“When?”
“Week from Saturday.”
“We’ll be ready,” I assure him in a voice that is much steadier than the way I’m feeling right now.
Zach nods as if contemplating the whole deal. Beady eyes run down the length of me, and I resist the urge to shiver as a wave of revulsion washes over me. I just want him out of the garage.
“Nice doing business with you, Leigh.” He casts a look over at Max and Aaron before jerking his head in the direction of the door. Tate follows him out.
It isn’t until I watch his taillights disappear out of the parking lot that I sink against the hood of the nearest car. All adrenaline has abandoned me, and now I start to freak out.
What the fuck have I gotten myself into?
“Zach Anderson is mean.” Aaron is the first one to round on me and give me a piece of his mind. “What the fuck have you done?” His voice sounds muffled, and I can’t hear him past the pounding of my heartbeat in my ears.
“This isn’t like the time I goaded you into racing,” Max shouts. “This is serious shit.”
“What else was I supposed to do? We can’t lose the garage. We’d all lose our jobs,” I shout back at him.
“Why do you have to be the one to race?” Max’s face is flushed with anger as he starts to pace back and forth. Normally, he’s so calm. I’m not used to seeing him freak out like this. “I’ll race in your place.”
“No way.” My stomach drops, and fear claws at my heart. There is no way he is putting himself in any kind of danger.
“What about Aaron?” Now he is clutching at straws. There is no way I’d let anything happen to my cousin, either.
“He’s getting married,” I remind him, and besides, Beth would kill me.
“Beth’s pregnant,” he says in a quiet voice and that shuts us up. We turn and stare at him, eyes bugging out in disbelief.
“For fuck’s sake, Aaron.” I slap him on the shoulder. I’ll digest that news later, but for now, I can only focus on one problem at a time. “Do you not think I can do it, is that it?” I spin round to face him and now Max is bearing the brunt of my wrath.
“No, I know you can do it, but you hate racing. You wouldn’t date me because I’m a racer, but here you are changing the rules.”
“It’s one race. Will you still date me if I race?”
“Of course.”
“So, what’s the problem?”
He scrubs his hand wearily down his face and over his stubbled chin. “You can be so dense sometimes.”
“What did you just say?” My voice is dangerously low as I square up to him, hands fisted on my hips.
Aaron takes a step closer, pressing his hands between us. “Children.”
“Butt out,” we shout at the same time, never taking our angry gazes off each other. With a huff, he takes a step back.
“Can’t you see? It doesn’t matter if you race or not. It won’t change the fact that I fucking love you, but you’re going against everything you believe in.”
“You love me?” My eyebrows rise as I fixate on those three little words.
“Yes, you crazy woman. I love you, I always have.” His arms wrap around my waist, and he tugs me into his mouth-watering body. My hands move to his chest; one palm rests above his heart that is hammering in his chest.
“Racing tore my family apart, but if I don’t race, we’ll lose the garage.”
“And I can’t lose you.” I see a flicker of fear in his eyes, but if anything, it makes me feel stronger. I can do this. If Max has my back, I can do this.
“You won’t.” I reach up and kiss him square on the lips. My fingers curl in the material of his t-shirt while his hands sweep up my back and into my hair. Our kiss lingers on and I forget that Aaron is still standing there, awkwardly, trying not to look at us.
“Erm. As touching as this is, we’ve got work to do.”
“I know,” Max murmurs against my lips as our kiss softens but doesn’t stop.
“You’re not off the hook,” I warn Aaron, giving Max one final kiss before I pull back and focus what is left of my attention on him. “What were you two thinking?” I ask, referring to his earlier bombshell.
“We’re getting married.”
“I know but do you not want some time together before you have a child? And where are you going to live?”
“Leigh,” Max interrupts quietly, but I’m on a roll and don’t register the warning look he flashes me.
“Honestly, I can’t leave any of you without you getting into some kind of trouble. Look at my dad and now you two.”