“It’s none of your business.” I’m not getting into the reasons why, despite my love of fast cars, I won’t get involved with racers. Undeterred, he pushes on.
“It was a different story on Saturday night.” And just like that, I’m reduced to a tit-for-tat argument.
“That shouldn’t have happened,” I mumble, and his eyes flash menacingly.
“Bullshit. You want this as much as I do.” He slams his fist down on the desk, and I look nervously out the glass window to see if Aaron is watching, but he’s nowhere to be seen. It’s not that I’m scared of Max, but I don’t need Aaron witnessing this conversation.
“Stop fighting it, Leigh. Your head might tell you no, but your body is telling me a different story.” He jabs his finger at me for emphasis, and I open my mouth to protest, but he straightens.
“I’m going for lunch. If that’s okay with you.” He storms out without waiting for an answer and slams the door behind him. The top of Aaron’s head pops up from under the hood of a car like a little meerkat.
Max passes Beth on her way in, her bright smile and, “Hey,” falls away when she sees his dark expression. He throws one last look at me through the glass and disappears. Beth’s gaze cuts over in my direction, but I duck my head and concentrate on the non-existent paperwork.
Opening the door, she sticks her head in first before pushing it wider. “Hey.”
‘”Hi,” I mumble and continue to pretend I’m engrossed in invoices.
“Do I want to know why Max stormed out of here with a face like thunder?”
“No. Does he ever crack a smile?”
Beth perches on the corner of the desk, and her expression softens. “Actually, he’s not as bad as you think.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s all just a front. Once you get to know him and get past all the attitude, he’s a nice guy.”
“Okay, if you say so.” I hold up my hands for her to stop singing his praises.
“We stopped by last night, but there was no one home.”
On purpose, I avoid making eye contact because she can always tell when I'm lying.
“I went to bed early.”
She arches an eyebrow, and I pretend I'm looking for an invoice.
“Did anything happen with you and Max?”
“No.” I jerk my head up to look at her.
“But he stayed over.”
“Yeah, he wouldn't leave me on my own.”
“Ahh. I thought you'd finally given in to him.”
“Uh-uh, it ain't going to happen.”
“You say that now but…”
“But what? I'm not like the rest of them. I won't just drop my panties because he flashes me a sexy smile.”
“He likes you.”
“Max Morgan likes anything in a skirt. He's a player, and I don't need to get my heart broken by some good-looking bad boy who has slept with half the female population of this town. And he's a racer to boot!”
“You're still not over the ‘I won't date a racer bullshit.’” She actually uses air quotes, which infuriates me further.
“Excuse me, but it's not bullshit. You saw what it did to my family. My uncle and my mom.”
“Yeah, see, I think you use it as an excuse not to get close to Max. You won't date a racer, yet you love racing, fast cars, and speed. You're an adrenaline junkie, but you say you aren’t because then you'd have to admit why you really won't give Max the time of day,” she rushes out, barely stopping for breath.
“Whatever.”
“But you like him, really like him, and you always have, but you're scared. You're only interested in one racer, and if you say you won't date any, then it means you can use that feeble excuse on him.” She continues to glare at me, realizing that her theory is spot on.
In a swift subject change, I ask, “Have you come to meet Aaron for lunch?”
“Yeah. You coming?”
“No.” I sigh. “I’ll stay and keep an eye on things here.” I now wish that I’d never gotten out of bed this morning, but then, I wasn’t expecting to come in and kiss Max and for him to ask me out on a date.
Beth finds Aaron and he sweeps her up in his arms to kiss her. I am thinking how sweet they look when he reaches down and grabs her ass, giving it a good squeeze, to which she squeals loudly and his mouth dips to her ear. No doubt telling her what he’d like to do to her. Shaking my head, I avert my eyes from their lovey-dovey display of affection. Truth be told, I’m a little jealous. Apart from my few encounters with Max every now and then, there has never been anyone who has looked at me the way Aaron looks at Beth. Like the sun rises and sets. As old-fashioned as it is, I want that someone special who puts me first—not a car or a race—but I would never admit that out loud to anyone. I’m perfectly happy with them thinking I’m not interested in all that stuff. Aaron and Beth are perfect for each other, and it’s about time they were engaged, even though I can’t get over how grown up it is.