Race for the Heart: Book Two in the Racing to Find Love Series

by KT Shears

  ‘No, just me.’

  ‘Just me too,’ Asher said, grinning. Ava looked away. This was so frustrating – they started chatting and then suddenly it was she put a huge wall up, shutting him out. It wasn’t like he was declaring his undying love; he just wanted to make conversation. He looked at Felipe and Elise, laughing and joking. Maybe he’d picked the wrong girl.

  But he looked back at Ava’s stony, stunning face, and knew he hadn’t. It was worth persevering.

  ***

  Ava was beginning to wish she hadn’t been so rash in agreeing to another night with Asher. She really wanted it, but she couldn’t escape the feeling that it would be safer to tell him never to contact her again and move on with her life. Damn Elise for being so wrapped up in that Felipe guy that she hadn’t been able to hurry Ava away and make her see sense. Not that she would have. Elise was definitely in Camp Asher and hade made that clear over the past couple of days, especially with her outburst that afternoon.

  She had a point. Ava had been in a better mood than usual – at least, until she had seen Asher on TV and he had turned up at her door. She felt like some of the tension of the last year had been released, and she had enjoyed feeling wanted by a man again.

  She knew she was being hard work with him tonight. She had to be, though. She couldn’t be like Elise, chatting and joking and letting her guard down. That way led to trouble. That way had led to Shay.

  It was a benefit like this where she had met him. She still remembered what they had eaten – prawn cocktail to start and then lamb for main course. And she still remembered his first words to her.

  ‘This is dull, eh?’

  She had laughed and agreed that yes, it was dull. But it had stopped being dull very quickly as they had chatted. She had discovered he was an ice hockey player, in the NHL, no less, and she found it fascinating. And now here she was again. Except she wouldn’t let the same thing happen. She had learned from Shay, she was smarter now.

  She looked at Asher, as he sat, clearly thinking of something else to say. She felt bad for him, suddenly, that she was being such a bitch. While he was no doubt a playboy philanderer, he hadn’t purported to be anything else – not like Shay, who had pretended he wanted a relationship, marriage. At least Asher had been up-front about what he wanted.

  ‘Tell me about racing,’ she heard herself say. She couldn’t really think of anything she would less like to hear about, but she figured it would get him talking. She remembered how passionate Shay was about his sport.

  ‘Really?’ Asher said, looking suspicious. Ava nodded and he smiled. ‘Alright, then. What do you want to know?’

  ‘How does it work? You said Felipe was your teammate but I didn’t think driving a car needed a team.’

  ‘Racing is weird like that. Basically, we will be competing against each other but we’re on the same team, so sharing mechanics, garages, etc. It’s the rules that every team has to run two drivers.’

  ‘But you and Felipe seem like good friends, doesn’t that make it impossible to compete with each other?’

  ‘Well, it would if we were on one of the teams competing for the championship, I think. But neither of us will win it this year, the team’s in a rebuilding phase, so we just want to do our best and get the cars home safe. Plus it’s impossible to not like Felipe, even though he’s totally bizarre.’

  Ava laughed. This conversation wasn’t as dull as she had thought. She enjoyed hearing Asher talk.

  ‘He is a bit strange,’ she admitted, ‘but Elise seems quite taken with him.’

  Asher shook his head.

  ‘Just warn her that he’s a bit of a wild one,’ he said, sipping a beer.

  ‘And you aren’t?’

  ‘Nope, tame as a kitten, me.’

  Ava raised her eyebrow and Asher grinned at her.

  ‘A kitten with tattoos,’ she pointed out.

  Asher nodded.

  ‘I like my tattoos,’ he said, simply.

  ‘I do too,’ Ava said, and then flushed slightly, but Asher didn’t seem to notice.

  ‘I like your tattoo. What made you decide to get the rose on your back?’

  Ava sighed and tapped her fingers lightly on the table.

  ‘It’s in memory of my sister, Rose. She died a few years ago. I wanted something to remind me of her, so I got the tattoo.’

  She was surprised when Asher put his hand on hers.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, and he really sounded it.

