Fast Track (5 page)

She looked like
she was wavering until she turned in the opposite direction and
started jogging away from him.

“Hey, where are
you going?”

“It’s time for
my run,” she said, raising an arm above her head to tap the face of
her watch.

“Why don’t you
stop by for a drink later?” he shouted, hoping she would respond.
He saw her replace her ear buds.

“Maybe, we’ll
see.”

Justin wandered
back to his place feeling restless. He wanted to spend more time
with Anna, but he didn’t want to look too desperate.

Deciding to
play it cool, he turned on his collection of country music tunes on
the outdoor sound system, retrieved a tray from the kitchen holding
cheese, crackers, and grapes, and opened a bottle of his favorite
wine. He brought two glasses… just in case.

He must have
drifted off on the lounge chair because when he woke up, Anna stood
over him wearing a white strapless sundress, and her hair was damp
from a recent shower.

“Hey, you made
it,” he said, shifting in his chair. “Sit down. Let me get you a
glass of wine.”

“Thanks,” she
said, claiming the seat beside him.

“How was your
run?” He handed her a glass.

“It was great,
thanks.”

Their hands
brushed as she accepted the glass, and he felt the brief contact
all the way up his forearm. “Are you hungry?” he asked.

“No, I had a
few almonds and some yogurt when I went home to shower and
change.”

“You look
great.” His eyes drifted over the simple eyelet dress. No other
woman could have made virginal innocence look as enticing.

“Thanks.” She
twisted the stem of the glass between her fingers as she tipped her
head back and closed her eyes. “I love it here, don’t you?”

“Yeah, it’s
great.”

Justin came to
the island to escape the people demanding to know when he would
return to the circuit. He wasn’t ready, and he honestly didn’t know
when or if he ever would be. Unfortunately, racing was in his
blood, and without that, he didn’t know who or what he was.

“Could you ever
see yourself living here full-time?” he asked, claiming the lounge
chair beside her.

“I don’t think
so,” she said, a sigh of contentment slipping past her lips. “It’s
a great place to rest and recharge, but it’s a little too remote
for my taste.”

“Yeah, me
too.”

The island was
once owned by a wealthy developer who’d divided the ten acres into
two parcels of land and built two homes. One was a large
two-storey, which Justin had bought last year, and the other was a
smaller bungalow, which Ty McCall had bought several years before.
There was also a small caretaker’s cottage tucked away in the
forest. The caretaker tended to the needs of the vacationers and
traveled into town once or twice a week to bring back supplies.
Other than that, he made himself scarce, respecting their desire
for privacy.

“Where do you
live?” she asked, tilting her head to look at him.

“I live in
North Carolina now, Charlotte. But I was born in New York. My
family got into racing when I was just a kid, so it seemed like the
logical place to be.”

“Have you
always loved racing, or did you feel pressure to get into it
because of your family?”

“My family has
a lot of interests: horse racing and breeding, car racing,
publishing, philanthropy… They would have supported anything I
chose, but cars have always been my passion.”

“You must miss
racing then?”

“I do.” He
hadn’t been behind the wheel of his race car since the accident. It
had been rebuilt and was in pristine condition, awaiting his
return, but he couldn’t even think about sliding in without
thinking about Todd.

“So, when are
you going to go back?” she asked. She set her glass down on the
table between them.

“I don’t know.”
He sighed. “This season will be winding down in November. The next
season starts up in February. I’m thinking maybe next season… I
hope.”

She raised an
eyebrow. “You don’t seem too sure of yourself.”

He rolled onto
his side and propped his arm behind his head. “I’m not sure of
anything right now. I came here hoping to forget for a while, but I
know I can’t escape my problems.”

“Do you want to
talk about it?” she asked.

He never would
have thought about confiding in anyone other than Mitch, but
something about Anna made him want to confess his fears. “That day
on the track, I was so focused on winning. It was the only thing on
my mind.”

“That’s kind of
the goal when you’re out there, isn’t it?” she asked, shifting to
face him.

