“You seem to care about her a great deal.”

  “I do.” That was an understatement. No words could describe the way Anna had moved into his life and taken over his thoughts.

  “Then why don’t you go after her and tell her you’re sorry?”

  “Sorry for what?” He may have been premature in telling her how he felt, but he didn’t think that was reason enough for her to walk out on him. She was the one who owed him an apology, not the other way around.

  “Whatever you said or did to make her run out on you like that.”

  His mother was always the first one to take him to task when he’d made a mistake, so Justin wasn’t surprised she was writing him in the role of the villain and Anna as the victim. “I didn’t say or do anything.”

  Colleen smiled. “You know how much I love you, son. I can tell you the truth because I love you. You’re driving that girl away.”

  Those words settled like a brick in Justin’s stomach. That was the last thing he wanted to do. “How?”

  “She reminds me a lot of myself at her age.”

  “How so?” Justin’s mind raced as he tried to follow his mother’s train of thought. How could he focus on anything when the woman he’d started to believe could be the foundation of his future just walked away without a backward glance?

  “She wants what all young women want, Justin. A man who loves her, stability-”

  “I do love her.” He hadn’t intended to admit that. His mother was like a pit bull when she sunk her teeth into something she wanted, and if she decided she wanted Anna as her daughter-in-law, she wouldn’t stop until she made it happen.

  “Oh, Justin,” Colleen said, covering her mouth. “That’s wonderful.”

  Justin muttered a curse when tears filled her eyes. He shouldn’t have said that. Giving her hope when Anna obviously didn’t feel the same way wasn’t fair. “Don’t get too excited, Mom. She left after I told her how I feel about her.”

  Colleen settled her hand back in his. “Maybe you just caught her off guard.”

  He chuckled, though he was as miserable as he could ever remember being, except for the day Todd died. “I think that’s a safe bet.”

  “What else did you talk about?”

  “Veronica.”

  “Why?” Colleen frowned. “I haven’t heard you talk about her in years.”

  “She asked me if I’d ever been in love before.”

  “So you told her about your relationship with Veronica.” She closed her eyes briefly. “Honey, she sees herself in Veronica.”

  “What are you talking about? She and Veronica are as different as two women can be.”

  “Maybe, but they both want or wanted the same thing from you.”

  Justin was getting a headache from trying to decipher his mother’s secret code. “What are you talking about?”

  “I had a little chat with Lauren while you and Anna were dancing. It seems Anna was ready to marry another man just a few months ago. They planned to start a family right away. Did you know that?”

  Justin had the same reaction he always did when he thought of Tom: He grinded his teeth.

  “Stop that,” his mother said, slapping him on the shoulder. “We paid a fortune for those perfect teeth of yours. It always drives me crazy when you do that.”

  Justin rolled his eyes. “What else did Lauren say?”

  “She said she didn’t think Tom was the right man for her cousin. When I asked why Anna agreed to marry him, Lauren said he offered Anna everything she wanted: marriage and a family.”

  “So?”

  Shaking her head, Colleen smiled. “You don’t even realize what you said, do you? The message you sent-”

  “Just cut to the chase, Mother.”

  Narrowing her eyes, her way of silently chastising him for inappropriate behavior, she said, “You said you don’t intend to have children for a long time. You told her you like your life exactly the way it is. Translation: you like being single.”

  Justin stopped dancing as her words sank in. “Damn it, I did say that, didn’t I? That’s not what I meant… exactly. I do want to have kids eventually. But I want some time alone with my wife before we take on that kind of responsibility.”

  “I’m not the person you should be telling, son. Go and find Anna. Tell her.”

  Justin bent to kiss her cheek. “Thanks, Mom, you’re the best.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Anna was climbing into bed when her doorbell rang. She ran down the hall barefoot, growling when she stubbed her toe on a doorframe.

  Before she could get to the door, her unwanted guest rang a second time. Peering through the side panel, she glared at Justin. He didn’t even have the decency to call first. Not that she would have answered. As far as she was concerned, they had nothing to talk about.

  “Go away,” she said through the crack in the door.

  He rolled his eyes. “Can we pretend to be mature adults for half a second? We can’t discuss this through a crack in the door.”

  Miffed that he would imply she was the immature one, she pulled the door open, intent on giving him a piece of her mind. His smirk told her she fell into his trap, but that didn’t mean she would let him have the last word. “You have five minutes to say your piece, so you’d better talk fast.” She turned away from the door as though she could care less whether he followed.

  Of course, he did. “That’s what you wear to bed?” he asked, fixating on the black drawstring pants riding low on her hips before he turned his attention to the white tank with spaghetti straps.

  Being well endowed had always seemed like a curse, but when Justin looked at her with blatant admiration, she couldn’t help but feel blessed. “What did you think I would wear to bed?”

  “I pegged you for the flannel, teddy bear type.”

  “In the middle of a heat wave?”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “Are you telling me you save those for those chilly winter nights?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  “Damn straight I would,” he said, stepping forward.

