Just as Liam was getting up to leave, he received another text.
You left yet? Most everyone is here. Can’t work all day.
Liam checked the time on his phone. It was only 2:30 p.m. Saying he’d been working all day was a stretch even for Brian, especially when he usually worked well into the evening.
I wonder if she is there. “Damn it.” The desire to see her was strong, and Liam couldn’t seem to control it. That was reason enough for him to go to the hotel instead of Georgia’s. It was most definitely for the best. Two things Liam hated—being out of his element and not being in control. There was no need to complicate further an already complicated situation.
Liam packed up his belongings. On his way out, he locked and closed the door to Brian’s office. For the most part, the garage was quiet as he walked down the stairs. There were only a few construction workers milling about, some maintenance team members, and of course, the newly installed full-time security.
“Shit.” Liam stopped mid-stride. He was on his way to the parking lot when he remembered he didn’t have a car.
“What’s wrong?”
Liam looked up and came face-to-face with the one person he had hoped to avoid. Colby James. How ironic. He couldn’t have scripted it any better. Liam chuckled to himself as he made his way down the stairs. “I’m uh . . . kind of stranded. I don’t have a car.”
He made Colby nervous. She tried to disguise it with a laugh. “That’s actually kind of funny considering where you are.” She looked around the garage. “There are cars everywhere.”
Liam couldn’t agree more. Feeling silly, he used his thumb to scratch the side of his head. “Brian and I rode in together. I forgot that our driver took him over to Georgia’s.”
“Ah. Got it.”
He could only imagine what she was thinking, more than likely rich people problems. Liam quickly changed the subject as he moved closer to her. “You didn’t go to the restaurant?” Liam asked innocently as if that hadn’t been the burning question on his mind.
Unknowingly, Colby had been doing the same as Liam. She figured he would be at Georgia’s with Brian and had hoped to avoid him at all costs. It was why she had remained at the garage. But no. The spirits were conspiring against her. “I’ll probably head over a little later. I just had a few things I wanted to do around here first.”
Liam glanced at his phone to check the time. “They’ll probably be heading home soon.”
Colby raised a brow. “You don’t know much about small towns, do you?”
There was a slight tilt to his head. “Can’t say that I do.”
“There is literally nothing to do around here. Georgia’s is the spot for all social activity, well, except for that fancy hotel where you’re staying, but people only go there for special occasions and events. That means, if Brian is buying drinks, they’ll be at Georgia’s a few more hours. I’ll get there in just enough time to put in an appearance and leave.”
“Is that what you did last night?”
Colby’s smile faltered. She wasn’t expecting that question. “That was different.”
Liam figured it probably wasn’t but decided not to push. “If you don’t like going to Georgia’s, what do you like to do?”
Colby turned around in a circle and held her arms out wide. “I’m doing it.”
“Here? The garage? It’s where you most want to be?”
“It’s where I feel the most at home. It’s a place where I can be myself. I don’t have to pretend for anyone.”
“Do you do that often?”
“What?”
“Pretend.”
Colby wasn’t sure why she felt compelled to answer truthfully. “I did for a while, but not anymore.”
“Why?” Liam should have left as soon as he realized Colby and he were sharing the same space. But he couldn’t seem to keep his curiosity about her to himself.
Colby placed her hand on her hip. “Is that a real question?”
“Yeah. It is.” Liam genuinely wanted to know.
“Well, let’s see. I just left a career that is predicated on creating the reality you want, where there are alternative facts, and fake news is real. For me, every day was full of pretending. So, I decided to leave it all behind and follow my heart, hoping it would be freeing—even though I knew I’d be running face-first into not just a wall but a concrete box.”
“So, why do it?”
“I tried. But it’s like asking me to stop breathing. I’m passionate about racing even though it has all but shunned people like me. So, I’m here when everyone else is either at home or someplace else. I can’t just be a driver or a mechanic. I have to know everything. Therefore, I practice. I study. I’m always in a continuous state of learning. If I want any shot to really participate in any capacity, I can’t just be mediocre. I have to excel. Sad, actually. But what’s a woman to do if she doesn’t want to give up on her dreams.”
“Is that why you went to MIT?”
Colby rolled her eyes. “Ah, you had me investigated.”
Liam came to recognize that when the space between Colby’s eyes crinkled, it was actually the look of annoyance on her face. He thought it was sexy as hell.
“All you had to do was ask. I would have told you almost anything you wanted to know.”
“It’s the almost part that is the most intriguing.” Liam repeated his question. “So, is that why you went to MIT?”
“I guess that is why you’re a gazillionaire. You seem doggedly determined.”
“Only when I see something I really want.”
The deeply intense way he was looking at her, Colby couldn’t tell if he was referring to their conversation or her. She cleared her throat. “Yes, that’s part of the reason I went to MIT. If I wanted to be the best, I needed to go to the best schools.” She wasn’t about to admit that, at the time, she also just wanted to get as far away from home as possible.
Liam was falling down a rabbit hole but couldn’t help himself. He glanced away. “What is it about cars and driving that you love so much?”