“Something
about that day was different. I can’t describe it. I was just
hungrier, ya know?”

She smiled. “I
can’t say that I do.”

“I guess you’d
have to be one of us to understand what that’s like,” he said, his
mouth tilting up in a half smile. “You see the finish line…. the
checkered flag… you hear the roar of the crowd and the champagne
corks…” He drew a deep breath. “It’s like that’s all you can see
and hear. Suddenly, coming in second isn’t an option. You have to
win at all costs.” He closed his eyes, reliving the worst day of
his life. “I sure as hell never meant to cost Todd his life in my
bid to be the best, though.”

She reached for
his hand. “I love this song. Will you dance with me?”

Justin took a
minute to pull himself out of his thoughts. “Sure, I’d love to,” he
said, accepting her outstretched hand. Any excuse to hold her was
okay with him, even if he suspected the dance was a ruse to offer
him comfort and distract him from his flashbacks.

Pulling her
into his arms, he smiled when she settled her head on his chest. He
couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so at peace. “Thank you,”
he whispered, brushing his lips against her hair.

“For what?”

“Making me
forget.”

“You’re
welcome,” she said, squeezing the hand resting against his chest.
“We all have our regrets, Justin.”

“Even you?”
Suddenly, he wanted to know everything about the little enigma with
the power to make him forget that life as he knew it was still up
for grabs.

“Of
course.”

“Tell me about
them.”

She tilted her
head back to look at him and smiled. “I regret pinning my hopes and
dreams for the future on a man who--”

“Your fiancé?”
Justin felt the tension stiffening his body. On their last trip, Ty
McCall had told him that his baby girl was busy planning her
wedding, and he had to plan his tour dates around the big day. Her
family was excited about her impending nuptials and the doctor
she’d chosen to be her husband.

“Yes.”

Anna had never
told him she was available to pursue a relationship with him or
invited his advances. The attraction could be entirely one-sided.
Perhaps she wasn’t wearing her engagement ring because she just
wanted one last fling before she took her vows. “Where is he
now?”

“He accepted a
job offer in California.”

“Oh…” He held
his breath, hoping she would continue. When she said nothing, he
asked, “Do you plan to join him?”

“He wanted me
to, but it wasn’t what I wanted. Nashville is my home.”

His grip on her
waist tightened. Knowing she didn’t belong to another man put his
mind at ease. She still may not welcome his advances, but she
wasn’t pushing him away either. “Seems to me a woman would go
anywhere to be with the love of her life, and vice versa.”

“You might be
right.” She set her head back on his chest. “Could be he wasn’t the
one for me.”

Justin knew she
could probably hear the steady beat of his heart. Something about
Anna made him want to open up and encourage her to do the same. He
wanted to know what mistakes her former lover had made so he
wouldn’t repeat them.

“Tell me about
him,” he said quietly. He didn’t want her to think about her ex
while she was in his arms, but he didn’t want to be her rebound guy
either. If she had reservations about ending her engagement, he
wanted to know before they went any further.

“He’s a good
man. Kind and decent, loyal and loving. I still care about him a
great deal.”

Justin knew any
man in his right mind would walk away when the woman he was
attracted to sang her ex’s praises, but he couldn’t. “If he was so
great, why didn’t you go with him?”

“I guess I
didn’t love him as much as I thought I did.”

He didn’t let
her see his smile of satisfaction as one song ended and a Ty McCall
ballad began. “You think your daddy would be worried if he knew you
were all alone on this island with me?”

Anna laughed.
“I don’t think so. My dad and my brother like you a lot. Of course,
they’re both huge racing fans, so that may have something to do
with it.”

“So, they’ve
spoken to you about me?” Justin was still trying to figure out
whether Anna was as interested in him as he was in her, but she
wasn’t making it easy.

“Yeah, a time
or two. Something along the lines of, ‘Hey, guess who bought the
place beside ours? Justin - freakin’- Hunt! Can you believe
that?’”

