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Her head snapped around so fast, any mere mortal could have gotten whiplash. Her eyes rounded with surprise, her mouth hanging slightly open, he wondered if he’d said the wrong thing. “You’d let me drive your Porsche?”
He shifted his gaze from her to his car and back. “Can you drive a stick?”
Her head bobbed.
“Then yes.”
Once again her eyes rounded and a slow smile stretched across her face. Extending her arm, she shook her head ever so slightly. “You are an enigma, Mr. Gold.”
“Why is that?” He dropped the keys into the palm of her hand.
“For a woman, a car is nothing more than transportation. But for a man, a sports car like this ranges anywhere from his pride and joy to his baby girl. Few men would let anybody drive their treasure. Let’s just say, you surprise me.”
“Baby girl?”
Curling her fingers around the keys, she practically bounced around the car to the driver door. “Everyone knows cars are named after women. Expensive cars after very beautiful women.”
There was no resisting the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth. He might just have to rename the car Eve.
In only a matter of moments, Eve was buckled in and before he could explain the quirks of the car, she’d shifted gears and took off at speeds even he wouldn’t have considered. Any moment he expected them to be airborne and was very thankful the drive was a straight shot or else they just might have found themselves taking the curves on two wheels. “Are we running late?”
Eve shook her head.
“Then there’s no hurry?”
“None.” At least she kept two hands on the wheel and her eyes on the road.
“So, we don’t need to rush?” If it didn’t make him feel like his mother, he’d be digging his nails into the dashboard for dear life.
Her gaze left the road and she drilled him with an incredulous glare. “It’s a Porsche.”
That much he knew.
“These babies were meant to be pushed.” Her attention returned to the road ahead. With a touch as gentle as a mama caressing her newborn babe, Eve ran her fingers over the dash and sweetly muttered, “Don’t you let the scaredy-cat man hurt your feelings.”
“Scaredy-cat?” The urge to steal the keys and show her exactly what his car could do was surprisingly strong.
“Every now and again, a little speed on the open road is good for the soul.”
He couldn’t argue with her, but it abruptly occurred to him that the need for speed might be a genetic thing. After all, the Baron name was well known in both the auto racing circuit and the sailing circuit. Apparently, the lack of a sense of mortality, and the ability to travel in the fast lane was not limited to the male line of the Baron clan.
Chapter Five
Every car that Eve had ever owned had been practical. She’d learned to drive on her grandfather’s lap at the age of eight. Or was it nine? Well, most people might not consider that learning to actually drive. There were so many roads on the ranch that her grandfather would sit her on his lap and let her steer while he worked the pedals. By the time she was actually old enough to get her permit, handling the old Jeep was easy. On her 16th birthday her dad gifted her a Mustang. The car looked great. Inside she was snug as a bug in a rug. But she never tested what the horsepower under the hood could do. By the time she graduated college, she’d upgraded to a Lexus SUV. Not exactly designed for speed. Since then, she’d been through two more cars, but always a practical vehicle with plenty of cargo space.
Although her brother Kyle had let her drive his Aston Martin the time he’d broken his wrist, she’d known better than to push the limits on the car. It wasn’t usual for her to crave speed like her brother, but today, the roar of the Porsche engine and the almost cockpit like design of the interior of the car proved to be irresistible to her dormant lead foot. “This baby really hugs the road.”
“Thank heavens for that.” Jared winked at her. Now that he was no longer digging his nails into the dashboard, he actually seemed to be comfortable with her driving skills.
At least she thought that’s what the wink was for. “I can see why my brother loves his high-performance cars.”
“A fine-tuned car is like a master’s musical instrument. They need to be played to the fullest and babied at the same time.”
She reached the end of Baron land, took the turn on the other side of the archway a little faster than she probably should have, but she simply loved how well the car handled. On the main road leading back to town, she eased up on the gas pedal and noticed the tension in Jared’s shoulders ease. “I’m sorry, I probably shouldn’t have done that.”
“Done what? Drive like Mario Andretti or shave five years off my life expectancy?” The words were harsh, but the tone was playful and the smile on his face told her that he wasn’t upset with her. As a matter of fact, if she was reading the sparkle in his eyes correctly, she had a feeling he actually enjoyed being taken for one heck of a short ride.
Lips pressed tightly together, she bit back a laugh. “Both maybe.”
