The entire drive back to the speedway, I stared out the window as I wondered what Adaline was doing. Dropping my head back against the seat I balled my fist. “Fuck!” I shouted as I closed my eyes and prayed I could make it through one more day.
One more day and then I’d be pulling out and heading to the next race while Adaline would be headed back to Austin.
Just one more day.
WALKING INTO THE GARAGE, I grinned seeing everyone hustle about. I had forgotten how amazing the atmosphere on race day was. Daddy was talking with Emmit as I approached them. It was almost as if Emmit knew I was there. Glancing up, he looked at me and then quickly looked back at Daddy.
I blew out a breath and decided I was going to have to talk to him before he pulled out tonight and headed to the next race. Malcolm had told me last night what he had said to Emmit to get him so upset. Then he of course tried to make a play on me to which I promptly turned him down.
Stopping behind Daddy, I glanced around as I watched all the teams get ready. They couldn’t work on the cars because they were in the process of getting pre-inspections done.
“Just don’t scare the piss out of them okay, Emmit?”
Turning to look at my father, Emmit gave him the same smile that I fell in love with so many years ago. My stomach fluttered as I watched Emmit talk to my father. No wonder I could never go out with a guy more than a few times. It was obvious I had never moved on from Emmit. I never wanted to move on.
With a quick glance around, I searched for the blonde who had been with Emmit yesterday and last night. Malcolm said it was Emmit’s latest arm candy, which made me wonder how many women he had dated since we broke up.
Daddy slapped Emmit on the arm. “Go have fun.”
Emmit started to walk off before he stopped and looked at me. “You want to take a lap with me before I get started with the fans?”
My heart dropped at the idea of being in a racecar on the track with Emmit again. But I couldn’t help but think of the girl who had been with him yesterday. “Are you sure?”
With a smile, Emmit said, “Like old times.”
Grinning like a fool, I nodded and said, “Yes!”
Emmit had driven me around tracks plenty of times, but I’d never had him drive me around one of the tracks NASCAR used.
Making our way over to where there was a line of people, Emmit lifted his hand and waved while people cheered and called out his name.
This was the part of the day where dignitaries of the sport, media people, or one or two lucky fans got to drive with the drivers. Most of the time it was former drivers, but sometimes current drivers like Emmit did it. Glancing to the group of people, Emmit said, “Before we get started, I’ve got to impress a girl.”
Laughter erupted as Emmit helped me slip into the car and get buckled in. A few minutes later he was driving a hundred miles an hour as he inched his way closer and closer to the wall. My heart was racing and I was sure my face was going to freeze in this position as I grinned from ear to ear.
“God, I’ve missed this!” I shouted into the mic as Emmit laughed.
I knew he stayed out longer than he should have and I knew he did it for me. When he came to a stop, we sat in the car for a few moments as I got my breathing under control. Looking over at him, I said, “I didn’t think you could ever get better than you were before. But holy shit . . . that wall was less than an inch from my window, I swear!”
Emmit laughed as he motioned for someone to come and help me out of the car.
As I stood off to the side, I watched as Emmit gave each person a ride of a lifetime. Every one of them said it was the biggest adrenaline rush they’d ever experienced. Adrenaline rush was Emmit’s middle name. Everything he did was fast. Everything except making love. That he took his sweet time with.
Biting down on my lip, I thought back to the last time Emmit made love to me. Closing my eyes, I was taken back to the moment.
Slow. Passionate. Full of love.
And I walked away from him. Stupid idiot.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were day dreaming about old times.”
My eyes snapped open at the familiar voice. Ashley, Emmit’s younger sister, stood in front of me. “Ashley!” I shouted as we both embraced each other with a scream.
“Oh my God! Did my big brother shit his pants when he saw you or what?” Ashley said as she looked me over.
I let out a chuckle as I shook my head. “Something like that.”
Ashley smiled. “Uh-huh. Well, that explains last night.”
With a confused look, I asked. “What do you mean?”
With a wave of her hand like it was not worth repeating, Ashley said, “Nothing. So, have you missed the scene?”
“Yeah. I didn’t really realize how much I had been missing it.” My stomach dropped slightly knowing what all I had missed out on these last few years.
Emmit had pulled up and the last person got out the same time Emmit climbed out.
After taking some pictures and signing a few things, Emmit gave his sister a wave and excused himself. Walking up to Ashley, he pulled her into his arms and whispered something into her ear. Ashley nodded and then raised her eyebrows.
“So, you and Adaline catching up?”
There was my full name again. For some reason, every time Emmit said Adaline instead of Addie, it felt like a knife sinking deeper into my heart.
“Yep! We just got here and walked up when I saw her.”
Emmit nodded. “She’s graduated nursing school. A year early on top of that.”
Ashley wiggled her eyebrows. “She always was a smarty pants.”
I let out a chuckle as I looked at Emmit. I wanted to tell him I had pushed myself hard and took extra classes so that I could finish and be with him. Of course, I’d use the excuse of seeing Momma and Daddy, but the real reason would always be Emmit.
“Well, I wanted to try and finish up as fast as I could,” I said before I even knew it was out of my mouth.
Emmit’s eyes pierced mine, and I swore it looked like he was holding his breath.
“Really? How come?” Ashley asked with a huge shit-eating grin on her face.
I glanced down to my feet and kicked an imaginary rock. “I guess I wanted to be able to catch a few races . . . see . . . um . . . my parents more often.”
Ashley gave me a you-ain’t-fooling-anyone look as she said, “Is that so?”
My eyes met Emmit’s as we both seemed to get lost in each other.
Dropping my mouth open, I fought for the words to tell Emmit how foolish I was, but nothing came out.
“Addie,” Emmit said as he took a step closer to me but stopped when some girl called out his name.
“Emmit!”
Emmit looked over my shoulder and frowned. Ashley attempted to intercept the two girls, but failed. The one threw herself into Emmit’s arms as she said, “I couldn’t wait to see you again.”
My stomach twisted into a knot as I imagined what she was talking about. Her arms were wrapped tightly around Emmit’s neck as he reached up and pried them off of him. Giving her a slight push away, Emmit gave her a polite smile. “Yeah. The club was fun.”
Club? When did he go to a club? And where is the blonde who was related to Jack?
“Oh, it was more than fun,” the young bleach-blonde said as Ashley grabbed her arm.
“Cookie, let’s go check out some other places.”
Cookie lifted her finger in a motion to get Ashley to wait as she took a step closer to Emmit. “So, are we going to finish what we started last night? Maybe in your bus?”
Oh God. He slept with her.
My head was spinning. But what about the blonde? What about the way he just looked at me?
With a shake of my head, I tried to clear my thoughts. I looked into Emmit’s eyes and it was clear to me, he had been with this girl last night.
Trying to find my voice, I finally said, “Excuse me, I’m ah . . . gonna go . . . somewhere.”