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My head is shaking, my body too as my mind torments me with the worst that could have happened.
I grip her upper arms. ‘What the hell are you playing at?’
She looks up at me, her brows raised to the heavens. ‘I beg your pardon.’
I squeeze my eyes shut, open them again. ‘Can you quit playing devil’s advocate with your life for just one second?’
‘What on earth are you talking about? I lost control of the back end, that’s all.’
I’m shaking so much my teeth are chattering and I grit them together, breathe through my nose.
‘That’s all? And what if you were out on the road with other drivers and you went and did the same?’
‘I think you’re missing the point of a track day, Valentine.’ She looks to Harry, who is standing in the wings and I know his expression is one ofWhat the fuck?But I don’t care. All I care about is her. What if she really does have a death wish? What if those concerns truly are justified?
‘I don’t give a fuck about the track day, Olivia,’ I say through gritted teeth. ‘I give a fuck about you.’
She eyes me curiously. ‘You do?’
‘Yes.’ It’s so vehement, I’m sure she must get it. She must understand as deeply as I do that I’ve fallen in love with her. Watching that car spin out, feeling the old collide with the new, I know I love her.
‘Then what the hell is your problem? Today’s been fun. That last drive was fun.’
‘That last drive?’ I stare at her incredulously. ‘The whole spinning out?’
‘Hell, yes. Valentine, we’re on a private track, only my car on the road. I was always safe.’
‘Like you were in the Bugatti?’
She’s shaking her head at me, her mouth slack. She can’t defend her position, and neither can she convince me that this is okay.
‘We’re leaving. I’m taking you home.’ I reach for her and she backs away. I hear my words coming back at me.We’re leaving.I’m taking you home.It’s how Nathan would have treated her. How her father would have. But it’s not about that. It’s about my past and the worst that can happen. It’s about her safety, not about my control over her. Ihaveno desire to control her. I only want to keep her safe.
‘I’m not some child you can just cart off.’
‘No, no, you’re not, and that’s not...that’s not how I meant it.’Fuck. ‘I’m sorry, I just... I panicked.’
Her eyes flicker as she frowns, her cheeks burning more. ‘Fine. Let’s go.’
She gives Harry a small smile. ‘Thanks for today, I’ll give you a call next week.’
‘Sure. No probs, Liv.’ He looks to me, his eyes narrowed, his smile grim. ‘Good to meet you, Valentine.’
It’s all I can do to nod before turning away and stalking across the stand to the car park out front. I don’t turn to check she follows me. I trust that she will. She doesn’t want to air any more of ‘us’ in public and neither do I.
It can wait until we’re alone and I’m not shaking, I’m not reliving the past, I’m not brimming over with my impossible love for her...
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Olivia
I’MSOPISSEDoff as I get in his car, pull the seatbelt across me and fold my arms. Stare straight ahead. I don’t care if I look like a sulky teenager. He just embarrassed the hell out of me in front of Harry.
‘You had no right to do that.’
He doesn’t answer, only starts the engine and drives us out, his silence provoking my anger all the more.
‘Did you hear me?’
