Page 24 of Driving Wild

“Yes, from the way you two just started laughing, I’m not so sure it’s a good idea for y'all to be paired up next week while I’m all the way in Texas.”

Grace looks up at me with those beautiful eyes of hers and kisses my lips softly.

“Cowboy, I can shop all day, but I know where I buy my groceries,” she says in a sultry voice that has me wanting to bend her over this desk right now.

“Yeah, on that note, I’m not. Grace, I’ll call you next week. Unless you have anything else for me this week,” Mila shoots with a smirk as she hangs up the Skype call.

Spinning Grace around, I finally get to kiss her just how I’ve been wanting to since I left her this morning.

Moaning into our kiss, I know I need to back away, or I really am going to bend her over this desk. The big guys upstairs definitely won't like that and might give me a ding on the contract negotiations.

“You almost finished for the day, Red? I’m headed out but wanted to check in with you before I leave.”

“No, I’ve got about three more hours of work before I’m done,” she says with a sigh.

“Well, just let me know when you’re on the way home then, and I can just order us some takeout.”

“Sounds great,” she says before giving me one last kiss as I walk out of her office.

Closing the door behind me, I smack right into Ryan.

“Shit, man, are you trying to give me a heart attack today? I’m gonna start putting a damn bell on you. Freaking hell, for as big as you are, you shouldn’t be able to sneak up on me that easily,” I chide.

“If you weren’t in that Grace bubble, you would have heard me, shithead,” Ryan says.

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I start to walk toward where my car is parked.

“Ryan, why are you following me, man? You’re like a dog with a bone right now. You know that, right?” I’m laughing at my friend because it’s true that this guy has turned into a golden retriever instead of the aggressive dog he used to be.

“Just seeing what you're up to. I’m bored, and Tinley…” he starts to say.

“There it is. Tinley’s busy, and you have no one to play with, ha. So that’s why you’re up my shit today. I knew something was going on with you but couldn’t put my finger on it.”

“Hey man, that's not fair. You’re my best friend,” he starts to say.

“Yes, so you say. But what happens when Tinley calls and you drop me? If I make time for us to have a guy hang out, you’re not going to bail on me then, right?”

“Not me and you, Shake and Bake, bud,” he replies.

“For the love of God, don’t call us that. That dumbass name finally died down. Let's not bring it back into the light.” Laughing, we continue to head toward our cars.

“Okay, bud, but the first text or call from your little lady and guy day is over,” I say, getting into my car and heading toward Ryan’s place. I sent Grace a quick text to tell her I’ll be back later. Damn, I really am starting to be a whipped man.

Ryan’s condo has always been my place to come to relax. We’d play video games, drink beer, and eat pizza. I haven’t been to his place since Tinley moved in, wanting to give them space. Yet the minute I step foot into the doorway, I can tell a woman lives here now.

“Ummmm, Ryan, did Martha Stewart explode in your house? What the hell happened here?”

“Well, Tinley made some changes, but don’t worry, the gaming system is still in the living room. I made sure that stayed.”

“For the love of all things holy, please tell me you have beer and not the fucking craft shit like you ordered at dinner the other night.”

“I’ll have you know that craft beer is amazing, and I’m just trying to expand your palate with it,” he says, coming over to the couch and handing me a good ole American-made beer. While he, on the other hand, has some craft shit he’s opening.

“I feel like I don’t even know you right now, man. First, the apartment has candles everywhere, your shelves have pictures all over them, and now, you’re sitting beside me, drinking something from a place called Wicked Weed.”

“Tinley wanted us to have a space that was for us both. Adding a woman’s touch isn’t so bad. Maybe if you took the plunge, you could see it’s worth the fall.”

I take a sip of my beer as Ryan continues to rant about how great being a relationship guy is, and it has my head spinning a little. I mean, it wasn’t eight months ago that he was sitting on this couch, moping around because the media had taken his relationship with Tinley and spun it to make her out to be some home wrecker for a crazy-ass bitch, Serena. After watching what they went through, it’s probably why I’m so paranoid about going all-in with Grace. Her last name alone brings the media, and then lump in my little bit of fame associated with NASCAR, and we could crash and burn quickly.

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