Fast Track (3 page)

Mitch laughed.
“You’re just jealous ‘cause she’s into me and not you.”

Jealous didn’t
even begin to describe what Justin felt. The past month had been
the worst of his life, and for the first time since the accident,
he’d met someone he thought might be able to help him find a brief
reprieve from his dark thoughts. Justin tried to think of one
plausible reason to keep his friend from pursuing her. “They’re my
neighbors, man. I know her old man. He’s a good guy. I don’t want
any problems with them.”

“What makes you
think you’ll have any just ‘cause I hook up with her?” Mitch poured
wine into two glasses. “Could be she’s just the girl I’ve been
looking for to help me forget Jennifer.”

Justin knew his
friend was still reeling from his break up, but Mitch could have
his pick of any of the women there. Why did he have to want the
only one who’d piqued Justin’s interest? Justin thought back to the
flash of defiance in her dark eyes. He wanted to see those big,
dark eyes spark with interest when she looked at him.

“You know using
one woman to help you forget another is a bad idea.”

“You’re the one
who keeps telling me it’s time to move on. I think I might have
found someone who can help me do that.”

Clenching his
fists in frustration, Justin said, “Don’t be an idiot. You just met
the woman a few minutes ago. How the hell do you know how you feel
about her?” If he felt the same way Justin did, both men were in
big trouble.

“Let’s just say
I’ve got a good feeling about this one.” Mitch brushed past Justin
with two wine glasses in one hand and the bottle in the other.
“Wish me luck.”

“What are you
saying? You plan to sleep with her?” There was no logical reason
that should make Justin feel sick, but it did.

“If I’m lucky,”
he said, smiling.

“Wait!” Justin
scrambled to think of a single reason why Mitch shouldn’t follow
through with his plan.

“What is it?”
Mitch asked. “Come on, I haven’t got all night.”

“Just… be
careful.” Justin winced when he realized how lame that sounded.

“Don’t worry.”
Mitch winked. “I’ve got plenty of protection.”

“Great,” Justin
muttered. That wasn’t what he meant, and he knew a dozen beers
wouldn’t chase that visual away.

***

Anna slipped
into a pair of denim shorts, a bra, and a more modest pink tank top
before running a brush through her hair and sliding her feet into
flip-flops. Taking a deep breath, she chastised herself as she
stepped out onto the deck. She shouldn’t be so nervous about having
an innocent drink with a man.

“Hey there,”
Mitch said, raising the wine bottle. “Perfect timing.”

She closed the
French door behind her. “So it would seem.” She accepted the glass
he offered before he brushed past her. Mitch was similar in stature
to his obnoxious friend. At well over six feet, he was bulky and
muscular, someone who obviously enjoyed lifting heavy weights at
the gym.

“What shall we
drink to?” he asked after setting the wine bottle on a small table
between two lounge chairs.

“How about we
drink to making new friends?” she asked, raising her wine
glass.

He smiled as he
touched his glass to hers. “It’s a start.”

Anna knew he
was flirting, but she didn’t feel the rush she expected. Mitch was
handsome and charming, but she didn’t feel the physical connection
she’d hoped she would. “Why don’t we have a seat?” she said,
gesturing to one of the chairs surrounding the table in the center
of the deck.

“How about we
make ourselves comfortable instead?” He pointed to the loungers
facing the ocean.

“Sure, why
not?” she agreed, settling into her favorite chair. She would often
lay out there after her evening jog, listening to the waves and the
rustling of the leaves.

Mitch set his
glass in the cup holder. “Tell me about yourself, Anna. Where
you’re from, what you do…”

“I’m afraid
I’ll put you to sleep,” she said, only half joking. Compared to the
famous people who made up her inner circle, she seemed painfully
boring.

“I don’t
believe that,” he said, smiling. “Come on, let’s hear it.”

“Well,” she
started, “I’m a kindergarten teacher.” Anna shot a sidelong glance
at Mitch. She knew it was a perfectly respectable career and she
loved it, but her single friends and fellow teachers told her
devout bachelors were often turned off by women who admitted they
loved their work as elementary teachers. Apparently it was akin to
wearing a flashing neon sign that she couldn’t wait to be a
mother.

