Revved (35 page)

Thirty minutes after leaving my place, we’re in a quiet village called Radclive, and Carrick is turning off the country road and onto a small drive in front of a set of metal gates.

Pressing a button on the steering wheel, the gates open, and then we’re driving up a curved long driveway. At the end of the driveway is a large Edwardian-style house surrounded by what I can only imagine is acres of land.

“Wow,” I say, looking through the windscreen. “Is this yours?”

“Yeah. This is home.”

He pulls up front and climbs out of the car, so I follow suit.

I’m a little nervous that he’s brought me to his house, wondering why I’m here.

“I’ll show you the house in a few, but what I brought you here to see is in the garage.”

I walk with Carrick toward a massive outbuilding, which is located on the side of the house. He pulls a tiny remote from his jacket pocket and opens one of the garage doors.

We go inside, and I find myself in a purpose-built garage—or I should call it a showroom.

I’m astounded at the number of cars he has in here. There must be thirty, minimum, with plenty of space for more. They’re mostly classic cars with a few modern ones.

“Wow, Carrick. This is amazing. I knew you collected, but…wow…” This place is like my dream come true.

“Thanks. I’ve got pretty much every car I’ve ever wanted, barring a few. But the one I wanted to show you is just down here at the end. It just arrived this morning.”

I walk behind him, my eyes trailing over each car we pass—a classic Mini Cooper, a Dodge Viper…

“Here it is.”

I turn to the sound of his voice, dragging my eyes off the yellow 1960 Lamborghini Miura, and—

Oh my God.

My heart slams against my ribcage. “Is that…” I take a step closer, my hands trembling.

“William Wolfe’s car? Yeah.”

I swing around to look at him. “You bought it?”

I can’t believe he did that. Why did he do that?

A stupid hopeful part of me wishes it were because of me, that he somehow realized this car is important to me.

“I didn’t steal it. Don’t worry.” He grins, pushing his hands into his pockets. “It was bugging me—what you said about it sitting there, not being used, and how Wolfe would have wanted it to be driven. So, I got in touch with the owner, and I told him I wanted it.”

“And he just said yes?”

“Not right away. It took some persuading.”

“How much persuading?”

“A lot—plus, a five-year VIP pass to the Prix.”

“Wow. Expensive persuading.”

“Drop in the ocean.” He shrugs, walking around to the front of the car.

Sometimes, I forget how much money he has at his disposal.

I walk closer to the car, the tips of my fingers trembling to touch it. “Can I?”

“Sure.”

Reaching out, I open the door. Then, taking a deep breath, I slide into the driver’s seat.

I’m trying not to act weird, but it’s hard.

This is a bittersweet moment for me.

Closing my eyes, I place my hands on the steering wheel, curling my fingers around it.

I feel the car move. Opening my eyes, I see Carrick getting in the passenger seat beside me.

“Are you happy I bought it?”

Beyond happy
.

Tears are beating at the backs of my eyes. I fight them away.

Pulling my lips up into a smile, I say, “Of course, I’m happy for you, and happy that this car isn’t going to be sitting around like an ornament anymore.”

He’s staring at me, almost like he’s weighing something. “Good, because I need your help to get it up and running. If you want to, that is?”

Do I want to? Is the sky blue?

“Really?” I feel suddenly breathless.

“Yeah. But it’s gonna be a big job. Total refit as she’s empty. If you’re up for it?”

“I’m up for it.” I smile so big that it nearly splits my face.

Carrick returns my smile. “I’ll pay you the going rate, of course.”

Huh?

I stare at him like he’s lost his mind. “I don’t want you to pay me.”

“Andressa, this is a big job. I’m not letting you do the work for free.”

“I don’t think you understand.”

He really doesn’t, and part of me wishes he did in this moment. God, I would sell my soul to be able to get this car back on the road. And with Carrick driving it, I’d give everything.

But I play it down. “Working on a car like this is fun for me, like what a day out at the spa is for other girls.”

He shakes his head, laughing. “Andressa, you are like no girl I’ve ever known.”

I tilt my head to the side, scrunching my eyes up. “Good thing or bad thing?”

“The best thing.” His voice is deep with meaning.

My eyes catch his and hold. The air crackles between us, and I suddenly feel
everything
.

Blood beats in my ears, my pulse quickening.

Memories of him and me together…him inside me…are flashing through my mind, making me hot, making me needy.

Carrick looks away, breaking the moment. He clears his throat.

I need to say something to put us back where we were. I can’t spoil things with him again, not when I’ve just gotten him back.

“So, no more talk of money. I’m doing this because I want to.”

He turns his eyes to me. “If that’s what you want.”

“It is.” I smile lightly, curling my hands back around the wheel, as I exhale. “So, when do we start?”

“Now, if you want?” He opens his door and gets out of the car. “You can help me draw up a list of what we’ll need. I’ll order it, and then we’ll go from there.”

