“You like me?”
“You know I do.”
I turned away. I’d been about to tell her that that wasn’t good enough. Liking me.
Not when I was already in love with her.
“You better go wait in the stands. It’s not safe down here.”
I didn’t look at her as she climbed out. As soon as the door shut though, I turned to make sure she’d done as I said.
I watched her walk slowly through the crowd of drivers and their pit crews. People turned to look at her, to check her out. But she didn’t notice. She looked sad. Miserable even.
That’s how a marriage proposal made her feel?
I’d show her I wasn’t a loser. I’d prove it the only way I knew how.
On the track.
Chapter Seventy-Nine
Frannie
I stood behind the fence, right behind Flannery and the rest of Jace’s team. Jace hadn’t looked at me once. But I couldn’t stop looking at him.
He was angry at me, that much was obvious.
But he was also hurt.
The thought of living with him… being with him. It was overwhelming. It was more than I could have wished for. Wonderful. But so far beyond what I’d allowed myself to imagine… I rubbed my hands over my arms.
I felt so alone without him.
How had that happened so fast?
Also, I was scared. Scared something might happen to him. Scared he would change his mind.
Scared I would never get over him if he did.
Of that I was more than certain.
How could I ever forget him? His beautiful, deep eyes… his body against mine… his touch…
Or any of the other things he’d done to take care of me.
Right from the start he’d been doing it.
Maybe he did love me after all… he hadn’t said it, but it was there, hanging between us.
And I already knew I was falling in love with him.
The frenetic activity on the track picked up. I knew the race was about to start. Clyde brought a helmet over to Jace and he held it, not putting it on.
Jace walked out of the pit. I realized he was coming right for me, his eyes blazing. He grabbed me, kissing me hard. A little roar went up from the crowd in the bleachers behind us.
He stared into my eyes for a second.
“I’ll never let you go,” he whispered so softly I could barely hear it.
Then he was gone.
I didn’t even have a chance to say a word to him. I watched fearfully as he put his helmet on and slid into the car. Then he drove to the starting line. The other cars lined up beside him. They looked dangerous.
They looked like death on wheels.
Suddenly a man was beside me. I turned and looked up at him. He was older, very handsome. There was something familiar about him. But I’d never seen him before.
“You Frannie?”
I nodded.
“I’m Brian. Jace’s dad.”
His eyes twinkled at me.
“It’s very nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Singleton.”
“I told you, call me Brian! Now let’s watch my kid squash these suckers.”
We stood together as the flag dropped. The sound of the signal gun made me jump. Then the roar of the engines drowned everything out. I couldn’t have heard Brian even if we’d been shouting.
My heart was in my throat as they took the first turn. Jace was jockeying with a few other cars to take the lead. By the next straightway he was out in front, with two cars just behind him. They started battering his car, making him fishtail all over the track.
I turned around as they hit the next turn, covering my eyes.
I couldn’t bring myself to watch.
The crowd was screaming as they barreled towards the finish line. I almost didn’t hear the screeching metal.
It sounded like the world was ending.
It sounded like death.
I started to slide down to the ground. I felt strong arms lifting me up and holding me.
Then darkness.
Chapter Eighty
Jace
Bright lights stung my eyes, making me wince. The room slowly came into focus. It was all white. I realized I was in a hospital bed. I felt like I was floating.
Fuck, I must be on a shitload of painkillers.
I saw faces. Recognizable ones. Brain was working. That’s good, I thought in a daze.
My dad, Flannery, Clyde. My heart started beating in my chest. Where was she?
“Frannie?”
My voice sounded like a frog croaking. There was no way anyone could understand what I was trying to say. What I wanted. Who I wanted. I tried to sit up and reach for the water I saw on the bedside table.
“Hey hey buddy, slow down!”
My dad was there, his hands keeping me from sitting up.
“What do you want? The water?”
I nodded and he held the cup to my lips.
It was slowly starting to dawn on me that I was fucked up. Not just a little bit either.
How bad, I wasn’t sure. All I knew was I wanted my woman. Now.