot of
things on the island.”
She bit her
lip, obviously considering her options. “Well, okay. Just let me
grab my purse.” She took two steps forward and one step back,
turning to face him. “You haven’t been drinking, have you?”
He smiled. “No,
I just got here a little while ago. I’ve only had a few sips of
beer.”
“In that case,
I guess it’s okay.” She made her way through the crowd to the table
the ladies shared.
Justin
approached Nick, trying to catch his attention without intruding.
He threw a few bills down on their table for the waitress when Nick
caught his eye.
Nick said a few
words to his companion before approaching Justin. “Hey, you headin’
out already, man?”
“Yeah, do you
mind?”
“No, it’s cool.
A few of my buddies are in the back playin’ pool. I can always get
in on the action.” He turned around and looked at his sister across
the bar. “Did you guys work things out?”
“We’re gonna
take a drive, then I’ll take her home.”
“I’m hopin’
we’ll see more of you around these parts,” Nick said with a
grin.
“I hope so too,
buddy.” Justin shook Nick’s hand. “Thanks for the beer and meeting
with me tonight.”
“Anytime.” Nick
slapped him on the back. “I hope you guys figure things out,
Justin. I think you’re exactly the kind of guy my sister needs in
her life.”
***
Anna was
mortified when she overheard her brother’s words. Justin probably
thought she was desperate. Clearing her throat, she nudged her
brother aside. “If you don’t mind, I can speak for myself,
Nick.”
“I was just
sayin’…”
“I heard what
you were saying,” she said, frowning at him. “Why don’t you get out
of here? See if you can’t lose some more money to those pool sharks
in the back.”
“Just so you
know, I never lose, sugar.” He patted her on the head. “Now you be
a good girl tonight and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He
slapped Justin on the back. “That pretty much leaves the field wide
open, my friend.”
Justin laughed.
“Good to know.”
Anna pushed her
brother out of the way and grabbed Justin’s hand. Her face was
already flaming, and she knew Nick would only get worse. “Let’s get
out of here.”
“Remember what
I said,” Nick called after them. “Hey, Anna!”
“What is it
now?” She turned around and saw him grinning.
He held a
non-descript plastic square in his hand. “You need this?” he
mouthed.
“I’m gonna kill
him,” Anna muttered, tugging Justin toward the door.
Justin laughed
as he fell into step beside her. “Your brother’s a riot.”
“Yeah, when
he’s not being an ass.”
“Come on now,”
Justin said, tugging on her hand. “He was just teasing you. That’s
what brothers do. I know from experience. I have two sisters,
remember?”
“God help them
if you’re anything like my brother.”
Justin led her
toward the shiny black sports car in the middle of the parking
lot.
She stopped
walking and stared at the obscenely expensive car. “You can’t be
serious.”
“What?” he
asked, grinning, as he took the keys out of his pocket. “You don’t
like my wheels?”
She rolled her
eyes. She shouldn’t be surprised his street car was one of the
fastest and most expensive money could buy. His whole life revolved
around his need for speed, and she would do well to remember that
before she got in any deeper.
“I like it just
fine,” she said, walking to the passenger’s door. She stood back to
give him room while he opened her door. Once she was settled
inside, she fastened her seat belt, hoping that would be enough to
protect her from harm once he climbed behind the wheel. She shot
him a sidelong glance. “I hope you don’t drive on the street the
way you do on the track.”
Justin laughed
as he started the car. “If I did, they’d throw my ass in jail.” He
reached for her hand. “Trust me, you’re safe with me.” Looking her
in the eyes, he leaned in closer. “You believe that, don’t
you?”
She wasn’t as
concerned about her personal safety as she was about her heart.
“Sure, if you say so.”
By the time Justin
pulled into the driveway of Anna’s tidy little bungalow, he wasn’t
ready for the night to end. Two hours had passed since they’d left
Jimmy’s. They’d driven around, parked at the lake, and talked about
everything: her students, their families, her books, and his
business interests. He felt like he knew her better, which only
made him want her more.