  Ava smiled at him.

  ‘Thanks. It was a while ago now, I can think of it without getting too sad.’

  Asher seemed to be thinking for a moment. She was conscious of his hand still on hers, his thumb almost imperceptibly stroking the back of her hand. It gave her goosebumps.

  ‘Want to get out of here?’

  Chapter seven

  Asher held Ava in his arms as she slept. He was scared to move in case he woke her up and she kicked him out. He wasn’t ready for it to end, not yet. The sex had been amazing, again. Even more intense than the first time. They’d done it twice, too. His groin twitched as he thought of it, and he was tempted to wake her up and see if she wanted to go at it again. But then he thought she would probably ask him to leave. He thought she had been about to when she had fallen asleep.

  His arm was numb and tried to shift it, but stopped when she stirred and muttered something. Fine, he would just do without that arm for a while. You could drive a Formula One car with one arm, right? He wondered whether Felipe had sealed the deal with Elise. They had seemed pretty cosy when he and Ava left. How did that guy manage to attract so many good-looking women?

  Asher still couldn’t quite believe he had managed to talk Ava round. She had seemed so stony cold at first. But as they had talked, she had seemed to loosen up, and by the time they got back to her apartment, she was a lot more relaxed. They had actually chatted for a bit as they lay in bed after, until she had fallen asleep.

  She stirred again and he took the chance to withdraw his arm from underneath her. She turned onto her side and Asher readjusted himself so she was nestled into his body. He traced the shape of her tattoo on her back lightly with a finger. He thought about her sister, Rose. He could tell that they had been close. He couldn’t imagine what it was like to lose a sibling – even thinking about losing Devlin made his throat constrict, and he and Devlin didn’t even like each other. He wondered if that was why she put walls up, because she was scared of losing someone again.

  Thinking of Devlin, Asher wondered if he had told their mom and dad that Flick had left him yet. Probably not – they’d probably be left to find it out in gossip magazines or some seedy website. His mom seemed to get most of her information about Devlin from the internet these days. He thought that was incredibly sad.

  He looked down at Ava again and, to his surprise, found himself kissing her lightly on the head. Woah, what was he doing? That was girlfriend stuff. He shook his head at himself. This was just sex, he had said it, and she had said it too. Plus he barely knew her, and she hadn’t exactly been that keen to chat. He needed to quit getting carried away.

  His mind wandered as he lay there, ahead to the upcoming season. The first race was in three weeks – Australia. He was excited – he had been waiting for this moment since he was a kid. He had called his parents after his meeting with Nigel Hollingsworth to tell them the news. His mom had squealed down the phone and he could hear the pride in his dad’s voice. They hadn’t asked him about Devlin, not wanting to take the shine off it for him, probably.

  Asher felt his eyes closing and he wrapped his arm around Ava’s warm body as he drifted off to sleep.

  ***

  Ava woke up with a start. She was overheating, and as she came to her senses, she realised it was because there was a man cuddling her. She sat bolt upright. Oh God, she had fallen asleep. She glanced at the clock – it was 9am. Thank God it was a Saturday, at least. How could she have fallen asleep and let Asher stay? She looked down at him, but h
e was still fast asleep. What should she do? She had intended to kick him out after they had sex, but then they had started chatting, and she’d actually enjoyed it. Then she must have fallen asleep. She shook her head, annoyed at herself. This kind of thing was exactly what she had been trying to avoid when she had laid down the rules last night. He should have had the decency to take himself home when she fell asleep, not put his arms round her and fall asleep himself. That wasn’t one-night-stand behaviour, hadn’t he been listening?

  She slid out of bed, trying not to wake him. There didn’t seem to be much fear of that – he was sleeping like the dead. She picked her phone up off the nightstand and went into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Elise, it’s Ava.’

  ‘Ooh Ava, how was it? Did you lick him then kick him?’ Elise laughed at her own stupid joke.

  ‘He’s still here,’ Ava hissed, desperately.

  ‘Hey, good for you,’ Elise said, and then Ava heard something in the background.

