“Whatever.”
Nick stared out at the water. “I know you don’t wanna hear this
right now, but he wasn’t right for you, sis.”
“I know.” She
smiled when he turned to look at her. “That’s why I let him move to
California without me.”
“So, you’re not
having second thoughts about calling off the wedding?”
“No, not
really.” She didn’t regret setting Tom free so he could get on with
his life, but she wondered if she would ever find the happiness she
sought. “It was for the best.”
“Glad you see
it my way,” Nick said, grinning. “So, what’s got you so down if
it’s not Tommy boy? Does it have somethin’ to do with turnin’ the
big 3-0?”
She nudged his
leg with her foot. “Like I needed you to remind me.”
Laughing, he
said, “Thirty is not old.”
“I know. It’s
not that.” Folding her arms over her chest, she said, “It’s…”
Telling her brother she’d met someone she found intriguing would be
a mistake, especially since it had ended before it even began.
“Come on, don’t
leave me hangin’.” He set his beer bottle down on the table between
them so he could sit up. “I wanna know what’s goin’ on with
you.”
They’d always
been close, but Anna didn’t want things to be awkward between Nick
and Justin when they inevitably crossed paths. “It’s nothing.” She
folded her hands and stretched her arms out in front of her. “Let’s
just forget about it.”
“Okay,” he
said, getting up. “You leave me no choice.”
“What are you
doing?” she asked, eyeing him warily.
“I’m going to
get Mom,” he chuckled. “If anyone can get it out of you, she can.
You know she can be a pit bull.”
Groaning, she
covered her face with her hands. They both knew he had her where he
wanted her. “Fine, I’ll tell you.”
“I knew you’d
see it my way.” Settling back into the chair, he reclaimed his beer
bottle. “Okay, I’m listenin’.”
“I… uh… met
Justin Hunt while I was here.”
Nick frowned
when she failed to continue. “And?”
“We… um… got
kind of close.” She was grateful for the darkness when she felt her
face burning.
“Define
close
.”
“We didn’t
sleep together if you’re getting at that.” The temptation to squirm
was almost irresistible as her brother regarded her closely,
waiting for her to explain.
“But you’d like
to?”
“I’m not having
this conversation with you,” she said, swinging her legs over the
side of the chair.
He grabbed her
arm. “I’m sorry. I just wanna know what happened.”
“Nothing
happened.” She refused to tell him about the few intense kisses
they’d shared. “We didn’t get off to a great start, but he tried
hard to prove he’s a decent guy. By the time he was ready to leave,
I guess I believed him.”
“Sounds like
there’s more to it than that. You fell hard for him, didn’t
you?”
Her brother,
who was usually clueless when it came to the opposite sex,
occasionally surprised her. “I liked him,” she said, careful not to
give too much away. Her family liked Justin, and if they thought
they had chemistry, they would be relentless in trying to match the
pair.
“So, why’d he
leave?”
“He said it was
time to get back to work.”
“Yes!” Nick
pumped his fist in the air. He had the good sense to look contrite
when his sister glared at him. “Sorry, but it’s long overdue. That
guy’s the king of the track, and it was a damn shame to see him go
into hiding like that over an accident that wasn’t even his fault.
The only person who blamed Justin was Justin himself. Everybody
knows that’s the nature of the business. Every driver takes the
risk when he gets in his car that he may not walk away.”
Anna shivered,
and it wasn’t because of the tropical breeze blowing across her
skin. She looked out over Amalie Harbor, trying to focus on
something other than the nervous tension in her stomach. Even
though she and Justin had only known each other a short time, she
would continue to fear for his safety. If anything happened to him
out there…
“Hey, you
okay?” Nick asked.
“Yes, no…” She
sighed. “I don’t know. I certainly didn’t come here expecting to
meet anyone.”
“Isn’t that
usually when it happens, when you’re least expecting it?”
“I guess so.”
She wished the gods of fate had given her a little more time to
recover from her last bout of misery before thrusting her headlong
into another pseudo-relationship that would never work. “Anyways,
it doesn’t matter now. Justin’s gone back home to his old life, and
I think I need to do the same.”
