Page 32 of Down & Dirty

When she finally glanced up at me, her smirk slipped. “I see. I hope I don’t hate it.”

With my gaze locked on hers, I reached across the table and held out my hand. She inspected it for a second before dutifully placing hers on top. Closing my fingers lightly, I let myself savor the feel of her soft skin just like I had on the dance floor.

From the outside, this moment would look sweet and romantic, so I lowered my voice as I replied, “Being hated by you isn’t so bad.”

That earned me a genuine laugh, and I gave her hand a squeeze before I let it go.

“You think I hate you?” She took a sip of her water, watching me over the rim of the glass.

“Come on, gorgeous. I think we both know I’m not your favorite.”

She tilted her head side to side, considering that. “Maybe. But I have my reasons.”

“Now this ought to be good. What was my crime?”

A frown cut across her face, and I worried I’d pushed the wrong button in public. For a second, I thought we were saved by the waiter, appearing at that exact moment with the bottle in hand. He let me look it over before uncorking it for us, but the whole time, Skylar glared with thinly veiled contempt.

As soon as the glasses were filled and the waiter gone, she started where she’d left off. “Your ego is out of control on a good day, sweetie,” she bared her teeth in a smile so forced and fake I laughed uncomfortably. “But it almost cost my brother his shot at the team.”

I stopped laughing. “What are you talking about?”

She shook her head, the grin on her face turning bitter. “You nearly sent him off course in Indiana.”

My mind flicked back to that day. The last race of the year had been one of my best, and as I rewound the highlights in my head, it hit me.The yellow jersey.That had to have been Ronnie.

“I didn’t know it was him.”

“Doesn’t matter. It was a jerk move.” She turned back to her menu and I felt a twinge of desperation.

“I’m sorry I did that to him,” I said, knowing even as I said the words they didn’t sound like me. She wasn’t buying it.

“It’s fine. He made the team. I shouldn’t have brought it up.” Reaching for her wine glass, she took a sip, avoiding me.

“But you did.”

Skylar put the glass down, licking her lips as she finally met my gaze. “Wrong time.”

Shaking my head, I set my menu aside. She was right that this wasn’t the right time or place for this, but we might as well get it out of the way.

“I can’t change the past, and I won’t apologize for riding hard. We all play to win and you know that as well as anyone. That said, I never meant to send him off course. I don’t try to hurt people. I’veneverdone that.” Riding so recklessly I got hurt was one thing, I’d never intentionally tried to harm anyone else.

I couldn’t tell if she believed me. Her stare was unwavering,the judgment in her eyes tearing me down as I waited for her to say something. This might end up being our first and last date all in one.

Her gaze finally softened. “I don’t think you meant to hurt him.”

“I didn’t.”

“But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a dick move.” There was a spark of humor in her eyes, the tiniest quirk to her lips. A glint of something lighter that told me we were still okay. Maybe not great, but we weren’t dead in the water.

I offered her a hopeful smile. “Well, we all have our dickish moments, don’t we?”

She chuckled, flipping the page of her menu. “Some more than others.”

That was about as much as she was willing to let me off the hook, and I’d take it. Rarely did I have to answer for my moves in races, and even more rarely did I feel bad for them. But Ronnie had been trying for the same chance as me, and now that I knew the kid a little, I probably wouldn’t do something so risky to him again.

Slipping back into the act, I gave her a cheeky grin. “I’m counting on you to help me keep mine to a minimum from now on.”

“As if you plan to listen to a thing I say?”

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