“How would you like to go for a ride with me?”
“Where do you need to go?” I glanced at my watch and realized I’d missed so much of the afternoon at work I might as well give up on returning. It was only then I remembered Lance had said he had a surprise for me. Was it touring the shop and seeing all the cars, or did he mean something else?
We paused our conversation as we all entered the office in the main building. Beau unlocked a box on the wall that contained numerous keys. He selected one, closed the box, then tossed the key to Lance. “You damage it, you pay.”
Lance scoffed. “I’m not going to damage it. I just want to have a little fun.”
Beau sighed. “At least I know you’re good for it, and I don’t have a buyer lined up yet.”
“I might be able to help you with that,” Lance said.
“Oh really?” Beau raised a brow, but Lance didn’t say any more.
“Did you mean you wanted me to go for a ride with you in one of the cars from here?”
“Yes, I do. A ’79 Corvette.”
“For real?” I glanced between Lance and Beau and saw that Beau was grinning at us.
“Try to make him be sensible,” Beau said.
“How many cars have you wrecked?” I asked Lance.
“Just two that belonged to Beau, and one of those was in the line of duty.”
Dax snorted. “Only because you didn’t listen to Remington. If you’d done what he said, you would never have wrecked that car.”
Lance waved a hand dismissing him. “I’m taking my man for a ride. We’ll be back in a couple of hours with a perfectly intact car.”
“Maybe. Only if Julian’s a better driver than you,” Sam suggested. “He’s certainly seems more responsible.”
Heat filled my cheeks. “I… um… I don’t have much…” Lance laid a finger on my lips.
“He’s a librarian. How unsafe do you think he’ll be? Corbin, will you watch Tony? You know how he hates fast drives.”
“Be careful with Lance,” Dax warned me. “He loves trouble.”
“I sort of figured that out the first time we met.”
“And yet you’re still with him.”
“He’s just protecting me. Once all this business settles down, then—”
“Come on,” Lance growled. “Time’s wasting. We could be out there on the road.”
Beau, Dax, and Sam laughed as Lance pulled me out of the office.
“Remember what I said,” Dax called after us.
Lance flipped him off. “Don’t listen to them.”
“About what? They seem to know plenty about cars.”
“About me. Don’t listen to anything they say about me.”
“I don’t need them to tell me problematic things about you. I’ve seen enough for myself.”
He scowled at me. “Do you want this ride or not?”
“I do. I really do.”
A few minutes later, we were racing down the highway. Lance had opened the sunroof, and my hair was blowing wildly. We had to shout to talk, so I just enjoyed the smooth feel of the car, the comfort of the seats, the joy on Lance’s face. I didn’t even bother to ask if he was concerned about going so fast. I figured a speeding ticket was nothing to him.
He took an exit, and before long, we were out in the middle of nowhere, tearing down a two-lane road. We were both laughing, and I felt freer than I had in a very long time. I had to hold onto the door to keep from falling over into him, but I didn’t care. I didn’t want to tell him to slow down. I didn’t want to tell him to be careful. I just wanted this to go on and on.
He turned onto a small road, slowed, and put the car in park. It might’ve been a driveway. Who the hell knew way out here?
“Your turn.”
“Seriously?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t surprise you with a ride in a car like this and not give you a chance to drive.”
“I really don’t have any experience driving like this.”
“You take it as fast or slow as you want to. I want you to have the feel of it. You deserve that chance.”
“Is this Beau’s car?”
“It’s a car Beau and his crew fixed up. He’s looking for a buyer.”
“What if I mess it up? What if I…”
“Then I’ll pay for it.”
I shook my head. “It’s that easy for you?”
“One of the advantages of my lifestyle.”
“I guess it is.” I knew a little bit about his family, and it was obvious from his home and Remington’s that they were well-off, but hearing him talk about buying a luxury car like it was nothing reminded me we were from two completely different worlds.
I felt lucky to have the money I’d inherited that allowed me to live comfortably—nothing flashy, nothing super nice—but I never had to worry about paying my basic bills. To me that was amazing. To Lance that would be nothing.