“You’re not
going to spend the rest of the summer here?”
“No.” She knew
she would waste the remaining weeks thinking about Justin. At least
if she was at home, she would have her family and friends to
distract her. “I think I’m going to come home with you guys.”
“Cool.” He
reached for her hand. “Hey, sis, Justin’s one of the good guys.
Maybe you should think about giving him a chance.”
She shook her
head emphatically. “No way. I’m not getting mixed up in that. The
inherent risk involved in his job-”
“Does that mean
you’d never marry a cop or a firefighter or someone in the
military?”
“Probably
not.”
“That’s
crazy!”
“What’s crazy
is Justin putting his life on the line for the hell of it.”
Nick frowned.
“Racing is his passion, Anna. Just like you’re passionate about
what you do.”
She knew it
wasn’t fair to judge Justin based on what he did for a living, but
he was returning to a career that had claimed the life of one of
his friends just a month ago. How could she learn to live with
that?
Anna leaned
over to give her brother a kiss on the cheek. “I’m going to turn in
now. Thanks for listening.”
“Any time, you
know that.”
***
“Justin, man,
you’ve been a nightmare to deal with ever since you got back,”
Mitch said, twisting the cap off a bottle of water. “What
gives?”
Justin knew his
friend was right, but he just couldn’t get his head back in the
game. His thoughts kept drifting to Anna. It took everything in him
not to hop on a plane and fly back to the island to find out
whether she missed him as much as he missed her.
“I’ve just got
a lot on my mind.” That much was true. The press and fans would be
watching him carefully that weekend, eager to judge whether he
still had what it took to maintain his status as the reigning
champion.
“I’m willing to
bet a certain hot little teacher is the reason you’re so
distracted.”
Justin glared
at his friend, but glaring would do no good. Once Mitch got
started, little anyone could say or do would rein him in. “Mind
your own damn business.”
“You’ve got it
bad for this one, don’t you, Hunt?”
That was an
understatement. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had
diverted his attention from a race. Especially when his entire
career hung in the balance. “I don’t want to talk about Anna
anymore. Let’s talk strategy. We need to figure out how I’m gonna
come out on top in this race.”
Mitch grinned
as he slapped Justin’s back. “Now you’re talking my language.”
Justin had been back
home almost a month. He had two wins under his belt and had managed
to silence the critics who said his career was over, but he still
couldn’t get Anna out of his head. Since she hadn’t given him her
contact information, calling or emailing her wasn’t an option.
Getting it would be easy enough, but he had no idea whether she
would even be interested in talking after his abrupt departure.
He’d watched
her say good-bye to her ex on the dock that day, and he knew if he
allowed himself to fall deeper, he ran the risk of getting his
heart broken. That Anna still had feelings for Tom was painfully
obvious, and he refused to be the odd man out. So, he did the only
thing he could do: He returned home, to the life and career he’d
abandoned.
Thankfully, his
fear and anxiety had dissipated as soon as he got behind the wheel
again. As far as his performance anxiety in the bedroom, he still
hadn’t put that to the test. The only woman he wanted was Anna.
Cursing, he
scrolled through his contacts. He knew he couldn’t go on that way.
One way or another, he had to know what was going on with Anna.
Looking out
over his grounds, he waited as the phone rang. “Hey, Nick, it’s
Justin Hunt. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“Hey, buddy!
No, I was just gettin’ ready to take a lunch break. It’s good to
hear from you. What’s up?”
Justin had
never called Nick before, so he couldn’t pretend it was just a
casual call. “Listen, I’ve got to come to Nashville tomorrow. I was
hoping we could get together for dinner or a drink?” Justin had no
legitimate reason to visit Anna’s hometown, except he couldn’t stay
away.
“Yeah, that
sounds great. Why don’t we say Jimmy’s bar at eight? I’ll text you
the details.”
“Sounds good,
man. I’m looking forward to it.”
***
“I’m tired of
watching you mope around,” Lauren said, pushing away from her desk.