Colby was relieved he’d turned his attention to something else. The energy between them was charged. She attempted to lighten it. “You ask a lot of questions,” she said jokingly.
Liam was battling to keep himself in check too. He played it cool. “I’m a curious sort of guy.”
“Nosy is more like it.” She laughed. “Well, I grew up here, and some of my best memories happened right in this garage. My first kiss was right over there.” She pointed toward the hallway leading to the locker room. “My first breakup happened in the same spot.” Her dark eyes sparkled wistfully. “As far as my love of driving, that’s a family thing. But when I’m behind the wheel, it’s like I’m flying. Nothing can touch me there. There isn’t any pain or heartache or anything. It’s just pure bliss.”
He loved how animated Colby became when she spoke about her love of driving. Liam simply enjoyed watching her talk. “One day, you’ll have to take me on the track. I would love to experience that magic through your eyes.”
She wiggled her eyebrows up and down. “That. Is. A. Great. Idea! I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.”
“Think of what?”
“I’m taking you out on the track. It’ll loosen you up.”
“I’m pretty loose,” Liam said.
“In an uptight kind of way, I guess.” Colby tried to withhold a smile. “I bet you’ve never driven over eighty mph.”
“You would be wrong.”
She didn’t believe him for a second. “When?”
“You’d be surprised at how fast a private plane can go.” Liam couldn’t remember a time he’d ever felt this light-hearted.
Playfully, Colby pushed his shoulder. “That is not the same. I’m taking you out there. There is an extra fire suit in the men’s locker room. Go get dressed. I’ll meet you back here in fifteen minutes.”
Chapter 15
Colby pulled the car out and drove it arou
nd to the front of the building. After a few minutes of waiting, she slid out and leaned up against the driver’s side. What in God’s name is taking him so long? Colby folded her arms across her chest as she waited impatiently.
She waited for another five minutes before Liam emerged from the building. It was like something out of a movie. Colby blinked a few times to clear her vision, but it was as if the man was walking in slow motion. The glint of the sun hit at just the right angle, surrounding him in a golden halo.
He wore an old Daughtry Racing fire suit. Colby had always been a sucker for a man in a uniform. Damn. Liam already looked like a sexy treat, but in that outfit, he was downright scrumptious. Her lips parted as he stole the breath from her body. Colby sucked in her bottom lip to keep it from dropping. Liam had no idea that her heart rate had just accelerated outside of its normal levels.
He didn’t need to know.
“This thing is a little tight.” Liam’s head was down as he walked toward her, fidgeting and pulling at the uniform.
Colby swallowed. She slowly inhaled to steady her breathing before speaking. It didn’t matter. She still sounded a little breathless. “You won’t be in it long.” She quickly amended her statement as his baby blues looked up into hers. “I mean, we’re only going to be on the track long enough for you to know what a little piece of heaven feels like.”
Liam was a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them. Even if the desire in her voice hadn’t betrayed her, Colby’s eyes told the entire story. It was crystal clear that she was attracted to him.
Having that knowledge was dangerous.
Colby pushed herself off the car then turned to lean inside the window to grab his helmet off the seat before taking tentative steps toward him.
Again, their eyes locked and held. Liam couldn’t turn away even if he wanted to. He was reasonably sure she couldn’t either.
Colby’s mouth went dry. She ran her tongue along her lower lip. That very act could also prove dangerous.
Liam followed the movement. It was then that he realized his own gaze had been left unguarded. His eyes probably mirrored Colby’s and most likely revealed more than he wanted them to.
“You’ll need this.” Colby’s voice was raspy as she lifted the racing helmet.
When he reached out to take the headgear out of her hands, the tips of Liam’s fingers touched hers. Colby felt as if she’d been singed, not only by his touch but by the raw and unvarnished attraction between them.
For all of about three seconds, they stood frozen in time until Colby finally broke eye contact. Girl! What are you doing? Be smart. You’ve worked too hard to get to this point to throw it all away. Colby took a step back. She cleared her throat. “We should probably get going. You have to climb in through the window. Doors to stock cars don’t open.”
Her insides screamed, Why, Lord? Why would you have me be attracted to this man?! Quickly, Colby got into the car.
Whatever she was feeling, Liam was feeling it too. He had been struck hard by the force of nature that was Colby James. This is insane, he thought. Liam barely knew her. His reaction to Colby did not make sense. It was so strong that it had him doing the opposite of what he knew he should be doing.
Brian’s words from earlier taunted him. It’s a feeling unlike any other, and sometimes, it just kinda falls on you. You don’t really have a choice in the matter. I mean, you get to choose whether you act on it or not, but you don’t get to choose who you love.
Bullshit, Liam thought. He refused to believe that. Colby was a beautiful woman, and he was attracted to her. She apparently felt the same way. It was sexual chemistry 101. That was the simple explanation for what had just occurred. Then why haven’t you felt this way about other women you’ve been sexually attracted to?
Liam didn’t have an answer, but he didn’t believe in love at first sight. He just didn’t. However, Brian was right about one thing, Liam had to make a decision. It all boiled down to would he act on his desire.
He shouldn’t. That was a fact. But would he? He wasn’t so sure. For now, Liam would pack it all away into the back of his mind and focus on what was in front of him—the track.
