Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 71396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71396 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Still, one last worry tugs at the edge of my thoughts.
“What about Lance?” I ask. “Eventually, he’s going to find out. And if he finds out too soon, it’ll just… I don’t know. Ignite something.”
Reid’s voice turns hard. “Let him ignite it.”
I shake my head. “No. Not yet. He still has too much proximity to both of us—to our families. I need things to settle before I can deal with that blowback.”
He lets out a slow breath. “Okay. We keep it quiet.”
“But I don’t want to pretend when we’re alone,” I add quickly. “I just need to… work this out slowly.”
Reid leans over, his lips brushing my temple. “Then we do it your way. As slow as you need.”
I let the warmth of his words sink into the hollow spaces still healing inside me. I refuse to let myself be afraid of wanting something, because I do want him.
More than ever.
Even if we have to hide it for now… I’m still choosing it.
I’m still choosing him.
CHAPTER 11
Reid
The sky is still dim when I step out onto the balcony with a cup of coffee in hand, the soft light of pre-dawn brushing over Melbourne. I left Lara curled up in my bed, still tangled in the sheets I wrapped her in hours ago. The city hasn’t fully woken up yet, but I have. I’m always up early on race day, even before the mandatory briefings, the strategy huddles, the endless sponsor photos.
The excitement of what’s coming normally has me eager to jump out of bed. But this morning, for the longest time, I didn’t want to move. Didn’t want to let go of the wonder and awe of having Lara in my arms. I spent far too much time watching her sleep, memorizing her breathing pattern, and marveling at how perfectly she fit against me. Alas, duty called, and I slipped out as quietly as possible to give her more time to sleep.
I grip the railing with one hand, drawing in a deep breath of the cool autumn air. My chest is tight—not with nerves about the race, but with a strange, steady warmth, every bit of it due to Lara.
It’s not just that we had sex. It’s what it meant. Because this didn’t feel like crossing a line. It felt like finding one we’d never dared to seek before.
Behind me, I hear the shuffle of feet, and my heart rate increases tenfold. I turn, and there she is—barefoot in one of the hotel’s fluffy robes, red hair tousled from sleep, a drowsy half smile on her freckled face that undoes me in ways pole position never could.
“Did I wake you?” I ask.
She shakes her head, joining me at the railing but then amends with a sheepish smile, “Maybe a little. Sleep okay?”
“Slept great, which is a little weird.” I offer her my mug. “I’m often restless the night before a race.”
She takes a sip, winces and hands the brew back to me. “Not a black coffee fan.”
I shrug. “Don’t judge.”
“Never,” she replies drolly and leans into the rail, brushing against my arm. We stand like that, watching the sunrise paint the buildings with gold, but my eyes keep cutting to her. I’ve seen her face thousands of times, but for some reason, it’s more beautiful now than ever.
“How are you feeling about the race?” she finally asks, turning to find me unabashedly staring at her.
“Good,” I say. “Car’s strong. Felix and Tariq ran simulations half the night, and they think we’ve got a good chance at the undercut strategy if Lex gets caught behind backmarkers.”
She frowns. “Backmarkers?”
“Slower cars at the back of the field. You can lose time trying to pass them.”
“Aah,” she says thoughtfully, nodding. “Learn something new every day. It’s a lot different from when you raced rally.”
That pulls a smile out of me. “Very different.”
Rally is all about trying to figure out how to tame chaos. It’s firmly dependent upon deeply rooted gut instinct coupled with nerves of steel, and my rally experience served me well when I transitioned to open-wheel racing.
But I don’t delve into that. We have something more important to discuss given what happened between us last night. “Any regrets?” I ask.
She blinks at me in surprise. “Regrets?”
I stare at her, one eyebrow cocked. She’s being deliberately obtuse and smirks. “Do you mean, am I overwhelmed with guilt for jumping out of Lance’s bed and into yours?”
I wince. “Ouch. When you say it like that…”
“Well, it’s exactly like that, except I hadn’t been in Lance’s bed in a while.”
I really don’t want to hear the details of her sex life with my brother, but I am gratefully accepting that it seemed their relationship was over before he slapped her. I think that was the catalyst to get her to move forward.
I turn to face Lara more fully. “You know… after you finished uni, when we had that night, I wanted you to know that wasn’t just a whim. I took it seriously. I did give a lot of thought to asking for more.”