Page 5 of Driving Wild

“Cowboy, you may have all the right parts that women want, but when you start to talk, it’s thrown right out the window,” she says, giving me one more look before going back to watching her movie.

“I could say the same thing about you, Red. That gorgeous ass of yours could make any man want you. But it's that sass that keeps them at bay. I’m not sure how that ex of yours stayed with you as long as he did.”

Sitting down on the couch beside her, I pick up my phone to order dinner.

“Do you want anything else to eat, or are you going to just eat cookies for dinner?” I ask, trying at least to be nice.

“I’ll take a salad from wherever you order from,” she says, a little quieter than she was just a few minutes ago.

After getting something to eat, we try to figure out which room Grace might want to put her bags in and whether she wants to grab a few things to make it more homely or if she’ll leave it as it is. After watching back-to-back movies, I head to bed. We didn’t say much while eating dinner or watching the movies. I didn’t want to push it by saying something that she might use against me, so I cleaned up and headed to bed.

Lying in bed, with Grace across the hall, I watch as the fan makes circles above me. I’m a mixture of turned on and irritated with what happened today. Granted, I have this sexy woman in my house, and I need to act like the doting husband for the next two months. But I’m also not able to have her the way I really want. Because that would make things even more complicated than they already are. So I need to stock up on some Vaseline and hit some very cold showers for the next while.

I lie there, mindlessly scrolling my phone trying to take my mind off the spot I’ve found myself in. Hearing a small knock come from the door. Sitting up some I say, “Come in,” as the door opens the woman I both want and hate comes into view. She’s wearing a thin nightshirt, showing off those legs, and who the hell knows if she has shorts on underneath?

“Matt, can we talk?” Grace says, all the sass gone from her voice for once.

“Umm, sure, I guess. Can’t sleep anyway.” I pull myself up to fully sitting up in the bed to get in a better position.

“Listen, I just wanted to apologize for the mess I’ve gotten us into. I know it's not ideal for you to have a wife. Hell, you don’t even keep a girl for a week, let alone longer. But when I saw that woman put something in your drink, I couldn’t stand by and watch it happen. I’ve seen women like her before when I’ve been out with my cousins, and I don’t know, I just didn’t want her to use you just to get a story.”

“Well, you sure have got us into a situation, Red. That’s for damn sure. You know you could have just said I was your boyfriend, and this whole thing would be a non-issue—but you didn’t. And let me tell you, I loved getting a phone call from your cousin-in-law earlier today, telling me that I better be on my best behavior or I’ll see the turn four wall at the next race sooner rather than later. It was the highlight of my day. So thanks for that.”

“Clint called you?” she asks.

Little does she know that I know exactly who her family is and what a shit show this has become for them. I may not be the perfect poster boy of the stock car world, but I’ve done pretty damn good for myself. The Millers are important. I get it, but I won’t stand by and have my life played out in public for all those to think it’s a joke.

“Yeah, he did, and granted, the man is downright brutal to race, but he’s also one of the nicest people I know outside the car. So to have him tell me I need to toe the line makes me question just what he knows about us, Red,” I say, staring at her with as much fire and drive as I’ve had in a long time.

“If he’s got an impression of you off the track, it’s from what you put out in the media, not what I’ve told him. Honestly, my family back home stays out of my love life, and they know that I can’t talk about work with them since I’m a part of another team. So other than the weekly catch-up Skype call and our family text group chat, the last thing they heard about my love life was me with Miles, and you know how that turned out.” She says.

I look away from her, trying to gather myself before looking back over at her. I know it must be hard coming from the Miller legacy.

“Anyway, I just came to say that I’m sorry about this mess and that I’ll make it as easy on you as I can. I have a lot on my plate with Mila coming in, so other than making sure I’m at your side on race weekends, we can just be like ships passing in the night, if that’s okay with you, Cowboy,” she says, looking down at the floor like there’s a math problem on it she’s trying to solve.

“Red, look at me. You don’t have to feel like a ship. Do you make me angry? Yep, a thousand percent, but I’ve also seen what a loyal friend you are to those you love. Did I take the news today the way I should have? Maybe not, but it is what it is now, and we can make the best of this fucked-up situation. So let’s just take it one day at a time and see what happens. We don’t have to be best friends, that’s for damn sure, but we also don’t have to act like we want to burn the place down when we’re in the same area.”

Nodding her head, she turns and heads for the door. Slowly closing it behind her, I flop back onto my bed, hands in my hair, pulling at it to feel something other than my heart racing for the beautiful blonde who just left my room. This woman is going to be hard not to grow attached to in the next two months if she keeps coming at me with kind words. I want her sass and those lips on mine. Why can’t she just be brutal with me all the time? That way, I won’t develop feelings, other than wanting to fuck the life out of her. Throwing the covers off me, I head toward the shower for the second time today—ever since I walked in and saw that round ass bent over my oven. God help me.

The door to Matt's room closes behind me. I can’t help but wonder why he thought he needed to tell me that Clint had spoken with him. My family has always been one of the things I kept separate when I was in previous relationships. Miles met my cousin, Cortney, once, and that was only because he wanted me to come to a baseball game and knew that Miles was going to be going into the draft. Coming from money and that lifestyle, you never know who you can trust, and honestly, I can count on one hand the people who really know the true me. But with Matt, I want him to know that part of me. I just don’t understand why. We’ve been so cruel to one another over the last few months while Tinley and Ryan found their happily ever after, and it’s to keep us both safe from what could have been after our wild night.

Walking back into my bedroom, I notice a small box on my nightstand that wasn’t there earlier today when I put my clothes away. I make my way to it and can tell it’s a ring box. Matt was in here at some point. Looking around, I pick up the small velvet box, gasping when I see the object inside. The note on top.

“Red, thought you might need some jewelry since you’re MINE now.”

– Your husband

Opening the ring box, I find a beautiful emerald-cut, dark-green diamond ring with another note attached.

“I looked for a black diamond to match your soul, but it turns out those are special request items, so green will have to do it for now.” – Cowboy

I blush at the nickname he signed the note with. Damn, it just got a lot more difficult to not want to be around him.

I pick up my phone and send a picture of the ring to my best friends.

Me:

Well, ladies, it’s official, I’m off the market. For a little while anyway.

---