Quietly, Liam slid inside the car.
“Are you ready for the ride of your life?” Colby wouldn’t look at him, and her voice was high-pitched. She was going to pretend that whatever the hell happened a few seconds ago hadn’t. Smart. They both knew it was for the best.
What if Colby is the ride of your life? The words popped into Liam’s mind. Something told him to just go with it. But the disciplined man he was counseled against it. Liam didn’t know why he was making a big deal out of this. It wasn’t like their outing was a date. He was overanalyzing something that ultimately amounted to nothing. This should be easy. Just a few laps around the track. “Let’s do it.” The calmness of Liam’s response didn’t convey the warring thoughts within him.
“Great. But . . . before we go, safety first. You’ve got to buckle up.” Without thinking, Colby stretched her body across Liam’s chest to pull down his harness. She stilled. There was a slight hitch in her breath as her breasts brushed up against a hard-muscled wall. “Sorry. I . . . um . . . need to get the rest of the harness.” Colby blushed as she cleared her throat. “The other two straps are between your legs.”
She was adorable. Liam wiggled his brows up and down. “Feel free to get those if you want.”
“I bet you would.” Colby smirked. “It would be better if you handed them to me.”
Liam did as he was asked and handed Colby the straps. She made quick work of getting him strapped in. Colby ignored the sexual tension between them. “These things can seem a little complicated if you’ve never used one.”
His voice was husky. “I might need you to show me a few more times.”
Colby stole a quick peek at him. There was desire in his eyes, but it was now fused with a bit of humor.
Colby didn’t find this situation the least bit humorous. She refused to acknowledge anything. Colby started the engine and placed her hands on the steering wheel. She kept her eyes focused on the road as she drove out of the parking lot and across the street to the track. When they arrived, Colby let the car idle at the starting line.
She couldn’t drive like this.
The tension between them was thick. She sighed heavily. “Okay, look. Let’s get this elephant out of the stock car. I don’t know exactly what’s going on right now.”
Liam couldn’t help himself. The corner of his lips edged up in a cocky smile. “We’re calling sexual tension an elephant?” He was so used to seeing Colby focused and driven, sometimes even angry, but never flustered. He made her flustered, and something inside of him liked the idea of that.
Colby wasn’t expecting Liam to be so blunt. Since he decided to go there, she figured she might as well tackle this situation head-on. Slowly, Colby turned to face him. “A few minutes ago, you looked at me like,” Colby searched for the right words, “like you wanted me.”
“I do,” he said it matter-of-fact. His response surprised even him—not that he’d wanted Colby—but more that he’d said it out loud, considering he was still having an inner battle about it. Apparently, his subconscious had decided for him.
Colby swallowed. “Well, it can’t happen.”
She was telling him that he couldn’t have her. That was a first, and it kind of irked him. “Why not?” Liam had a list of reasons a mile long of why they shouldn’t get involved but wanted to hear hers.
“The obvious is because you’re my boss’s brother.” Colby held his gaze then slowly exhaled. Might as well go full throttle. “Look, owning Lockwood Racing might just be a game or even a hobby for you and Brian, but this is my life. I’ve already explained to you how hard I’ve had to work to be respected. Others are allowed to do whatever they want without extra scrutiny, but not me.” Colby put her index and forefinger together but not enough to touch. “I’m this close to realizing my dreams.” She almost sounded despe
rate.
She was giving Liam a glance into who she was, and he had a feeling that wasn’t something Colby did easily or very often.
“I still can’t believe that I’m going to drive for Lockwood Racing.” She flirted around with a smile. “I’m actually going to have a shot at—” Her words broke off. Colby would never tell anyone the other reason it was so important to get on the biggest stage in NASCAR.
Liam wondered what she was going to say. Instead of interrupting to ask, he continued to listen intently.
“Have you ever heard of Tia Norfleet?”
“I can’t say that I have.”
“She was a controversial figure in NASCAR, but she was also the first African American woman to have a chance at racing in a major series. She got her NASCAR license in 2004. Two-thousand and FOUR!” Colby shook her head in disgust. “Tia never got a chance to drive even one lap around a course in a major. The good old boys made sure of it. It was a witch-hunt. And the smear campaign was unbelievable. It was ridiculous the way they slandered that woman’s name and pushed her completely out of racing.”
Liam lived in America. He wasn’t clueless about sexism or racism, but he hadn’t seen how it actually affected the lives of people who were hurt by it up close—until now.
“In two weeks, I will have a chance to do what no other person like me has done. I am going to drive in the Atlanta Cup. Do you know what that means? And not just to me, but so many other women whose dreams I carry?”
His admiration for Colby went up tenfold. Then the guilt of knowing she was not going to drive in that race hit him like a ton of bricks.
“That means . . . I can’t fuck it up. I have to be perfect. The scrutiny I’ll be under will probably be greater than anything I can imagine.”
He agreed.
“When people start digging, I want it to be crystal clear that I earned my spot on the track and not on my back. No matter how much I might want to explore things, I can’t sleep with my boss’s brother.”
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