Victory Lane (Shady Falls #1) (11 page)

Margie and I sat in the lobby talking, waiting for Kyle and Julius to arrive so we could go to dinner. I wasn’t sure what was going to be expected of me, but I was concerned about the way I looked. I didn’t look like a mechanic; I looked like a woman going on a date. I worried they might take one look at me and not take me seriously. I almost wished I would have fought harder for dress pants or something. At least I could feel more like myself.

I knew the moment Kyle and Julius arrived. Margie immediately stopped talking and she got a huge smile on her face. The adoration for her husband was apparent in her eyes and in her smile. It was clear to anyone with eyes that Margie loved these two men dearly. She stood and I followed, too nervous to turn and see the two men walking toward us.

All thoughts of changing and pretty much anything else slipped from my mind when I turned to see Kyle and Julius nearing. Their eyes drifted over both of us, but Julius’ stayed on me. In his stare was the hunger that I noticed back in the garage in Mooresville. Like he was seeing someone other than me. They walked up to us and Kyle’s smile was enormous when he looked at his wife.

“My god woman, you look beautiful,” he kissed her cheek and then turned to me. “And holy shit, Toni. I knew you were pretty, but damn. I’m glad I’m married because I don’t think I could work with you otherwise.”

His compliment both surprised me and made me blush. I didn’t know what to say, so I focused my gaze on the floor. I could still feel Julius’ stare focused on me. I wasn’t sure what it meant, but I liked his eyes on me.

Chapter Eight

Julius

Holy fuckin’ hell. She’s gorgeous.
I knew she was pretty. I also knew she had a hot ass body just from seeing her in jeans and t-shirts, but that dress … Damn … that dress hugged every single curve, showed every single muscle. She was in flawless shape and the dress accentuated her form perfectly. She towered over my much shorter sister in her heels, and those heels made her legs look a mile long.
Fuckin’ hell, I’m screwed.

She stood there quietly, shying away from Ky’s compliment. Damn, she can’t be this fucking striking and modest at the same time. It wasn’t possible. I’ve never met a single woman who was both. Anna knew she was pretty and she loved to wear things to make me, and every other man, look at her and she was never modest about showing herself. Toni was totally different. She had to be one of the most gorgeous women that I’d ever seen and she didn’t even seem to know it. That quality made her even more dangerous. Instead of enjoying the compliment like most women would, she seemed embarrassed by Kyle’s praise. She was so damn modest; she couldn’t even look people in the eye when they gave her a compliment.

Standing there looking at this awe-inspiring creature, I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to keep my hands off her. But, the reality was, I couldn’t see myself blindly using her as I did so many others. I’d numbly gone through the last five years of my life fucking random women that I never had to see again, never feeling anything. Then in one meeting, this girl made me question everything. I wanted to feel her flesh in my hands, her hair running through my fingers, my body meshed as one with hers. I wanted to feel her as I haven’t felt another woman for years. She was here to stay and according to Kyle, we needed her. The problem was my body was feeling a need for her too.

“What do you think, Jules?” Margie asked, pulling me from my thoughts. Then I realized I had been standing there staring at Toni the entire time without saying a word.

“I think Ky and I are pretty lucky to have the two most beautiful women in Daytona with us tonight,” I said. Toni glanced up through her eyelashes and her golden brown eyes seemed to shine as they met mine for just a moment before she looked back down again. A faint blush crept across her cheeks, giving her a natural glow that made her even prettier.
Damn, I’m in fuckin’ trouble with this woman.

Kyle offered his arm to Margie to lead her out of the hotel. Toni wasn’t my date, but I offered her my arm anyway. She looked at me uneasily.

“I’m just tryin’ to be a gentleman, Toni. Don’t worry.” I didn’t know why I felt the need to try to ease her nerves, but I just knew it was something I needed to do. I smiled at her, trying to make her feel at ease. She hesitantly took my arm and the four of us walked out of the hotel and to the car waiting at the valet. We all slid inside and got comfortable. Pulling away from the curb, I fiddled with the stations on the radio. We needed background music, and I needed something to do with my hand. Toni sat next to me in the front seat, her dress climbing up to reveal half of her thigh. I had to drag my eyes from the view of previously hidden smooth skin being exposed. I stopped playing with the channels when I found
Come Alive
by The Foo Fighters. The song quietly flowed through the speakers, marking the occasion. I couldn’t help but think how appropriate the song was for the moment. The first time in a long time, I felt like myself again, as if Toni coming into my life was bringing me back to whom I once was. That thought frightened me a little, but the day I met this girl I started to feel again.

