Page 5 of Fast & Reckless
Mira’s eyes slid sideways to Violet, who smothered a chuckle. Will got the uncomfortable feeling that they were having a laugh at his expense, although he couldn’t sort out why, which annoyed him to no end. Violet was probably just enjoying watching him get shot down. She loved watching other people squirm.
“Okay, then, Mira,” Violet said, hooking her arm with her own. “We’d better get you back to the office. I’m sure Pen’s left a lengthy list for you.”
Violet began to tow her away, but Mira stopped short and spun back toward him. “Dinner tonight!”
Well, maybe the flirting had worked after all. “Sounds great,” he said.
She was still scanning her notes and entirely missed his triumphant smile. “There’s a dinner tonight for department heads, to celebrate the start of the season. Vincenzo’s at eight. Penelope said you’d know the place.”
He shifted his weight from the balls of his feet to his heels as his smile faded. Heat spread up the back of his neck as he tried to recover. “I do. Will I see you there?”
She scowled. “Of course. It’s my job.”
Then she turned her back on him and disappeared with Violet. Considering he’d just been behind the wheel of a Formula One car for the first time in three years, it was baffling that in this moment, he wasn’t thinking about the car at all. Had she just …dismissedhim? That was not something he was used to from women. Whatever anybody might say about him, he was hard to ignore. But he’d see her again tonight. And he was nothing if not determined.
3
Mira tugged at the hem of her charcoal-gray sheath dress. Was it too short? Maybe she should have worn pants. Something serious and professional and—
The restaurant door opened and Simone came into the vestibule with Violet right behind her.
“Simone, hi again,” Mira said.
The older blond woman, looking smooth as silk in head-to-toe ivory, smiled. “Already hard at work, Mira?”
“I wanted to start putting names to faces. Pen said I need to know every person in the company personally.”
Simone gave a subtle roll of her eyes on her way past. “That certainly sounds like something Pen would say.”
“Finally,” Violet said. “Someone at one of these things I actually want to talk to. Save you a seat inside?”
Violet had ended up taking her around the rest of the factory that afternoon, and they’d had a good time together. The past few years had been pretty isolating, by Mira’s own choice, but she’d still been lonely. Spending all your free time with your mother was just sad. Hanging out with someone her own age might be fun.
“Sure thing. I’ll be in soon.”
After Violet had gone through, Mira pulled out her cheat sheet of dinner guests to see who was still missing. Just then the front door opened, bringing in a gust of cold night air.
“Hello, again.”
Her heart sank.Him.
When she looked up, the door was closing behind him, and he was tugging off his thin leather driving gloves with his teeth as he peered down at her.
She took a deep breath. “Good, you finally made it. We’ve got a private room in back. It’s just through there and to the right.”
He shrugged his expensive leather jacket off with sensuous, nearly feline grace. Underneath, he wore all black, a dress shirt open at the neck and slim-fitting trousers.Uff… even out of his racing uniform he was so beautiful. His hair was an artless riot of dark waves that probably always looked that good with minimal effort. She tried her best to keep her eyes away from his mouth. Those lips were sinfully pretty.
“Mira. It’s Mira, right?”
She jerked her gaze back up to his eyes. “Yeah?” she said cautiously.
Slinging the jacket over one arm and stuffing his hands in his pockets, he leaned back on his heels. “You caught me in the middle of something at the track today. We didn’t get a chance to talk.”
“Talk?”
He took a step closer and a slow, wicked grin unfurled across his face. “To get to know each other a little better.”
He was deadly. Yeah, he was aggressive and overconfident and brash, but just being near someone so …passionatewaskind of exhilarating. He made her feel … alive—some combination of nerves and excitement she hadn’t felt in a long time. And she honestly couldn’t tell if it was his driving that made her feel like that or just …him.