“That’s cool,”
he said, tipping his head back on the cushion. “What else?”

“I’m from
Nashville.”

He chuckled.
“Music City, huh? What’s that like?”

“I don’t know,”
she said, taking a sip of wine. “I don’t have anything to compare
it to, but I like it there.”

“Your family
live there, too?”

“Yeah. What
about you?”

“I’m from
Indiana originally. Started working in racing right out of high
school.”

“That’s how you
met Justin?”

“Yeah, his
family owns a racing team. They taught me everything I know about
the business.” He smiled. “We come from pretty different
backgrounds. His family’s old money and mine’s strictly blue
collar. I thought the Hunts would be snobs, but they’re great
people.”

Anna knew what
being judged because of whom your parents were was like, which was
why she would never assume anything about Justin because of his
wealthy family. He was clearly a jerk used to getting his own way,
but that may have little to do with breeding. “So you just came
here to hang out with him for a while?”

“Yeah,
something like that.” He took a drink before he said, “You probably
heard about Justin’s accident.”

She didn’t
follow racing, but she didn’t live under a rock either. She knew
Justin had been involved in an accident that cost another driver’s
life. “I did. That must have been rough.”

“Yeah, it hit
him real hard. Todd was a good friend of ours. Justin blamed
himself, even though they were both at fault.” He shrugged. “It’s
the nature of the business. Every driver knows every race could be
his last.”

Anna shivered.
“I can’t even imagine what that must be like for their family and
friends. I mean, they must have wives and kids at home waiting on
them, right? How do they cope with that?”

“It goes with
the territory.” Mitch swirled the wine around in his glass. “Most
of these guys are already drivers by the time they meet their
wives. It’s in their blood, a part of who they are. They can’t give
it up just to make someone else happy, ya know?”

Anna didn’t
understand people who felt the need to chase thrills. She was
perfectly content getting lost in a good book or working with her
paints. “I guess different strokes for different folks, right?” She
wrinkled her nose at the corny analogy and rolled her eyes. “That
sounded really stupid, didn’t it? This whole dating thing really
isn’t for me. I’m out of practice, to say the least.”

“Tell me about
the guy who was stupid enough to let you go,” Mitch said, smiling.
“Justin mentioned you were engaged. What happened?”

“Tom’s a
doctor; he got a position at a hospital in California. He wanted me
to go with him, but that’s just not my thing.”

“Still, if you
loved the guy, you would have found a way to make it work, no?”

That’s what her
conscience kept telling her, but she still couldn’t justify
uprooting her entire life for anyone. “He thought so, but when the
time came to make the move, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. It
just didn’t feel right.”

“I know what
that’s like.” Looking out at the water, he said, “I was with my
girl since high school. I loved her and all, but I still couldn’t
bring myself to propose.”

“Is that why
y’all broke up?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah, she got
tired of waiting for me. Turned out she had another guy on the side
for a while, you know, a backup plan.”

Anna touched
his forearm. “I’m so sorry. That must have been terrible for
you.”

“I can’t deny
it hurt like hell,” he said, clenching his jaw. “She was the only
girl I…” His voice trailed off, and he shook his head. “Doesn’t
matter now. She’s ancient history.”

Raising her
glass, Anna offered her companion a tentative smile. “Here’s to the
future.”

Mitch grinned
as he touched his glass to hers. “I’ll drink to that.”

Justin was already on
his second cup of coffee by the time Mitch stumbled in his door the
next morning. “Where the hell were you?” he growled, not caring
that he had no right to demand answers.

Mitch smiled as
he stroked the dark whiskers on his chin. “Where do you think I
was?” He chuckled. “With your hot little neighbor, of course.”

“What the hell
happened?” Like he didn’t know. Mitch wouldn’t have spent the night
with her unless they had a lot in common, which put him firmly out
of the running.

Any other time,
Justin could have let it go, but she was the first girl who’d made
him
feel
anything since the accident. If he let the
opportunity slip through his fingers, he may not have another. He
didn’t want to admit he wanted to use her to help himself heal, but
in a way, he supposed he was.