“I’m going to call the girls, and we’re going to go out and have a
little fun tonight. How does Jimmy’s sound?”
Anna didn’t
feel like drinking and dancing, but she knew her cousin would be
relentless. “Fine. What time?”
“Let’s say
nine.” She picked up the cell phone on her desk. “I’ll call Alisa,
Lena, Bri, and Erika. Hopefully they’ll all be able to make
it.”
Anna wouldn’t
mind if they were too busy. It would give her an out. She sat back
and listened to her cousin make the arrangements. Apparently,
everyone was looking forward to a girls’ night out.
“We’re all
set,” Lauren said, clapping her hands. “This is going to be
fun.”
Anna forced a
smile and said, “Yeah, it’ll be great.”
“You’re not
fooling me with that fake smile. Tell me what’s got you so down,
girl.”
“Nothing, I’m
fine.” She’d stopped by her cousin’s office when she got tired of
her own company. Endless hours at home with little to do just made
her feel worse. “I guess I’m just looking forward to going back to
work.”
“I think
there’s more to it than that.” Lauren tapped a manicured nail
against her lips. “I know you feel good about where you and Tom
left things, so this must have something to do with Justin.”
Her family had
always been racing fans and often congregated in front of someone’s
TV set to watch the big races. She’d started joining them, holding
her breath every time she caught sight of Justin. “What makes you
think that?”
“Oh please,”
Lauren said, rolling her eyes. “Your eyes are glued to the screen
whenever you see him. You expect me to believe you took a sudden
interest in racing that has nothing to do with Justin?”
“Fine,” she
said, reaching for a glossy magazine on a nearby table. “It may
have something to do with him.”
“Why don’t you
just call the guy already?”
“He didn’t give
me his number.” Not that she would have used it. Her recent
interest in racing had solidified her belief that the sport was
dangerous. Only a crazy person would fall in love with a man who
put his life on the line chasing thrills week after week.
“I’m sure you
could track him down if you really wanted to.”
“I don’t want
to.”
Lauren reached
across the desk and grabbed the magazine. “Why are you being so
stubborn? This is the first guy you’ve ever wanted. Why not go for
it?”
“Don’t be
ridiculous,” Anna said, folding her arms over her chest. “Justin is
not the first man I’ve been interested in. I was engaged,
remember?”
“And you never
felt this way about Tom, not even in the beginning of your
relationship.”
Anna feared her
cousin may be right, but she wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of
admitting it. “Whatever. It’s a moot point. He lives in another
state. Besides, you know me. I prefer safe, dependable guys.
Justin’s too reckless.”
“Charlotte is a
six hour drive, and he could fly here in less than an hour on his
private plane.”
“How do you
know he has a private plane?”
Lauren laughed.
“Honey, do you realize the Hunts are racing royalty? They could buy
and sell anyone in our group.” She hesitated. “Except maybe
Liam.”
“All the more
reason not to get involved with him,” Anna said, pretending to
study her nails. “You know how much I hated growing up with the
press hovering around, watching our every move. That’s a part of
Justin’s life. I don’t want to deal with that. I just want a nice,
normal guy.”
“Someone like
Tom?” Lauren asked.
“Exactly.”
Lauren hid her
exaggerated yawn behind her hand. “Sorry, but you have to admit,
that guy is the definition of boring.”
“Maybe I like
boring. Maybe I’m boring too.”
“No, you’re
not.” Lauren kicked her Ralph Lauren heels up on her desk. “You may
not be a thrill seeker, but you’re not ready for the retirement
home just yet. I think you just need to find a guy who can help you
realize that taking a risk once in a while can be fun.”
“Hooking up
with Justin would be a bad idea for so many reasons.” She kept
telling herself that, but her brain and heart seemed to be leading
her in opposing directions.
“Such as?”
She knew the
cons list by heart. “I’ve already told you several of the main
reasons: He lives too far away and you know that long distance
relationships never work.”
Lauren rolled
her eyes. “In the age of technology? When the guy has a private
jet? Try again.”
“He could get
himself killed in that death trap.”