“They threatened to beat him up.”
“Did that stop you?” Annie asked, leaning forward.
“Hell, no.”
“What about you, Jared? Any brothers try to warn you off?” Annie asked, keeping him in the conversation when he would have retreated again.
“No, in most circles I’m considered a good catch.”
Annie twined their fingers together. “Oh, Jared, I think you’re a good catch, too.”
He wasn’t sure if she was still teasing but her words resonated deep inside him. Though he was afraid to slow down enough to really commit to her, he wanted her to think of him as a good catch. He wanted her to see him as the kind of man he’d always wanted to be.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ANNIE ENJOYED MEETING Tucker’s parents and Heidi’s. Both families had planned a joint barbecue. She saw another side of Jared with the Aldridge family. Mr. Aldridge treated him as an equal, not like one of his son’s friends. Annie had overheard Jared giving Mr. Aldridge financial advice.
“Your parents are very nice, Tucker,” Annie said, when they were all back in the limo and heading toward Watkins Glen. Heidi was staying with her parents until the race this weekend.
“How’d they end up with an arrogant so-and-so like me, right?” he said.
“I think you’re sweeter than you like to let on.”
“Well, don’t let it get out.”
“I won’t.”
It was just after seven o’clock when they dropped Tucker off at his promotional gig at an auto-parts store. He was meeting up with another driver from their team and would catch a ride back with him.
“Alone at last,” Annie said, turning to Jared. “I booked a room at a local hotel.”
“I was hoping you’d stay with me.”
She’d been afraid to presume that. “I’d like that.”
The limo dropped them off at the motor home lot.
“Wait here,” he said, when they reached the door. “I want to make sure everything’s right.”
A few minutes later the door opened again. “Come in.”
There was a bottle of champagne chilling in an ice bucket near the kitchen area. And with the click of a button music filled the room?Stevie Wonder singing “Sir Duke.” She smiled at him, feeling the weeks they’d been apart drift away. Here was the man she’d been falling for.
His silence had been understandable. But that hadn’t stopped doubts from forming in her mind. When he’d left her in Daytona she felt like things were unsettled.
And that last call when she’d barely been able to hear him had been torturous. Her family had made a few remarks on his absence, but then stopped asking when it became clear she had no idea when he’d be back.
She clearly recalled the last time he’d invited her to a private meal like this one. It felt like eons ago. So much had changed between them. Then she’d scarcely known the man behind the image and now…now she knew him better than she’d ever expected to.
“Champagne?”
“Yes, please.”
He poured them both a glass and handed her one of the flutes.
“To you,” he said, touching the rims of the glasses together.
“To you, too,” she said.
While they drank their champagne Jared told her about his trip to Colombia. When they were finished he drew her to her feet and into his arms.
“What are we doing now?”
“Dancing,” he said. “I know we should have gone out so we could be around other people…but I want you to myself for a few hours before the race-week events begin.”
“I missed you.”
“Good.”
She pinched his side. “That’s not very nice.”
“Why not? I was missing you.”
“This scares me, Jared. Needing you the way I do.”
“We’re finding our way. Trust that we will continue to do so.”
She bit her lower lip, wanting to believe him but knowing that it wasn’t that easy. She’d been unsettled when he’d been gone, which should have been her first clue that she was more than falling for him. She’d worked long hours compiling and editing the photos she’d taken of Dave.
“What, no promises?” she asked.
“I’ll only make promises I can keep.”
That didn’t reassure her. She knew what he was trying to say and she wasn’t ready to make any commitments to him, either, at least not without a guarantee. She wanted him to take all the risks, put himself out in the open with his vulnerabilities so she wouldn’t have to take that leap.
Once she knew how he felt about her she’d tell him or show him. But she knew it wasn’t fair. “I’m just tired tonight.”