Climbing out of the car, I say, “Let’s get started.”

I’VE BEEN WORKING ON MY DAD’S CAR
with Carrick nonstop for the past four days. I’ve hardly been home.

It’s been amazing, doing this with Carrick, restoring my dad’s car back to life.

Even though it’s been amazing, it’s been tough, too, and not just because I’m working on my dad’s car. Even though that has been emotional for me, I’ve kept those feelings buried. I’m just praying that I won’t burst into tears when I hear the engine running for the first time.

It’s also been tough to be around Carrick. I’m like a pot waiting to boil over. My hands are permanently itching to touch him, and the sexual tension building inside me is at the point that I’m sure I’m about to spontaneously combust from it.

But it’s not just the sexual tension that’s driving me insane.

It’s how I feel about him. That’s tearing me up the most.

Being with Carrick so intensely these last few days has brought everything to the forefront, everything I’ve been fighting to hide.

My feelings for him have grown. They’re more insistent and bigger, harder to ignore.

It was a little easier to pretend that I didn’t want him, that I wasn’t totally crazy about him, when we were traveling with the team or when he was angry at me or when we were dancing around each other, trying to build a bridge back to a friendship.

But this, being around him all the time in close proximity…it’s getting to the point of being unbearable.

And instead of being relieved that we’re almost coming to the end of working on my dad’s car—well, Carrick’s car—so that I can put that distance between us, I’m finding that I want to etch it out longer, so I can be around him—hence, the reason it’s taken me two and a half hours to fit the wiper motor.

Two and a half bloody hours to do a job that should have taken me one hour maximum.

I just…I don’t want this time to end. I want to be around him all the time.

I want him. I just wish I knew a way I could have him.

But all my wanting is fruitless. Carrick is past all of that now. He’s past me. I can tell…feel it in the way he is toward me. It shows in his body language. There are no more accidental touches. He keeps himself at a friendly distance from me.

Aside from that little moment in the car the other day, he has shown no indication of feeling the way he used to about me.

He’s affable, and we have our usual banter, but that feeling I always got from him, the one that told me he saw me through different eyes, is now gone.

I know he just sees me as a friend. I know that was what I wanted when I was telling myself that I needed him to stop wanting me, so I could stop wanting him. But now that he has, I hate it. It hurts like a bitch.

And now all I want is for him to see me the way he used to. Look at me the way he used to. I want him to want me like he did before…like I now want him. And it hurts beyond belief that he no longer does.

“How’s it coming?” Carrick’s voice comes from behind me.

It jolts me, stopping my thoughts and my humming along to the song playing on the radio.

I give another turn, tightening up the final screw. “Yeah, all done.”

Turning, I see him holding two coffees in his hands. I give him a smile of appreciation.

I put the screwdriver back in the toolbox and wipe my dirty hands on a rag. After tossing it on the workbench, I take the coffee from him. “Thanks.”

He leans back against the workbench. “So…we’re nearly done.”

My lips turn down at the corners, so I take a sip of my coffee, covering it. “Yeah, nearly done. Just need the starter motor, and we’ll be finished.”

“It’ll be delivered tomorrow. I know you’re back at work then…so I can fit it, if you want?”

“Oh, yeah? Okay, sure.” I try to hide my disappointment with a smile.

Carrick’s watching me. Dropping his gaze, he takes a sip of his coffee. Holding the cup against his chest, he says, “Will you come by tomorrow after you’re finished with work? I was going to wait to start her up. I thought we could take her out together.”

That brightens me up. “Sure. I’ll try to get out early, and I’ll come straight here.”

“Cool.” He smiles at me and takes another sip of his coffee.

The air feels strained between us, and I’m not really sure why. Maybe I am causing it because I’m feeling sad at the thought of my time here with him coming to an end.

I’ve just taken another sip of coffee when David Guetta’s “Dangerous” starts to play out of the speakers.

This song was playing in the garage the first time I met Carrick.

I feel a sudden energy in the room. Like pure electricity.

I lift my eyes to Carrick and find he’s already staring at me. There’s something deep and intense in his eyes, and it’s making my stomach flip and my knees weaken.

“This song…it was playing the first time we met.” His voice is low with meaning.

And it’s like he just read my mind.

I can’t believe he remembers.

“You…remember?” My words come out in a breathy whisper.

“I remember everything.”

Drawing a breath, I lower my eyes.

I feel like I’m being blasted with every single feeling I have for him. The feelings I’ve had since the moment I turned my head and saw him standing there in the garage at Rybell. The feelings that have kept on growing ever since.

Growing and changing into something so big that I can no longer see past them.

All I can see now is him.

I lift my eyes, and I’m met with Carrick’s. The look there nearly brings me to my knees.

I start to tremble, right down to my bones.