  Holding her hand up, she said, “You need to stop right there. Tell me why you’re here.”

  “I was thinking about our schedules. It wouldn’t be that hard to make it work if we really wanted to. I get a few months off in the winter; you get a few months off in the summer. I have business interests in Nashville. That would give me something to do while you’re at work…”

  She couldn’t contain her surprise. That was the last thing she expected him to say. “What are you talking about? I don’t want to have a long distance relationship with you!”

  He smiled. “You’re mad at me. I get that.” He stepped forward, trapping her between his body and the wall. “I didn’t realize I was being insensitive tonight, but my mother made me see that I was.”

  “It’s a good thing you had your mommy there to explain it to you.”

  He chuckled. “I guess I deserved that. Just because I didn’t want to marry Veronica doesn’t mean I won’t want to marry you. Someday.”

  Anna sucked in a breath. Did he really think she was so desperate that she expected a marriage proposal from him? “I have no interest in marrying you. Now or ever.”

  “Is that so?” He flattened his hand on the wall beside her head. “You care to tell me why I’m not marriage material?”

  “You’re just not.” She made the mistake of raising her chin, which only put her mouth in closer proximity to his lips. Not a good place to be when she was trying to convince him and herself that she didn’t want him. “Your job is too dangerous. You travel all the time. Your kids wouldn’t even know you.”

  “You think I’m gonna be doing this forever, Anna?” His free hand gripped her hip. “I love racing, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be behind the wheel forever. Eventually I’ll step into my old man’s shoes and run the team.”

  She hadn’t allowed herself to think that far into the future.

  Justin shook his head. “I doubt I’d even want to have kids until then. I want to be a hands-on dad. Make no mistake about that.”

  “I don’t even know why we’re having this conversation,” she said, trying to slip out under his arm. “It’s not like we’re ever going to be together… that way.”

  He tugged on the drawstrings of her pants to hold her captive. “You wanna tell me why not?”

  “I’ve told you before: We want different things out of life.”

  “No, we don’t.”

  He kissed her so softly she almost whimpered. Her body instinctively shifted closer, silently pleading for an encore.

  “We both want to be in love. We want someone to share our lives with, grow old with. We want a couple of kids…” He ran a hand through her hair, tilting her head up. “We both want to marry our best friends, right? We want to have the kind of relationship our parents have…”

  She was captivated by his words, even more so by the promise she saw in his eyes. Nodding, she whispered, “Yes.”

  “Look, I may not be a doctor. I may not enjoy playing it safe, but that doesn’t make me the wrong guy for you.”

  She wanted to object, but she couldn’t. Especially not when her heart told her he was the perfect man for her, in spite of his reckless choices.

  “If you were my woman, I’d never give you reason to doubt you made the right choice.”

  His words spread through her, turning her insides to mush. “I never expected to feel this way about you.”

  “What way is that?”

  She knew what he wanted to hear, but taking the leap of faith with him was the scariest thing she’d ever had to do. “I’m falling in love with you.”

  Justin released his breath right before he touched his forehead to hers. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  “It’s true.” She wrapped her arms around his waist. “I didn’t want it to be, but it is.” Since Justin first came to Jimmy’s, she’d invested time getting to know the real Justin, and she realized it would have been impossible not to fall in love with him.

  “Does that mean you’re as committed to making this work as I am?”

  “I’m willing to try.” She didn’t have a choice. Letting him go now, after she’d found the courage to acknowledge her feelings, would break her heart and make her look like a coward.

  “I want to promise you everything you’ve ever wanted, Anna,” he said, holding her face in his hands. “I’d give you the world if I could. But it wouldn’t be fair to either one of us if I started making promises I’m not sure I can keep.”

  “I know that.” Anna loved him even more for being honest. She knew too many men would use her dreams to lure her into a false sense of security, but the fact Justin wasn’t doing that proved he was willing to put her first.

  “The only thing I can tell you right now is that you make me feel things I’ve never felt before. You inspire me to take risks I’ve never thought of taking before,” Justin told her.

  She couldn’t help but smile at that statement. “I inspire you to take risks?”

  “You do.” He kissed her nose. “You’re a hell of a lot braver than you give yourself credit for. I may be brave enough to put my life on the line, but you’re brave enough to put your heart on the line, even though it didn’t work out for you the last time.”

  “You’re not Tom.”

  “No, I’m not.” He pulled her closer, kissing her. “And I don’t ever want you to forget that. My racing is important to me but not more important than you.”

  She appreciated he was willing to give her equal billing with the other love of his life.

  “He didn’t realize what he had until it was too late. I won’t make that mistake,” he assured her.

  Anna took the initiative for once and pulled his head down until his mouth met hers. The kiss quickly escalated from innocent to heated in seconds. “I want you.” She couldn’t believe she’d actually said the words aloud, but now that she had, she knew she didn’t want to retract them.

  He seemed to hold his breath as he looked her in the eye. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this scared in my life.” His chuckle escaped. “Damn it…” He hung his head. “I’ve faced down death, and the thought of taking the woman I love to bed is scaring the hell out of me.”

