Reflecting On Wishes (The Wishes Series) (2 page)

“Yup, he did. Basically told us we’d eat his dust all the way to Commerce. Wasn’t very cool of him was it
, Tank?” Dom winked at his friend, taking another long drink of his coffee.

“Come on
, guys. You know I was just messin’ with ya.” Dakota was grinning from ear to ear, just the mere thought of getting closer to Angel had his mood soaring.

“I don’t
, bruh. I think I might give one of these pit passes to someone who’d appreciate it.”

“Trust and believe me when I say I’ll appreciate it
, Tank. Oh how I’ll appreciate her—I mean
it
. C’mon, bruh, it’s my birthday weekend.”

The laughter at their table got some looks from others in the diner
, but it didn’t matter. They had Ms. Lola in their corner and everyone knew you didn’t say a damn thing about Lola’s special customers, no matter how loud they were on an early Friday morning.

Delicious smells surrounded them as their
platters were delivered heaping high with buttermilk pancakes, sausage, bacon, eggs and jars of warm maple syrup. There was more than enough to fill their growling stomachs. Ms. Lola refilled their coffee cups and glowed from the praises she was getting from her three favorite customers. The conversation while they ate consisted of motorcycles and women—their two favorite subjects. They decided that once they got into the town of Commerce, they would go check in their hotel rooms so they could clean up before heading to the track. After all, a guy didn’t want to approach a woman when his leathers were covered in bug guts from the long ride.

Leaving the restaurant with full
bellies and having been properly hugged and kissed by Ms. Lola, they were ready to hit the road. The three bikes parked side by side were as different as the men who rode them. Dakota’s was sleek, built for speed, all chromed out with a custom paint job of a panther basking under the light of the moon. Tank had a
Chopper
that fit his tall frame perfectly. He looked like he was stretched out comfortably on his cherry red ride with a pinup girl draped across the side of the gas tank. Then there was Dom. He liked the flash of his black and neon green
Yamaha VMAX
. In his mind, it was classy, but still a sexy, fast ride. They filed out onto Highway 129, heading toward their weekend getaway at the races, each lost in thought and enjoying the ride.

***

After checking in the hotel and cleaning the bug splatters off their bikes and themselves, they took the short drive to
Atlanta
Raceway
proudly displaying their shiny rides. There was a multitude of people already wandering about. Classic rock music was playing over the speaker system and you could smell the heady elixir of racing fuel and burnt rubber in the air, mixed with the food the vendors were cooking up. Dakota lead them through the parking area, pulling in near the rows of RV’s that belonged to the racers and their teams. The three men on their slick rides garnered a lot of attention, especially from the female persuasion. As they stripped off their leathers and were folding them to put into the saddlebags, a couple of girls walked up in cut off shorts and bikini tops.

“Sweet ride you got there
, handsome. I’m Mia, what’s your name?” She was a beautiful blond with a smoking hot body but Dakota couldn’t help but try to push her off on his brother. He had plans and those plans included trying to find the woman that invaded his dreams.

“I’m Dakota
. This is my brother, Dom and my best friend, Tank.” He nodded to his brother. “You guys should go buy these ladies a drink. I’m going to go walk around for a while. I’ll meet you at our seats when it’s time for qualifying.”

Dom grinned at his older brother, taking the hint and draping his arm around Mia, leading her and her friend away with Tank.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Dakota snapped his saddlebags closed and pocketed his keys. The warm air felt good on his skin now that his leathers were off. He was wearing a pair of black cargo shorts and a red tank top with the silver chain his mom gave him for his birthday. Before he had gone to bed the previous night his mom and dad stopped by his house, which was adjacent from theirs. They had wanted to wish him a happy birthday since they wouldn’t see him on the actual day. Dakota had been touched that they had come by. He still felt incredibly grateful for his adoptive parents. They had taken him and his twin siblings in and treated them as if they were their own. They had needed a loving family so desperately after their parents died in a car crash. As the oldest of three kids he had already aged out of the foster care system, leaving Dakota thinking he’d technically be an orphan the rest of his life. But when Mikayla and Noah Cane became foster parents to the twins—Dominic and Delilah, they had also welcomed Dakota with open arms and his life had never been the same.

Reaching up, he stroked the silver chain and smiled. He was
truly blessed. He had a family that was full of love, great friends and the dream job as a physical therapist he’d worked so hard for. Now all he wanted was someone to share it with. Not just anyone. He had his eye on her for quite some time now. They had talked a few times but nothing ever came from it. When Dakota was shopping around for a motorcycle he made several trips to
Vega Custom Bikes
. Angel’s dad owned the shop and her older brother Rage ran it with his wife Nahni. Sixteen weeks of the year Angel and her dad Vito were traveling from one race to the next. As her manager, Vito was always with her, coaching her, working on her bike and promoting his pride and joy.

Dakota and Rage had gotten to know each other pretty well
and even been out for a beer a few times while he was getting his bike tricked out. Rage was a big guy, standing around five foot eleven inches tall but Dakota still towered over him at six foot three. He vividly remembered when he was at the bar with Rage just a few months back. Dakota had asked him about Angel. He wanted to know if she was seeing anyone and if Rage would set him up with her. Rage had laughed boisterously, telling him he was loco if he thought his baby sister Angel would date him. They had laughed a lot but Rage had finally gotten serious with him and told him Angel had been in a rough relationship and wasn’t interested in dating. She was focused on her career and wasn’t ready to put herself out there. Dakota had backed off but he continued to watch her from afar.

He shook his head and walked over to the vendor selling bottled water and bought one, twisting it open and taking a long pull of the icy cold drink. That was when he saw her step out of her trailer dressed in a black tank top and cutoff
, blue jean shorts with her hair in a thick braid hanging over her shoulder. She was barefoot, walking over to the card table where her brother, Rage and her father, Vito were sitting. Qualifying for Pro-Stock Bikes didn’t start for another couple of hours so it looked like they were just chatting. Dakota capped his bottle and strode over to the table throwing caution to the wind.