“You know I
don’t kiss and tell,” Mitch said, grinning as he walked past
Justin.

Justin watched
him pour coffee. His hand trembled as he brought his own mug to his
lips. He’d struggled with anxiety ever since the accident, but he
knew that wasn’t the reason for his trembling. He was afraid of
losing out on the opportunity to explore his interest in Anna.

“I gotta get
out of here,” Justin said, intent on taking a jog on the beach to
help clear his head. Exercise seemed to be the only thing that
helped ease his angst since he wasn’t willing to take the
prescription medication his doctors kept trying to force on
him.

He’d only taken
a few steps down the beach when he saw her. She was swimming out to
a reef a quarter of a mile from the shore. Her hands cut through
the water gracefully, drawing attention to her lightly bronzed skin
and soft curves. To his surprise, his body responded exactly the
same way it had the night before when he pulled her against him:
instant arousal.

Back in the
day, that reaction would have been par for the course when a
beautiful woman was involved, but his body hadn’t responded that
way in so long, he’d begun to fear it may never happen again. His
doctors had told him his inability to perform sexually was linked
to his guilt surrounding the accident. They claimed there was no
physical cause for his problem; it was all in his head.

They’d assured
him as soon as he began the arduous task of coming to terms with
his part in the accident and learning to forgive himself, he could
begin to heal, mentally and physically. Justin had little doubt
Anna McCall held the key to helping him bridge the boundaries
preventing him from enjoying the physical pleasures he used to take
for granted. Too bad she seemed more interested in his best
friend.

He sat down on
the towel she’d spread out on the soft sand and leaned back on his
hands, watching her and reveling in his body’s natural reaction. He
knew she would probably be mortified if she witnessed his state of
arousal, but for a man who’d nearly given up hope, it seemed like a
blessing.

Anna slowly
came out of the water, gradually revealing a daring black bikini
that seemed at odds with the sweet shyness he’d witnessed last
night.

Justin had been
with many sexy women in his life, models, actresses, but none
compared to her natural beauty. Her physical assets were
impressive, to say the least, but that haunting innocence made him
want to know more about the girl lurking beneath the beautiful
exterior. With dark hair and eyes, full lips, and long lashes, she
was stunning by most standards, but he sensed she didn’t fixate on
her reflection. That was a refreshing change from the women he
usually dated.

She glared at
him before fixing her gaze on the brightly colored beach towel he
sat on. “Do you mind?”

“Oh sure,” he
said, getting up. He walked the short distance to hand the second
clean towel to her. Watching her dry off made his mouth dry out.
The slow rub of terry cloth over her soft skin…

“If you’re
finished ogling me, I’d like to go in and take a shower. Excuse
me.” She brushed past him.

He seized her
wrist. “Anna, wait.”

She glared at
the hand wrapped around her wrist before resting her eyes on him.
“Let… go… of… me,” she said, enunciating each word.

He released her
quickly, hoping she wouldn’t flee. “I’m sorry. I just… uh… wanted
to apologize for coming on so strong last night.”

“Really?” she
asked, wrapping the towel around her neck. “I just assumed you
always man handle women that way.”

“I don’t.” He
was mortified when he couldn’t seem to form a reasonable line of
defense. Taking a deep breath, he decided to go with the truth.
Raking his hands through his dark, cropped hair, he said, “Look,
the truth is, I’ve had a rough time of it lately.” When she didn’t
look impressed by his proclamation, he knew he had no choice but to
continue and hope for the best. “I don’t know if you heard, but I
was involved in an accident…”

“I know,” she
said softly. “I heard.”

The last thing
he wanted was her pity, but compassion seemed better than contempt,
so he took what he could get. “The accident really messed me
up.”

She tipped her
head back to look him in the eye. “I can imagine.”

Seeing that as
an invitation to continue, he wondered how far he could take his
confession without humiliating himself completely. “I… uh… came
here to get away for a while. I invited some of my friends to, you
know, help take my mind off things.”