  ‘Do you have someone there?’ she asked, suspiciously.

  ‘Maybe…’ Elise said, sounding sheepish.

  ‘Oh my God, you went home with that Felipe guy?’

  ‘Well, you can’t really judge,’ Elise pointed out. Fair point, Ava thought. ‘Look, I have to go, Felipe is making pancakes.’ And with that, Elise hung up.

  Ava was reeling. Pancakes? What the hell was going on?

  She unlocked the bathroom door and poked her head out. Asher was still fast asleep, and he had kicked the covers off him. Oh my. Was it wrong to stand there and ogle? Her mouth watered, and she was sure it wasn’t the thought of pancakes. Food would be good, though. And coffee. She looked at Asher again. God she hoped he didn’t get the wrong idea.

  ***

  Asher woke up to the smell of food. He stretched out in the bed, wincing at the pain in his arm.

  ‘You’re awake at last, then.’

  He lifted his head and saw Ava sitting on the edge of the bed, smirking at him.

  ‘What time is it?’

  ‘About 10. You sleep like a log.’

  Asher rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed.

  ‘You let me stay here all night?’ he asked, grinning at her.

  ‘I fell asleep,’ Ava said, defensively. ‘And if you were a true gentleman, you would have taken yourself home.’

  ‘I thought true gentlemen would stay the night?’ Asher said, confused. This woman messed with his mind.

  ‘Not in my world,’ she said, and stood up. ‘I’m making breakfast and there’s coffee if you want some.’ Seeing the smile on Asher’s face she said, ‘Don’t get any ideas – you have your breakfast and then you leave, capiche?’

  ‘Yes ma’am,’ Asher said, watching her ass sway as she left the room.

  He knew he was growing on her. He stretched and got to his feet, ferreting around on the floor to find his boxers and a t-shirt. They’d flung each other’s clothes off when they had got home, and he eventually found his boxers hanging on a lamp. He grinned to himself as he remembered the way Ava had ripped them off.

  He stuck his head out of the door and followed the smell of food. Wow, she was putting on a real spread.

  ‘This smells good,’ he said, taking a seat on the sofa in the open-plan living room/kitchen area.

  ‘It’s nothing special, just sausages, eggs, bacon, toast, mushrooms…actually it is pretty special,’ Ava said, and Asher laughed. ‘So, my friend went home with your friend last night.’

  ‘Felipe went home with Elise?’

  Ava nodded and stared at him, accusingly, like she wanted Asher to apologise. He shrugged.

  'Good for them, I guess,’ he said. Ava narrowed her eyes at him.

  ‘He better not break her heart,’ she said, wagging a finger at him.

  Asher raised his eyebrow.

  ‘Hey I’ve only known the dude a couple of weeks, it’s not my fault if he goes around breaking hearts.’

  ‘It is, you’re the one who brought him to the benefit last night.’

  That was true. He was pretty sure Felipe was a love ‘em and leave ‘em kind of guy though, but he didn’t dare say that to Ava. Not when she was holding a frying pan.

  ‘I’m sure they’re both old enough to sort it out for themselves.’

  Ava let out a huffing noise and Asher thought he had better change the subject.

  ‘What are you doing tonight?’ he asked, getting up to pour himself a cup of coffee. ‘Where are your cups?’

  ‘That cupboard there,’ Ava pointed. ‘And tonight I have a date with my pyjamas.’

  Asher pulled a face.

  ‘On a Saturday night?’

  Ava shrugged, turning the bacon over in the frying pan.

  ‘Sorry, should I be out partying with models and drinking champagne out of trophies?’

  Asher smiled. She really was a hard-ass. She couldn’t spend a Saturday night in her pyjamas though, that was such a waste.

  ‘Come to dinner with me,’ he said.

  Ava whipped round, glaring at him.

  ‘Nuh uh,’ she said, shaking her head fiercely. ‘We are not doing that. Didn’t you listen to what I said last night? This is sex, nothing more, nothing less.’

  Asher shrugged languidly. Fine, it was no big deal to him.

