The only topics
that seemed to be off limits were the two he suspected they most
needed to address: Tom and racing.
If Justin was
certain of one thing, it was that a few hundred miles wouldn’t be
enough to quash his interest in her.
“Would you like
to come in for a coffee?” she asked, removing her seat belt.
He wasn’t
interested in coffee, but he would take any excuse to spend more
time with her. “Sounds great. Thanks.” He jumped out of the car and
walked to the passenger’s side to open her door.
“Thank
you.”
Justin rested
his hand on the car behind her head. He wondered if she would
retreat if he tried to kiss her. As much as he wanted to, getting
to know her was more important. They’d had so little time together,
and he didn’t want her to believe he’d come all that way for the
wrong reasons.
She licked her
lips. “What’s wrong?”
“Wrong?” he
asked, taking a step back. “Nothing’s wrong. Why?” She surprised
him by wrapping her arms around his waist and drawing him back
in.
“On the island,
you seemed…” She shrugged. “I don’t know, interested in me. Now I’m
not so sure.”
He released the
breath he’d been holding as he moved closer. If her neighbors were
curious about the flashy sports car in her driveway at the late
hour, he intended to give them even more to talk about.
Stroking her
face with one hand, he looked into her eyes. “How can you even ask
me that?” He kissed her gently, trying to gauge her reaction. When
she seemed receptive, he deepened the kiss, trapping her face in
his hands as he had his way with her mouth.
She blinked
several times when he pulled away, as though she was trying to
orient herself. “I-”
He kissed her
again, halting her words. If she was going to protest, he didn’t
want to hear it. He needed her, and if she didn’t share his
feelings, he would rather postpone the harsh reality while losing
himself in the sweet promise of her lips just a little while
longer.
“You blow my
mind,” she said, chuckling in spite of her ragged breathing. “You
are without a doubt the sexiest man I’ve ever met.”
He laughed at
her characterization, knowing she wasn’t the kind of girl who threw
those compliments out there without turning ten shades of red. That
was what he loved about her. She was so genuine. Anna didn’t care
who he was or how much money his family had. She liked him in spite
of the fact he was a race car driver, not because of it, and that
was one of the many reasons she was unlike any woman he’d ever
met.
“You’re
laughing at me,” she said, pushing against his chest.
“I’m not
laughing at you,” he said and nipped her neck. “I think you’re
adorable.”
She wrinkled
her nose. “I don’t want to be adorable. Kittens and babies are
adorable.”
“Fine, you’re
hotter than hell. Does that work for you?”
She sighed.
“No. Only because I know it isn’t true.”
He had dated
dozens of women who spent more money on their appearance than he
paid in property taxes every year, but no matter how much they
invested, they couldn’t compete with Anna. Her appeal was
effortless.
“Take a look in
the mirror, sweetheart,” he said, skimming his hands over her hips.
She was tighter than most women who spent hours sweating it out in
the gym, yet she’d managed to maintain curves in all the right
places. “You’re gorgeous.”
“Please,” she
said, rolling her eyes. “I saw those Barbie dolls at your house the
night we met, remember?”
He loved that
she was jealous, but not at the expense of her self-esteem. “What
about them?”
“Were you…” Her
eyes shifted to his chest. “I mean, are you… sleeping with any of
them?”
He held her
hips firmly. “Look at me.” He waited until she complied. Their eyes
locked, and he struggled with his pride. He never thought he would
have the courage to talk to a woman about his
problem
.
“You’re the first woman I’ve been attracted to since the
accident.”
She frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Inside his
head, he was spewing profanity as he reprimanded himself for
bringing up the subject. Would she judge him? If they became a
couple, which he hoped they would, would she question whether it
might be an ongoing problem that could impact their relationship?
He didn’t know if he was willing to take that risk.
“Forget it,”
she said. “It’s none of my business.”
Justin felt her
pulling away, physically and emotionally, and he couldn’t let that
happen. “I just wasn’t interested in sex.”
“Really?”