“Rage, how you doin’ man? Vito,
it’s good to see you again. Hey, Angel.” He hoped his greeting sounded casual and unhurried but inside his stomach did flip flops when she smiled at him.

“Dakota my man, it’s g
ood to see you here.” Rage stood and gave him a half hug, slap on the back and smiled.

“How’s that bike
of yours doing, Dakota? Did you ride it up here today?” Vito shook his hand and patted his shoulder.

“It’s great
, Vito. She rides smooth and fast, just like I wanted. She’s just outside the RV Park.” His eyes traveled again to Angel, seeing she was still looking up at him with a smile, he grinned back at her.

“You come all this way to see me race
, Dakota?” Her head tilted to the side and she crossed her slim legs, making his mouth go dry.

“Hey, I never miss watching our hometown girl do her thing. What kinda man would I be if I didn’t show my support?” He gave her a wink when she laughed.

“Hmm, you have a point there. Thanks for coming out,” she said, winking back at him.

“My pleasure. This time I’ll be watching from the air conditioned suite. My brother and my best friend are treating me this weekend for my birthday.” He wasn’t sure why he threw that piece of info in, but if it got him any favor with her it was worth a try.

“Ah, a birthday boy huh? What day is your birthday?” Her smile was brighter now; melting his feet to the asphalt and making his brain go fuzzy.

“Saturday is the big day. You gonna get a win for me
, Angel?” He crouched down in front of the table, and in front of her chair, resting his arm casually on the arm of her chair.

She leaned forward and whispered in his ear so only he could hear. “I just might do that. How lucky do you feel birthday boy?”

She stood and patted his cheek. “Let me get my shoes on and I’ll let you buy me a burger before I have to suit up.”

His pulse jumped and he must
have looked stunned because Rage belted out laughing, slapping his knee and pointing. “Damn, Dakota. Put your tongue back in your mouth man. You’re drooling in front of everyone. And, that’s my sister…you better keep yourself in check man.”

Dakota gave him a goofy grin
saying, “This has to be the best birthday ever!” He stood up and shook hands with Vito as Angel came out of her trailer with her flip flops on, taking his hand and dragging him away from her family.

“Sorry if Rage was giving you hell. He can be a real pain sometimes.”

“Nah, Rage is cool. Besides, he’s your big brother. I kind of expect him to give me hell for drooling over his sister.”

Angel’s surprised laughter warmed him more than sunshine. She was even more beautiful when she let go of her hard exterior.

“Drooling over me huh? Well, thank you…I think.” Hooking her arm in his, she led him to the vendor and ordered a cheeseburger, french fries and iced tea. He doubled the order and paid for it, moving them to the side to wait for their order. She smelled like coconut and honey, a soft scent but it suited her.

“You know, I’ve tried to talk to you for a while now. When I was getting all the work done on my bike
you barely spared me a glance. You kinda bruised my ego.” Dakota gave her what he thought was his charming grin and she laughed, pushing his chest with the palm of her hand.

***

Angel’s heart was racing overtime. He smelled like
Burberry
cologne and hint of male sweat from being out in the sun. It was intoxicating and she could hardly keep from swaying closer to him to breathe in his scent. God if he caught her sniffing him she would never be able to look him in the eye again. That would be a shame since he was the first man that really grabbed her attention since she discovered her ex had cheated on her when she was away racing nine months ago.

Dakota picked up the sack of food and Angel grabbed her cup of iced tea, weaving through the crowd of fans that were gathering around her. Politely she said
hello
to them but Dakota got in between her and push of people, smoothly getting her back toward her RV where Rage stood and opened the door, ushering her inside.

“Sorry about that. Sometimes I can go around unnoticed
, but I guess that’s not the case today. I hope you don’t mind eating in here.” Angel set her drink on the table and flipped the fan on.

“No
it’s cool, babe. I don’t mind at all. In fact I’m glad we have a little privacy. It’s hard to have a conversation when there are thirty people pushing to get close to you.” He grinned at her, giving her that wink that made her knee’s go weak.

“Yeah, I guess that can be a turn off to have to watch someone get attention like that huh?” She smirked at him
. That snarky little grin on her face made her look a little bratty, but in all honesty, it just made her sexier.

“No, it isn’t a turn off. It’s actually kinda hot. Well, except when some of th
ose guys were grabbing at you. I gotta admit that made me want to bust some heads.” He took a big bite of his cheeseburger and avoided her gaze.

Throwing her head back, Angel laughed and tossed a french fry at him. “Oh stop it. They weren’t grabbing at me. And so what if they were? Why would that give you
the right to be possessive?”

Dakota shrugged, still not quite believing he was here, in Angel’s trailer, eating cheeseburgers and getting hit in the forehead with her french fry. He picked the discarded fry up off the table and ate it, giving her a growl. “Because, I’m man, you’re woman, I saw you first. Gives me the right to bash heads and toss you over my shoulder. You know, the whole sweeping you off your feet thing.”

Her snort was so unladylike it made him laugh loudly.

“Well, I never…no way in hell would I let you toss me over your shoulder.”

It was his turn to snort with laughter. “And just what is your hundred pound little self gonna do if I did? Besides, I thought women liked a protective man?”

“We do. But…”

“See! You just admitted it. You like me.”

***

His grin was so endearing she simply huffed and shook her head, taking another bite of her burger and trying to wipe the stupid grin off her face. He was so sweet. Not to mention incredibly sexy. That could be a lethal combination. But damned if she could back away now, this was too much fun. She had missed having someone to laugh and flirt with.