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“What? Sorry? Yeah, fine. Just a bit tired. It’s been quite a day.”
“For sure. Sleep well, and maybe we can catch up a bit tomorrow.” Jordana gave her brother a hug and then headed out with Rory in tow.
As the door closed, Greer stood. She’d been contemplating trying to spend the night with Dalton, but at this point, it didn’t seem like a good idea. She was still reeling from everything, and being with him wouldn’t clarify anything for her. “I guess I should go, too.”
“Stay,” he said as he came toward her. “Spend the night here. I… It would… I would like you with me.”
She met his gaze. Staying would be a mistake, and they both knew it. She’d let herself believe things were sorted out between them, but they really weren’t, and this would just cloud things more. But she wanted to stay so dang bad. To be with him. To pretend, even for a little while, that things were back to their normal from seven years ago. They were a couple, and life was good. She wanted that so badly she could taste it but she’d give him an out in case he really didn’t want her to stay. Like when they broke up. If he didn’t protest, he didn’t really want her to stay in the first place.
“I think you probably need a good night’s sleep. I know I do.” She didn’t head toward the door, desperately wanting him to ask her to stay one more time.
“Greer, I don’t know how to say this any other way. I’m worried about your safety. I don’t want you on your own tonight. If you would prefer to stay with Jordana and Rory, I can arrange it, but I can’t let you go back to your room on your own.”
Heat rolled up her neck and into her cheeks. The whole time she’d been thinking he wanted her there for company because he wanted to be with her. Instead, he just didn’t want anything to happen to her. His conscience probably wouldn’t survive if anything happened to her on his watch, not after everything else. That’s how he would see it, his watch.
He wasn’t being romantic at all. He was being pragmatic. She wanted to yell at him and storm out, but that would only make things worse. Then he’d know for sure what she’d been thinking. He’d know how far off base she was.
“I hadn’t thought of that, but I see your point. I do think I’ll be okay, though. I will lock my door and put on the chain.”
“Greer, you either sleep here or with my sister. You can’t be alone.” Dalton crossed his arms over his chest. “I won’t be able to sleep if I know you’re not safe.”
So now it was all about him. Why wasn’t she surprised? He had no faith she could look after herself. She opened her mouth to argue and then thought better of it. What was the point? He would get upset and then they’d fight and she’d be humiliated and he’d go silent. Better to skip to the end.
“Fine,” she said. “I’ll sleep down here on the sofa. You take the bed.” He opened his mouth, most likely to protest, but she waved him off. “You’re in pain. You need to take the bed. I’ll be fine on the pull-out sofa. Please call down to the front desk to have them make it up. I’m going to zip to my room for a few things. Won’t take more than a minute or two.” With that, she walked out the door. She didn’t pause until she was in her own room and leaning against the closed door.
Her cheeks were flaming, and she was gasping for breath. She’d been way off. Not even in the same ballpark as Dalton. That scene in the garage hadn’t been about romance. It was about him being worried and needing a distraction.
Damn good thing she hadn’t opened her mouth. That would have made things a hundred times worse. She swallowed and tried to crush her humiliation. What the hell had she been thinking? Having sex once doesn’t make a relationship. Did she even want a relationship with him? Maybe not. Maybe she was just caught up in the excitement of being at the track again and being with Dalton was part of that. Yes. She was just being stupid.
She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and sent a text to Dalton, saying she was going to take a shower and she’d be over in a bit. That would buy her time to get over her humiliation and find some way to cobble together some dignity. What an idiot she’d been!
After heading upstairs, she spun the handle on the shower to full hot and then peeled off her clothing. Angry black and blue colored her ribs, but other than that, she looked okay. Her ego was the most damaged part of her at the moment. She got under the hot spray and let out a deep breath.
It was being here, she decided, being at the track around people in the racing world. Breathing it in, remembering the camaraderie and the joy. The thrill of being back was what had blinded her. She hadn’t realized how much she’d craved that excitement. That feeling of belonging. Of being part of something bigger than herself where the whole team wanted her to do well and were sad when she didn’t. Family. She missed it fiercely.
Her father’s actions had humiliated her, and if she were being honest, Dalton was right, she’d turned tail and run. She’d been fighting with her dad subtly and not so subtly for years, but when he took her out of the race because she would have beaten him, the clouds obscuring her view of his behavior had parted and she’d finally seen him for who he really was. Sadly, he was a small man filled with ego and anger. She was running from that. From the knowledge that he wasn’t the great man everyone said he was. He was just a mean, selfish man who was happy to make money off her until she upstaged him. She wasn’t a coward, but she was sad and worried she was more like him than she could ever admit.
Being back at the track brought everything to the surface for sure. Maybe it was time to take the bull by the horns and deal with it instead of running.
She turned off the water and toweled herself dry. She brushed out her hair and wrapped herself in a fresh towel as she stepped out of the bathroom and walked directly into Dalton’s arms.
“Took you long enough.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“How did you get in?” she demanded.
By rights, Dalton should have been sheepish, but nope. His expression was defiant as if daring her to challenge him. “I asked Jordana to pretend to be you and get the front desk to open the door for her, and then I came in. I told you I didn’t want you to be alone, but then you decided to extend the amount of time we agreed to so you could take a shower. I wasn’t going to leave you on your own.”
“Overstep much?” she snarled. Where did he get off breaking into her room? “I said I would be over, and I would’ve come. Breaking in is way over the top.”
He glared down at her. “I’ve lost a driver and now a mechanic in less than forty-eight hours. Someone tried to push me off the road and someone—who knows, maybe the same asshole—tried to take both of us out with a car, so yeah, maybe I’m a wee bit sensitive. Live with it,” he snarled back.
“Back off. You’re not responsible for me. I can take care of myself.”
Dalton snorted. “Sure. Whatever.” He shook his head. “I’m exhausted. You ready to sleep or what?”
Reversing her earlier consideration, she said, “You can sleep on the sofa.” She pointed at the stairs.