He smiled at
her surprise. “Really. I was beginning to question whether I ever
would be again… then I met you.” Even under the light from the
streetlamp, he saw her blush. “I reacted to you right away. It was
like you flipped a switch in me or something.”
“I’m sure it
had nothing to do with me.”
“It had
everything to do with you.” He brushed his lips across her cheek
and whispered in her ear, “The first time I saw you, the only thing
going through my mind was how the hell am I gonna get this
girl?”
She smiled as
she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Is that why you came on so
strong?”
He chuckled and
held her tighter, moving his hands down the small of her back to
cup her bottom. “I wasn’t even thinking straight at that point. I
was just so damn glad things weren’t as bad as I thought.”
She slanted her
head back to look up at him. “Was there a medical reason for your…
uh… condition?”
He smiled at
her thoughtfulness. She obviously didn’t want to embarrass him, but
he couldn’t blame her for being curious. “The doctors said there
was no medical reason. They told me I needed to deal with my
feelings about the accident, find some way of easing the guilt and
relieving stress…” He laughed. “Funny thing is, that’s how I used
to relieve stress.”
“With sex?”
“Yeah.”
She removed his
arms from around her waist and walked toward her front door.
He cursed his
big mouth more with every step she took. Following her, he reached
for her hand before she fit the key into the lock. “Hey, I’m sorry.
I didn’t mean-”
“It’s okay,”
she said, holding her hand up. “You don’t owe me an explanation. In
fact, you don’t owe me anything.”
“Anna…”
“Maybe you
should just go. I knew this was a bad idea.”
“Don’t do
that.” He shifted her hair so it fell down her back instead of
covering her neck. Burrowing his face into the crook of her throat,
he zeroed in on her pulse point, flicking his tongue over the
throbbing skin.
“You don’t get
it, do you?” she asked, pushing him away. “You and I would never
work. We’re too different, Justin.”
He sighed as he
stepped back to give her some space to unlock the door. He wasn’t
giving up without a fight. He’d tried that once, and he hadn’t had
a decent night’s sleep since.
She stepped
inside and turned to face him. “It was nice to see you again, but I
think you’d better go.”
“You don’t want
that any more than I do, Anna.”
He hadn’t
expected the night to end in her bed, but he wasn’t going to let it
end on her front porch either, especially when she still thought
they were all wrong for each other. If he knew one thing for
certain, it was that Anna made him feel things he’d never felt
before. He couldn’t let that go until he’d convinced her to explore
their attraction.
“What I want
doesn’t matter. We have to deal with the reality.”
“The reality is
that I can’t stop thinking about you,” he whispered, moving closer.
“Whether I’m trying to sleep or behind the wheel, my mind drifts,
and I can’t get you out of my head.”
“You can’t
afford to be distracted, especially not out on the track. That’s
why you just need to go home and forget about me.”
He cursed her
stubborn streak. “If I could do that, don’t you think I would
have?” He gripped the door handle, wishing he didn’t have to fight
so hard to make her believe what he felt for her was real. “Look, I
don’t know where this is going, and I sure as hell can’t make any
promises, but I want to give us a chance. Don’t you?”
“No.”
“I don’t
believe you.” He knew challenging her could backfire. She could
slam the door in his face and refuse to speak to him again, but if
he didn’t force her to admit she had feelings for him, she would
contentedly ignore them. “Tell me you haven’t thought about me
since you got back.”
“I…” She swore
softly and stepped away from the door.
It wasn’t an
invitation to come in, but since she hadn’t locked him out, he
chose to follow her. “You can’t run away from this,” he said,
grabbing her arm when she walked down the narrow hallway,
presumably toward the bedrooms. “I can’t let you.”
“Don’t you see?
This can’t go anywhere. We don’t have a future together.”
He knew arguing
would be futile, so he decided to yield on that point. “So what?
I’m not talking about getting married and having a couple of kids.”
Though that didn’t sound like such a bad idea anymore.
“I
just want us to get to know each other better. We can date, have
some fun, see where it might lead…”
“I have a
feeling I know where you’d like it to lead.” She shook his hand off
and crossed her arms over her mid-section.