The conversation flowed easily through the car as we neared the restaurant. We talked about testing and the upcoming season. Ky tried to prepare Toni for meeting Axel. We all knew Axel’s opinion mattered more than anyone else’s did. If he had a problem with Toni, we’d be fucked. I couldn’t imagine anyone having a problem with her though. She was smart, talented, and sweet.

~oOo~

Walking into the restaurant, I instantly noticed the eyes that followed us as we approached the bar. I didn’t delude myself for one moment that they were only looking at me. I knew I was easily recognized from Icecore commercials and to fans but, in my opinion, it was the woman on my arm attracting the most attention. She was gorgeous and shining brighter than any star in the sky. We arrived earlier than our reservation so we sat at the bar for a drink. I noticed several men watch her glide to her seat. I didn’t like how that made me feel. I knew the feeling well, but it had been a long time since I felt a pang of jealousy.

“So Jules, what do you think about your time trials tomorrow?” Margie asked me. She had a look in her eyes as if she could read my mind. More than likely, she probably could. The big sister ESP thing she always seemed to have was annoying, but it was good to know she had my back no matter what happened. I wondered what Margie would think if I pursued Toni. I wondered what Kyle would think or do. We have nothing in our contract deterring us from dating people in the company, but this was an unprecedented situation. Of course, I was the boss so in theory, I made the rules.

“I don’t know yet. I haven’t driven either car yet,” I said. I didn’t want to say I was nervous about driving the car Toni had worked so hard to get ready. It had nothing to do with her being a woman. I had complete trust in Kyle; he’d been by my side since we were kids. Toni was new and she hadn’t earned my trust yet.

“Well according to Kev and the rest of Toni’s team, it’s gonna be their car you drive, not ours,” Kyle said. He looked proud, almost like he was the one who discovered this girl. I guess he kind of did, after hearing about her from his father he was determined to give her a chance.

A pretty blush crept across Toni’s cheeks again and she looked down. It was unreal how confident she could be yet so modest at the same time. A smile crept across her lips and stayed there while we discussed the cars and Kevin’s arrogance. Maybe it wasn’t arrogance on Kevin’s part; maybe he just knew there was something special here. Something beyond just a fantastic mechanic, there was chemistry. Maybe it could be the kind of chemistry that I had with Ky or Axel had with Roger. Maybe Kev knew there was so much more than meets the eye with this girl. I was certainly beginning to see.

“What do you think, Toni? You haven’t said a word,” Kyle said.

She looked up, almost seeming surprised when he addressed her.

“I don’t know,” she said softly. “I guess we’ll see tomorrow.”

“Mr. Fuller?” the maître d said when he got close to us, “your table is ready, sir. Please, leave your glasses and we will have fresh drinks delivered to your table.”

Without thinking, I took Toni’s hand and guided the group toward the private room we requested for our dinner. I hadn’t realized I took her hand until I felt her grip tighten around my fingers. I glanced down at her hand in mine, held protectively within my palm. I liked how my hand looked wrapped around hers. My eyes glided up to hers, taking in the nervous look on her face. “What’s wrong?” I asked as if I hadn’t noticed we were holding hands.

“Nothing,” she said. “It’s just everyone is staring at you.”

I leaned in to whisper in her ear, noting how easily I could perform such a feat. I loved that she was tall and with the heels, she was only a few inches shorter than I was. “I don’t think they are starin’ at me, honey. I think it’s you that’s attractin’ their attention.” She sighed and I wasn’t sure why. “What?”

“Like they’re tryin’ to figure out who the plain girl is walking with that famous driver?” she asked.

“No, like they’re tryin’ to figure out who the
beauty
is with me.”

She looked up at me through her lashes. The pretty blush was back and it stretched down her throat to the top of her chest. She quickly averted her eyes when they met mine. Someday I needed to figure out why she wouldn’t hold my gaze for more than a moment before she turned away.

“I don’t think so,” she said. “But it was nice of you to say.”

Glancing back, I noticed Kyle and Margie were having their own conversation. They didn’t seem to be paying any attention to what Toni and I were talking about. I leaned in close again and whispered, “Antonia, I don’t lie and I don’t embellish. I say what I think and I’m not the man that gives compliments for the hell of it. Trust me, other than my gorgeous sister, there’s not a single woman in this restaurant nearly as beautiful as you are.” She didn’t say a word. She just looked embarrassed by my compliment.

