AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Even though it’s tempting to mention Miles and all the memories that flood to the surface, I fight the urge. A tentative peace has settled over us, and I’m loath to disturb it.
“You’ll be fine,” I repeat. “I’ll be beside you the entire time.”
“All right.” With a jerk of the handle, she steps outside the vehicle, and we meet near the front of the hood.
Our feet stall as our eyes fasten. My fingers slip beneath her chin to tilt it upward until she’s forced to hold my gaze.
That’s all it takes for the air that surrounds us to shift.
To intensify with pent-up emotion.
“I won’t let anything happen to you.” There’s a beat of silence. “Not again.”
She sucks in a lungful of air before taking a step in retreat and slipping around me.
I do the same, settling next to her as the engine continues to idle.
Her hand flutters over the stick before settling on it. As it does, her breathing picks up speed as if her nerves are already jangled. If I weren’t so finely attuned to her presence, I probably wouldn’t have noticed the slight uptick in respiration.
This is how it’s always been between us.
Maybe I don’t know everything, but I can still read her.
There’s something comforting about the realization.
She squeezes her eyes tightly closed. Her chest rises as she draws in a deep breath and holds it captive before releasing it back into the atmosphere.
I fucking hate that she carries around these mental scars from the accident. That it damaged her not only on the outside but inward as well. There’s no way I’ll ever be able to forgive myself for putting her through this.
I swivel toward her. “We can wait until you feel more ready. A week. Two weeks. A month. It doesn’t have to be tonight.”
It’s so tempting to reach out and slide my fingers over her cheek.
Instead, I keep my hands to myself.
I’m terrified of pushing for too much, too soon, and scaring her away. I can’t go back to a lonely life she’s not a part of.
I spent almost five years like that and refuse to do it any longer.
She might not understand that everything changed between us yesterday, but I do. There’s no turning back.
Her eyes spring open as she shakes her head. “No. I won’t give them a reason to sell the Porsche.”
“Then we’ll take it nice and slow.”
She jerks her chin into a tight nod.
When she remains motionless, I lay my hand over her smaller one on the stick before giving it a comforting squeeze. When she doesn’t make a move to dislodge it, I say softly, “I’m going to talk you through it.”
Her gaze flickers in my direction for just a second or two. “All right.”
A mixture of relief and gratitude seeps into her expression, and it fills me with hope. There are flickers of our past within it.
“The first thing you need to do is familiarize yourself with the clutch, brake and accelerator.”
She releases another steady breath before the engine revs.
“See? You found the accelerator. Next time, when you start the engine, you’ll press the clutch all the way down.”
