Page 76 of Fast & Reckless
She looked up at him. “Yeah?”
“I missed you today.”
She blinked, surprised. “You did?”
He took his hands out of his pockets and rubbed them together. He was nervous, she realized. Will wasnervous. “I did. My parents were being assholes. I mean, no surprise there. But maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if you’d been there with me. They’d still be assholes because—”
“Will.”
“Yeah?”
“I missed you, too.”
He exhaled and smiled. Then he ran a hand through his hair and crossed the garage to stand in front of her. He was still wearing the fitted charcoal suit and black dress shirt he’d been wearing at the reception. When he was with her, he was either dressed for a race at the track or undressed in her bed. Seeing him dressed up and hot was making her feel all flushed and fluttery.
“Look,” he said. “I’m sorry about how that went with my family today. We haven’t really discussed—”
“You’re right. We didn’t talk about it. It’s fine.” If her feelings were hurt, that was nobody’s fault but hers.
“It wasn’t fine, Mira. That was fucking awful.”
“You were just doing what I asked you to do.”
He nodded slowly, looking down at the floor. “I was. But I don’t think I want to do that anymore.”
Her heart stopped beating in her chest. Didn’t want to dowhatanymore.This?Him and her? He’d said he’d missed her, but maybe he didn’t mean it like—
“You’ll like Jem and Ed,” he continued. “When you get a chance to meet them properly.”
She blinked, trying to halt the panic spiral she’d been falling into. “You want me to meet them?”
“I did today. I do. Listen, Mira …” He stepped closer, reaching out to snag her fingertips with his. “We’re off for the next two weeks, yeah? I was thinking … maybe we should spend some time together outside a hotel room. I’m heading to New York. I wondered … I mean, maybe you’d want to … Will you come with me?”
Relief flooded through her, so intense she felt almost weak-kneed. But as much as she wanted to fling her arms around him, cover him in kisses, and say yes, she still needed to proceed with caution. They were in the middle of a minefield, and things could explode around them at any moment if she fucked up.
“Traveling together is not exactly keeping a low profile,” she pointed out.
“But it’s America. Nobody knows who I am there.”
“Americans do watch racing, you know.”
He reached out and took her other hand, squeezing them both with his. She was shaking with nerves, hanging on to himlike an anchor. “Look, I don’t know what it will be like. I can’t promise anything. But know I want you there with me. Will you come?”
She was still terrified. Terrified of everything that had gone wrong in her past, and terrified of everything that could go wrong in the future. But she could see in Will’s eyes that he was scared, too. This was new territory for both of them. And in the end, she wanted him. That was more powerful than her fear.
“Yes,” she finally said. “Yes, I’ll come.”
The grin he unleashed nearly washed away every reservation she had.
He pulled her into a tight hug. “Thank you.”
“Why are you thanking me? You invited me,” she murmured into the crook of his neck.
He squeezed her tighter. “Because I get you all to myself for two weeks.”
“You’ve always got me all to yourself.” He could have her, body and heart, for as long as he wanted her, as long as she got to have him, too. As long as she could hold him like this.
“Always?” She’d heard that shift in his voice enough at this point to know when Will was thinking filthy thoughts. “Like now?”