When we arrived at our table, there were appetizers and fresh drinks waiting. I pulled her seat out for her to sit and placed myself to her side. I wanted to sit with her and continue to talk to her through dinner. For some reason instead of feeling as if she was fishing for compliments like so many women I encountered, I could tell her self-esteem was truly that low. I’d like to know who made her feel so low about herself.

“You know, the way you say my full name is nice. Like the way my dad says it when he’s trying to get me to really listen to him.”

I wasn’t sure if I liked being compared to her father, but there was something else in her words. Something that held much more meaning. I wondered if someone else had used her name as if it was a curse or something. So much about this woman was a mystery. First and foremost, I wanted to know who fucked with her self-esteem. A woman like her shouldn’t have low self-worth.

Shortly after we were seated, Axel Turner, the team owner and a representative from our main sponsor, George Moffett from Icecore Ale, joined us. Axel sat to my left and Toni to my right. Kyle sat across from me, eyeing me from time to time. I wasn’t sure what he was trying to convey, but I was sure he would let me know soon enough.

“Tell me Jules, who’s your beautiful date?” Axel asked.

“She isn’t my date, Axel. This is our new intern, Toni Rizzo, she’s interning this season with Kyle.”

George snickered, “Interning as what?” His implication was clear, pissing me off. Kyle must have seen the anger flash in my eyes because he was quick to chime in.

“George, Toni’s a student at NPCT. She’s the top of her class and will be my right hand for the beginnin’ of the season. She’s a brilliant mechanic. She’s definitely testin’ my knowledge, that’s for sure.”

“Testin’ your knowledge in what? She doesn’t look like a mechanic. You know what I think, women don’t belong in a garage, they belong in a kitchen, barefoot and knocked up,” George insisted.

I could feel Toni stiffen next to me. Her hands were in her lap and she continuously wrung them while listening to George’s ridiculous opinion. Seeing her so nervous and upset flamed my annoyance with this asshole. “Look, George–” I started, but was cut off by Margie’s furor.

“George, we’ve been workin’ together for years now, right?” George nodded but didn’t say anything. He just kept looking at Toni, raking his eyes down to her chest then back to Margie. “I never would’ve taken you for a chauvinist pig, but I guess I was wrong.” She paused for a moment, then stood and walked toward the door. “Hold on, I’ll be right back.”

Toni still wrung her hands, staring down into her lap. Her fingers were red from the pressure she was putting on them. Gently, I reached over and took her hand in mine to stop her nervous action. She didn’t acknowledge me except to stop wringing her hands. I glanced over to her, noticing her eyes locked on our entwined hands. I noticed the hardness in her eyes. She wasn’t just nervous, she was angry. I could see it in the hard set of her jaw and in her furrowed brow. She was furious.

“Where’re you goin’?” Ky asked Margie before she got too far.

“To the kitchen, where I belong,” she said walking toward the door. She turned and smiled, “Besides, I need to grab a knife.”

A laugh burst from my gut, I knew Margie would have some smartass comment to make. With my laugh, Toni’s hand tightened on mine. A quick glance confirmed she was smiling too. Margie definitely had a way of making people think about what they were saying. Kyle snickered and stood up, pulling his wife back to the table. “No, Ky. Women belong pregnant in a kitchen. I got one down; I better get my fat ass to the kitchen.”

“All right, Margie, we get it,” Axel said trying to placate my sister’s fiery temper. He turned to George, “George, it would probably be best if you’d just shut up now, before Icecore gets sued for sexual harassment.”

“You wouldn’t,” George argued.

“I might not, but if you haven’t noticed Margie’s pissed, Toni’s upset, and both Ky and Jules look like they’re ready to rip your head off. It’d be best for you to just stop, now.” Axel paused and looked at Toni. I tightened my grip on her hand, trying to show support before removing it. I wanted her to know she had support, but I didn’t want anyone thinking she needed it. “So
you’re
the intern I’ve heard about?” Axel asked, addressing Toni. “Tell me, what makes you qualified to work on
my
team?”

Toni was still looking down at her hands. She immediately looked up and met his eyes. We all sat quietly and waited for her to answer. Her confidence needed to shine through, now more than ever.

“Well, Mr. Turner,” she said quietly, “I have been working on cars since I was eleven years old. I am the top of my class at NPCT, I led the team that built the winning car in our car build challenge last semester, and I come highly recommended by my professors.”