  “It’s okay,” she whispered, desperate to ease his discomfort. “We don’t have to rush this.”

  “I told you about my problem… since the accident.” The color moved up his neck, barely concealed by his summer tan. “Jesus, this is the last thing I want to talk to you about right now. I want to believe it won’t be an issue, but I’m afraid of disappointing you if I can’t… you know.”

  What happened tonight wouldn’t change the way she felt about him, but she didn’t know if his ego could withstand the blow. “Have you seen your doctor since you returned to racing?”

  “Yeah, same old story. He said it’s my way of punishing myself for what happened to Todd. Todd lost his life that day, his ability to experience pleasure, and subconsciously, I’ve convinced myself I don’t deserve to experience pleasure either because my actions caused his accident.”

  “But they didn’t.” She’d watched footage from the accident online, and any spectator could see it was simply two drivers striving for the same goal. It wasn’t Justin’s fault any more than it was Todd’s fault. “It was just that: an accident. You have to believe that, and you have to find a way to let go of the guilt.”

  He looked at her a long time before he said, “The first time I met you, I wondered how you could even stand to look at me after what I’d done to one of my best friends. That’s how I felt at the time, like a woman as sweet and beautiful as you wouldn’t even be able to stand the sight of me.”

  She stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck as she buried her face in his shoulder. “That couldn’t have been further from the truth.”

  “You gave me my sense of self back on that island, Anna. I figured if a girl like you saw something good in me, maybe I wasn’t a lost cause after all.”

  “I can’t believe you even thought that,” she whispered, hugging him fiercely.

  “I love you.” He picked her up. “Not just because you give me hope. I love you because of the way you make me feel about myself, Anna. You make me a better man.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to suppress the tears.

  “That’s what love’s supposed to do, right?” he asked. “It’s supposed to make you better together than you could ever be apart?”

  He was so right. Why hadn’t she been able to see that was missing with Tom? “You do make me a better person,” she said, drawing her head back to look him in the eye. “You don’t think my books are silly. You don’t see my teaching as a temporary job. You know how much those kids mean to me, each and every one of them.”

  “If he couldn’t see that, he was an idiot, baby.” He set her down and kissed her until she ran out of breath.

  “He doesn’t matter anymore.” She ran a fingertip over his full lips. “You’re the only thing that matters to me. I want to build a life with you, Justin.”

  “I want that too.”

  She squealed when he picked her up. “What are you doing?”

  “Lead me to the bedroom, sweetheart. I’m tired of telling you how much I love you. I’m ready to show you.”

  ***

  Justin’s heart hammered as he pulled on the string to loosen Anna’s pants. He’d never wanted anything more than he wanted her. He just prayed his mind and body were in sync because he would be devastated if he couldn’t give her what she needed from him.

  Anna peeled her tank top off, slowly tossing it aside as she watched him watching her.

  There was no question his body was responding. His only concern was whether he would be able to go the distance. Steering her toward the bed, he came down on top of her, kissing her, touching her, getting his fill of the body he’d wanted since the first time he laid eyes on her.

  “Get undressed,” she whispered, reaching for his shirt. “I want to watch you.”

  Hours in the gym every week meant Justin had never been shy about his body. The soft glow of the bedside lamp offered just enough light for him to continue to admire her. “You’re gorgeous,” he whispered, tossing his shirt on the ground when he reached the last button. “I can’t believe you’re mine.”

  Without taking her eyes off him, she said, “Don’t give me that, Hunt. I saw some of your dates on the Internet. Actresses, models… they were so beautiful and sexy. I’m nothing like that.”

  “You’re sexier than any one of them,” he said, reaching for his belt buckle. “You love me in spite of the fact I’m Justin Hunt, the race car driver, not because of it. You don’t care who my parents are or how much I made in endorsement deals last year. You like me for me, and I can’t tell you how nice that is.” It was one of the many reasons Justin knew she was the woman for him. “You’re beautiful from the inside out, Anna.” He let his pants fall to the ground.

  “No one has ever said that to me before.” Her eyes widened as he stripped off his undergarments.

  Justin loved her innocence, her unjaded view of life. She appreciated the simple things, and having her in his life inspired him to appreciate them too. “Then you were dating the wrong men. They didn’t appreciate you. I do. And I always will.”

  She sighed before a smile lit up her face. “I don’t think I could ever get tired of hearing that.” She closed her eyes briefly before opening them when he crawled on top of her.

  “Good, ‘cause I’ll never get tired of reminding you.” He leaned in, kissing a path from her earlobe, down her neck, across her collarbone to her shoulder. The way she squirmed beneath him told Justin she wasn’t used to a man taking his time pleasuring her. He made it his mission to make up for the mistakes of the last loser who’d shared her bed.

  Hovering with his mouth just above her breasts, he smiled when she threaded her hands through his hair, trying to guide him. “Are you trying to tell me something, sweetheart?”

 

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