“If you’re
asking me whether I’d like to make love to you, the answer is yes.”
He smiled when her mouth fell open. She obviously hadn’t expected
him to admit the truth. “But that’s not the only thing I want.”
“It isn’t?”
“Hell no. I
like you, and I know you feel the same way. Why can’t that be
enough for now?” He could tell he was wearing her down. “Look, I
don’t have any expectations, and you’re free to date other people.”
Though he suspected he might break the guy’s legs if he saw her
with someone else.
“I’m not used
to casual dating. I’m not even sure I’d know how. I’ve had one
serious relationship in my life, with Tom.”
“So maybe you
need someone who can bring a little levity to your life, show you a
good time.”
“Now you sound
like my cousin Lauren.”
“She sounds
like a smart girl.”
Anna smiled.
“She certainly thinks so.”
Justin reached
for her hand, pulling her a step closer. “I’m not asking for more
than you’re willing to give. We can take this slow, work on being
friends, if that’s what you want. I just want you in my life. I
want to know that I can pick up the phone and call you at the end
of the day or text you just to check in.”
“I think I’d
like that.”
He’d hoped for
more, but it was a start. “Listen, I have a race in Jacksonville
this weekend. Why don’t you come and watch? Bring your cousin or
your girlfriends, Nick, anyone you want. It’ll be fun.” He hoped
she couldn’t tell how much he wanted her to say yes.
“I’m not sure.
I don’t know a lot about racing. I’ll admit I’ve been watching it a
little bit recently, but-”
He grinned as
he pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Why the
sudden interest?”
Trying but
failing to keep a straight face, she said, “As if you didn’t
know.”
“Does that mean
you’ll come?”
“I’ll be
there.”
***
Justin tried to
get his head in the game. He had a race to win, but with Anna
sitting out there waiting for him, he couldn’t focus.
“Did you hear a
word I just said?” Mitch asked, smacking him upside the head.
“Hey, back the
hell off,” Justin said, shoving him. He wasn’t angry, just
embarrassed his friend had caught him off guard.
“Man, you’ve
got all night with Anna,” Mitch said. “You need to focus on winning
this race right now.”
All night
with Anna.
Those four little words were enough to throw any man
off his game. “I hear ya. We’ve spent hours talking strategy. I
know what I need to do out there. ”
“Jesus, I’ve
never seen you so messed up over a woman,” Mitch said, chuckling.
“You think she’s the one, or what?”
Justin had been
asking himself that same question for the past month. “Too soon to
tell.”
“But it’s a
possibility?”
“Anything is
possible.”
“You gonna
introduce her to your family while she’s here?”
Justin had
thought about it
a lot
. He’d convinced himself he should
make the introduction, if only for the sake of her career.
“Maybe.”
“I’d be careful
if I were you.”
“Why do you say
that?” Justin asked before taking a sip of his bottled water.
“Anna’s the
kind of girl you bring home to Mama. You know they’ll all love
her.”
Justin couldn’t
argue with that. His parents and sisters had been after him to
start making better choices in women for years. If they met Anna,
they’d assume they’d finally gotten through to him. “Yeah, I
know.”
He didn’t want
to push Anna. Things had been going well since he’d left Nashville.
They’d spoken every night, and they had more in common than either
one of them would have suspected. They liked the same movies and
music. They both loved the outdoors and enjoyed traveling. No doubt
about it, Anna McCall was wife material. He just hadn’t had the
courage to ask her whether she still harbored fantasies of being a
certain doctor’s wife.
“I’ll worry
about my family later.”
“So, what are
you guys gonna do after the race?” Mitch smiled. “As if I didn’t
know.”
“She didn’t
come alone.” Justin secretly wished she had. He’d give anything for
a little more alone time with her.
“Oh no? Who’d
she bring with her?” Mitch asked.
“Her cousin,
brother, and a few friends.”
“Huh.” Mitch
grinned. “Anyone I might be interested in?”