“You drive this. In the city.” Scarlett says it for the third time as we finally get out of Manhattan and closer to our destination.
I’m still in shock at the level of trust she places in me. I decided on a place and told her we’d need to walk back to the club so I could drop Roux off and get my Bronco and drive us there, and she’s along for the ride with no questions asked. Except for her shock over my truck.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s a giant pain in the ass, but I’m from the South, and that means I love jacked-up 4x4s. That’s not something that will ever change.”
She shakes her head like it’s the most mind-boggling thing she’s ever heard. Just wait until we get where we’re heading. I’ll bet it’s something she’s never done before.
Actually ... there’s one question I should have asked first, but I didn’t.
“Do you know how to drive?”
Scarlett’s head whips toward me. “Of course I know how to drive. I mean, I took the classes and passed the tests.”
I pause and consider what she’s saying. “So you know how to drive in theory ... but how long has it been since you’ve been behind the wheel of a car?”
The look on her face tells me everything I need to know.
“It’s been a while. A few years? I swear I drove in the Hamptons ...”
I burst out laughing because I can’t help it.
A little line forms between her brows. “What?”
“You’re such a typical New Yorker. It’s cute. Really.”
This causes her to wrinkle her nose like I’ve just insulted her. “Cute? I’ll have you know that I am not cute. I am a strong, capable woman who can drive if needed. Just ... maybe not if we’re in tons of traffic and I have to change lanes a lot.”
She’s partly wrong there. Sheisfucking cute. Way too fucking cute for her own good. And that’s on top of being devastatingly beautiful and everything I can’t seem to stay away from, no matter how much this could cost me.
“You’ll be fine. I promise.” I glance over again and see her expression morph into something akin to horror.
“We’re going driving? I thought you said it was going to be fun! That’s stressful, Gabe. Stressful is not fun.”
Gabe.People call me Gabe all the time, but coming from her, I like it more than I’ve ever liked it before. Huh. Who knew?
But she’s waiting for me to reply, so I push away the thought. “Not real cars. Go-karts. You’ll love it. You can’t break anything.”
“Go-karts,” she whispers at first, but then confidence grows in her tone. “I’ve never driven one of those before, but if a little kid can do it, I can too.”
“You’ll be fine, ladybug. I promise. We’re almost there.”
A few minutes later, we pull up to the building where Bump and I go racing every couple of months. I might not trust the kid behind the wheel of my Bronco, but he’s one hell of a driver on the track, and listening to him laugh and cheer is enough to make any day better.
As we head inside, Scarlett stares at everything in quiet wonder. I may have taken the girl out of the city, but I doubt it’s easy to take the city out of the girl.
“You sure you want to do this?” I ask, pausing before we approach the counter.
She nods three times but doesn’t speak. Her hands are balled into fists, and I can read the tension on her face. I step closer to her, cupping her right fist in the palm of my hand, and using my thumb, I unfold her fingers one at a time. Little by little, her shoulders relax.
“I might be apprehensive about trying certain new things.”
I lift my free hand to her chin and tilt it up so I can see her whole face. Her gray eyes are so wide and expressive that I’m pretty damn sure I could drown in them. Every emotion plays out across her face. Fear, excitement, nervousness. I can’t stop myself from stroking my thumb across her cheek. Her skin is ridiculously soft, andfuck, I want to kiss her more than I want to take my next breath.
Don’t do it. Don’t you fucking do it.
I dip my chin, inhaling the sweet scent coming from her hair. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you. You have my word.”
“And if I finish last in every race and people are pointing and laughing at me?” she whispers, and I can feel her breath on my lips.