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“Let’s try again.” He hit the brake release. “Steady now,” he murmured, as she tapped her toe against the gas pedal. The movement was smoother this time, and she took a deep breath, staring out of the window to make sure she kept on the right side of the white lines down the middle of the road.
“You can speed up a little,” Jackson suggested. Lydia nodded, getting used to the feel of the car in her hands. There was something instinctual about driving that she hadn’t anticipated. Like her hands were just the tool, connecting the car to her brain.
“In fifty yards, you’re going to take a left,” Jackson told her.
“I don’t know how to take a left,” she pointed out. “I’ll end up on the sidewalk.”
“We’re in the hills, there aren’t any sidewalks. You can take it as slow as you’d like.” She liked the way he sounded so calm. It made her feel calm, too. Was this how Eddie felt every time he told the dog to sit?
“Move your foot from the gas to the brake.”
Of course she hit it too hard, and they both lurched forward as the car came to a premature stop.
“Next time do it a little smoother.”
“Next time you’re driving.” She let out a grunt of annoyance. “I’m terrible at this.”
“No you’re not. You’re doing fine. When you were driving you almost looked happy.”
“The driving I can do. The stopping, turning, and everything else are awful. It’s so much easier to put my hand out and hail a cab.”
He laughed. “But imagine the freedom of being able to drive wherever you want. Not everywhere you visit must have good public transport. I bet there are places you’d like to go but haven’t visited because you can’t drive there.”
“I’d hire a driver. There really isn’t a problem.” She bit her lip, because he was being so nice, and she felt like a brat. “Sorry. I hate not being good at things.”
“I can understand that. I hate it, too. But driving is one of those things you have to practice to get good at.”
She nodded. “Like sex.”
He coughed out a laugh. “Yeah, I guess it is. At first it kind of feels good, but you don’t know what you’re doing. Then you work out what moves you forward and what doesn’t.”
“And you always have to think about the passenger.” She gave him a side glance. “Whether they’re having a good time, too.”
He looked at her for a moment, taking in her profile. He tucked her hair behind her ear, his finger leaving a trail of heat across her skin. “I’m having a good time,” he told her.
“Yeah.” She nodded. “So am I.” Despite the way the car lurched every time she tried to accelerate or stop. And despite the way her heart hammered against her ribcage when she looked at the edge of the road. Somehow she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but here.
With him.
An hour later, she was getting the hang of taking lefts and rights, and had even managed to make a three-point-turn, though it had turned out to be more of a ten point, not that she was counting.
“Okay, I think you’re ready for the next step,” Jackson said, as she pulled onto the mountain road again.
“What’s that?”
“Let’s head to Captain Burger. It has a drive-thru. Let’s see if you can steer the car around that.”
“Oh no, buddy.” She shook her head firmly. “I’ll drive to the burger place, but I’m not going through the drive thru. That’s all on you.”
“You sure?”
“Yep.” She blew out a breath. Pleased, because she hadn’t made a complete idiot out of herself – and wasn’t that a novel thing – but also because she was ready to stop driving this damn car around the hills. She hadn’t been able to look at him. She was too busy staring out of the windshield for that. And that made her sad, because she really liked looking at Jackson Lewis.
Especially when he was wearing a t-shirt that stretched across his broad shoulders, and revealed just a hint of the muscles she knew were beneath the fabric.
“Okay. Let the lesson end,” he agreed.
She caught his eye. “And let the fun begin.”
