Page 32 of Driving Wild

Unpacking my bag and getting things organized for the work week, I make my way outside to sit with Matt as the sun goes down. I know that I need to have “the talk” with him. I need to tell him all these feelings I’m having, but it scares the ever-loving piss out of me to think that he might reject me. Ryan and Tinley made me feel a little better about my thoughts when I talked to them yet again, and Ryan even made a point to say that Matt had acted like a lost puppy during the race weekend. He hadn’t even smiled when Tinley had told him the phrase I’d said.

“Hey, babe, got you a glass of wine. Thought we might watch the sun go down,” Matt says as I go to sit beside him.

“Matt, we need to have a talk,” I start, after taking a long sip of my wine. Maybe if I drink enough, I’ll have the courage to talk about my feelings. Knowing that I need to put my big girl panties on, I take a deep breath and lay it all out on the line.

“When we started this, whatever it was,”—I wave my hand between us—“I thought it would be two months of us throwing objects at each other or hurling insults. I never thought it would turn into something.”

Looking down at my wine, I can feel myself wanting to shut down, but I push on. “Matt, you make me feel things that scare the living hell out of me. I haven’t been single for long, and I wasn’t looking for something, yet I think I may have started falling for you that first night in your hauler. I think I’ve tried to talk myself out of it. Yet when that reporter tried to drug you to get you in bed, I just knew that I had to do something. Yeah, I got a sentence for being fake married for two months, but I didn’t realize it was also going to make me see that my feelings are more than just hatred for the racing playboy.”

“Grace,” Matt says, pulling my face toward him.

“With you, it’s never been a fake thing. I told you long ago that all you had to tell me was that you wanted it all and you could have it. I may have made you think I didn’t care one way or the other, but the truth is, I’ve been waiting for you to catch up. I knew you would get here in your own time. I just had to wait. You make me feel things that I didn’t even think I wanted, let alone needed. I was fine with living the single life and winning races. But this last week has shown me that I need something more, and I want the blonde bombshell beside me when all that comes true.

“Whatcha say, Red? Wanna be my real girlfriend?” he asks with that beautiful smile he saves just for me.

“Why, you wanna be my boyfriend?” I ask, wondering what line he's going to throw at me.

“So I can kiss you anytime I want,” he says, moving in to kiss me lightly.

Letting out a laugh, I reply, “Been watching Sweet Home Alabama, have you?” Once again, I’m laughing as he kisses me.

“What can I say? I love me some sassy blondes with smart mouths.”

How the hell did we get here? If you told me two months ago I’d be Matt’s fake wife but real-life girlfriend, I would have told you to go step on a Lego. But now, looking over at the man sitting beside me, I can’t think of a better place to be.

“Red, what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?” Matt asks, coming to stand beside me as he finishes getting things packed for us to head out. We decided to make a road trip down to Alabama instead of flying out with the team. Matt wants me to meet his parents and sisters before the race weekend, and to say I’m nervous as hell is an understatement. For God’s sake, their son is bringing home a Yankee, so my mission is to impress Momma McCall with all the effort that I can.

“Honestly, Cowboy, I’m scared to death. What if your mom hates me? Hell, I’m not a great cook, and I’m not a Southern lady. She may have thought you’d end up with a Southern belle, and I’m a sassy-mouthed woman who would rather watch action movies than some sappy Hallmark movie,” I say, finishing packing up my makeup bag and placing it by the others that Matt has set out for us.

“Grace, look at me,” he says in his deep voice that makes me do anything, and I do mean anything, the man wants.

“I don’t give a flying flip if you’re not Southern or a lady. Honestly, I think that’s what pulled me in in the first place. I’ve had so many women come to me that when you made it a challenge, I wanted you even more,” he says, pulling me close to his rock-hard body and kissing me slowly.

I know that if I don’t break this kiss, I’m going to have to remake the bed, and that will put us way behind in our drive. Showing what little restraint I have left, I pull away, instantly missing his heat, and turn on my heels, heading toward the front door.

“Very funny, Red. You kiss me like that and then walk away. You do know that I’ll punish you for that later, right?” Matt says in that gruff Southern voice that always makes my blood heat up in all the right places.

“Come on, Cowboy. If you’re good, maybe you’ll get a little treat as we go down the road.” I wink at him as I grab my bag and close the door behind me just as I hear him mumble a “fuck me,” pulling the remainder of the luggage behind him.

Four hours later, we’re only an hour outside the tiny county where Talladega Speedway is located. Why the hell we thought this was a good idea, I’ll never understand. My back hurts from being in the car for so long, and I had to pee about an hour ago but didn’t want to mention that to Matt as he made a point to tell me to make a pit stop before leaving, but I ignored him in favor of thinking I could make it longer than I actually did. So now, here I sit, miserable because of my own pride. But we used the time to dive a little deeper into each other’s history. Since we had done this relationship a little ass backward, we figure it’s only fitting to find out more.

“Look out that window, Red. That’s one of the biggest speedways we go to each year. Are you ready to stand beside me this weekend? As a real couple?”

“Cowboy, if the last two months have told you anything, it’s that I’ll follow you into that whirlwind and smile as I do it.”

We keep driving for another forty minutes to Matt’s hometown. He may not have grown up with the same life I did, but from just listening to him talk about his parents and sisters, I can tell they are close. He’s made something of himself, and yet he wants to make sure that his family is taken care of more than anything else.

“All right, Red, this is it. Are you ready for some good ole-fashioned Southern hospitality?” he asks, showing me that million-dollar smile again. He is so excited to see his parents and siblings that it’s infectious and helps calm my nerves just a little bit.

Coming around to my door, he helps me out of the car, and we walk hand in hand up to the front door of a beautiful, white farmhouse with a big, red wooden door and a big, Southern wrapped-around porch. I can see why Matt purchased this house for his parents. He saw that his mom would love sitting out on this porch either reading or just rocking in the big, white rockers.

Just as we get to the front door, it bursts open, and out run two smaller kids and a tall, blonde woman who I can only assume is Matt’s sister.

She slows as we approach, closing the door behind them. Her eyes grow big as she takes in the sight of her brother. Did he not tell them we were coming?

“Matty, is that you?” the blonde asks as Matt releases my hand and goes to give her a hug.

“Hey, sis. Where the hell are you running off to so quickly? I think I just got a glimpse of my niece and nephew as they blew past me—not even stopping to say hey.”

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