Justin laughed
at her accurate impression of her brother, Nick. They’d had beers
together a few times when both of them were on the island. They’d
talked racing, sports, and women. Suddenly Justin wracked his brain
trying to remember whether he may have said something that gave
Nick the impression he wasn’t worthy of his sister.

“How is
Nick?”

“Good. Busy
with the ranch.”

“I like your
brother. He’s a cool guy.”

“I think
so.”

Justin liked
Anna’s family, and he suspected the feeling was mutual. Should they
ever become a couple, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about
overcoming that obstacle. “So, what’s the plan while you’re here?
Why’d you feel the need to hide out so far away from civilization
this summer?”

“Did I say I
was hiding out?” she asked tentatively.

“You didn’t
have to. Why else would someone come here?”

She sighed. “I
needed a little time by myself to figure things out.”

He wasn’t sure
he wanted to know, but he still felt compelled to ask. “You mean
things with your ex?”

“Tom still
wants us to find a way to work things out.”

“Is that what
you want?”

She turned her
head to face the ocean. “I don’t know. To be honest, I’m
confused.”

As much as he
loved holding her, Justin wanted to read the expression on her face
when she spoke about her ex. He took her hand and led her into his
living room. “Tell me what’s confusing you.” He sat on the sofa
before tugging on her hand, coaxing her to join him.

“Tom and I were
together for a long time,” she said, pushing her hair off her
forehead. “Like I said, he’s a good man, but…”

Justin was
pleased to hear the hesitation in her voice. “But?”

“I always felt
like something was missing.” She sighed as she folded her legs
beneath her. “At first, I told myself I was being too picky. We
were compatible, we liked and respected each other, and I thought
that was enough to build a relationship on.”

“You don’t
think so anymore?” he asked, resting his hand on her leg.

“I wanted
passion.” She looked at his hand. “At first I thought it was just a
myth I read about in novels, but then I saw my friends and family
finding their soul mates, and I began to realize it really does
exist.”

His eyes rested
on her lips as he propped his other arm on the couch behind her
head. “Have you ever experienced that kind of connection with
anyone?”

“I… uh…” She
licked her lips. “Don’t know.”

“Yes, you do.”
He leaned in closer, knowing he could be taking a big risk by
forcing her to acknowledge their obvious chemistry. “You feel it
too.”

“Justin,” she
said quietly, “I don’t know if this is a good idea.” Her eyes
sketched his face. “I like you, but maybe we shouldn’t complicate
things with…”

“Sex?” He
brushed a fingertip over the slope of her shoulder and watched the
thrill bumps rise on her soft skin. “We’re both single, consenting
adults. What we do while we’re here is our business, no one
else’s.”

“Is that why
you asked your friends to leave? Because you wanted to be alone
with me?”

He could deny
it to salvage his pride if she rejected him, but it was time to go
all in. “Yes.”

She drew a
shaky breath. “I see.”

“How do you
feel about that?” he asked, running his fingers over her cheek.

“I don’t know.”
Her voice sounded shaky and breathless. “I don’t have a lot of
experience with this kind of thing. Tom was… uh… my only
lover.”

He inched
closer, bending his head so he could skim her shoulder with his
lips. “That’s okay; we can take all the time you need. I just want
to spend time with you, Anna. I want to get to know you better.” He
nestled his head in the crook of her neck, kissing the hollow at
the base of her throat until she shivered. “I’m not suggesting we
make love tonight.” Although his body told him that was a stellar
idea. “We have the rest of the summer to decide whether we want to
take that step.”

She enclosed
his head with her hands. “I’m attracted to you. I’m just not ready
to…”

“It’s okay,” he
said, brushing his lips over hers.

“You would
really be okay with waiting?”

“As long as it
takes.” Just knowing she was interested in pursuing their growing
attraction was enough to satisfy him for a little while.

Anna was engrossed in
her painting the following morning when a soft tap on her door drew
her attention. “Come in.”

“Hey,” Justin
said as he walked in. “I was just about to go for a swim-” He
stopped in mid-sentence when he saw what she was working on. “Wow,
that’s incredible.”