  ‘Come on,’ Ava said, dishing out breakfast on a plate. ‘Eat up and get out.’ She winked at him.

  Asher grinned as he dug in.

  ***

  Ava lay snuggled up in her pyjamas under a cover on the sofa. Her body ached from the previous night’s activities – but a pleasant ache; an ache that reminded her she had had a good time. She had finally got rid of Asher after breakfast – he had lingered, trying to make conversation, but eventually she had pointed to the door and told him to leave. He hadn’t gone without taking her phone number, though – ‘Just so we can arrange another booty call’.

  She shouldn’t have fallen asleep and let him stay the night, that was a rookie mistake. It had been a long time since she had woke up in a man’s arms, though, and she couldn’t deny it had felt nice. His arms were so muscular and strong, and she had felt safe. For a second, anyway. Then she had panicked that the whole thing felt way too intimate. Which was a bit odd, considering his tongue had been inside her just hours earlier.

  She had enjoyed breakfast, too. She didn’t get to cook for anyone except herself these days, or Elise on the odd occasions she came round to dinner, so it was nice to see someone appreciate something she had made. He had definitely appreciated it, clearing his plate and then having seconds. Ava had panicked, though, when she realised it was like they were a couple. So she’d asked him to leave, pretty abruptly. She regretted being so harsh with him. She had seen confusion flash on his face as he gathered up his things, and she had only given him her phone number because she felt bad. Not that he would use it after she had been a bitch. For some reason, the thought of not seeing him again suddenly made her very miserable, and she buried herself under her cover and switched on the TV.

  Chapter eight

  Asher threw the car round one of the tight corners of the test track, gripping the wheel hard. Felipe was up ahead a bit, and Asher was determined to record some better times than his teammate. Felipe had been particularly annoying that afternoon, crowing about his conquest over Elise.

  ‘I tell you man, she not like most women I sleep with,’ Felipe had said, nodding at Asher sagely. ‘I spend two nights there since.’

  ‘Two nights?’ Asher had thought about the way Ava had rushed him out the door. Damn, what was Felipe doing right that he wasn’t?

  ‘Uh huh,’ Felipe had said, grinning. ‘And I spend tonight there too. Plus I think I take her on holiday before season.’

  ‘Are you nuts, man? You barely know her.’ Asher barely knew Ava, either, but why did he feel like he did? He knew he was jealous of Felipe, but he couldn’t help it.

  Felipe had shrugged.

  ‘We talk a lot,�
� he said, simply. And then it had been time to change into their race suits and get out on the track. All Asher’s previous relationships had been mainly sex-based, and he felt envious of Felipe for obviously getting to know his girl a bit better. He had tried, with Ava, but she kept shutting him down; shutting him out. He wasn’t looking for a relationship, per se, but couldn’t they have fun in bed and out of bed?

  She was on his mind as he flung his car around the track, and he grimaced when he saw Felipe pass him, giving him the finger out the side of the car. He needed to get her out of her head and concentrate on testing. It was only two weeks until the first race of the season – he was running out of time. He needed to at least be competitive, and he had set himself the goal of at least one podium finish. He knew that was ambitious, but his goals always were. Making Ava like him, now that was ambitious, too.

  After he had parked up and got out of the car, he picked up his cell phone. He had taken her number on Saturday morning – she had given it grudgingly, he sensed, but she had given it – and he had toyed with calling or sending her a text pretty much every day since. Hearing about Felipe’s burgeoning love life had pushed him over the edge, and he typed out a message.

  ‘Hey, gorgeous. It’s Asher – remember me? Tall, handsome, tattoos, likes breakfast and your body? Are you around tonight?’ He debated with putting a kiss at the end, but he could just see Ava glaring at it, so he didn’t. He pressed the button and put his phone down, heading in for a shower. Racing sure made you sweat.

  When he emerged, dressed in a clean t-shirt and ripped jeans, he headed straight for his phone again. To his surprise, Ava had actually replied. It wasn’t exactly warm and friendly, but it was a reply.