K. Bromberg - Driven

She snorts rudely, surveying me again before turning on her heel and stalking off the way she came. “Sorry,” he mutters, “she can be an annoying little punk sometimes, regardless of how old she is.” And with those words, for some reason, I think I get it. She thinks I’m one of Colton’s little disposable playthings. And she acted how I probably would act if it were my brother. Disgusted. Fed up.

“It’s okay.” I step back from him. “You need to get going.”

“That I do,” he nods, running his fingers through his hair.

“Be safe, Colton. I’ll see you at the finish line.”

“Always,” he says before flashing a quick, roguish smile at me and then turning to walk toward the pits. I watch his sexy swagger as he tugs his baseball hat on his head and adjusts it. He turns back to look at me, the bill of his hat shadowing his eyes and a wayward grin on his lips, dangerous written all over him. If nothing else, he is the definition of sexy. I sigh, shaking my head as I instinctively smile back at him. He turns back around, and I watch him until I can’t see him any more.

Where do I even begin to process the last fifteen minutes and Colton’s mastery of mixed signals?

CHAPTER 20

“Okay, boys, I think that last wing adjustment dialed it in. Great job! I’m going full throttle for the last twenty starting next time I hit the line,” Colton’s disembodied voice comes over the headset as we hear him on the stretch of track behind us.

“Don’t push too hard, Colt. We’ll need to make a couple more adjustments for next time out. I don’t want you burning up the motor before we can mess with it.”

“Relax, Becks,” Colton laughs, “I’m not gonna break your baby.” I can hear the engine rev up on the backstretch as Colton heads out of turn two. “Davis? You on?”

“What do you need, Wood?” Davis’ voice fills my ears. Wood? What’s that all about?

On the open mic, I can hear the car downshift as he heads into turn three. “Get Zander in the flag stand.” I can hear the vibration of the car in Colton’s voice as he increases his speed, “Let him wave. Then the rest of the boys.”

“Ten-four.”

The boys are all listening on their headsets and they turn to look at me with eyes big and grins wide. Davis climbs up the stairs to the little box where we sit above pit row and motions for the boys to follow him. Dane descends and then Jax looks back at me, eyebrows raised in question. “Go ahead, Jax,” I motion for him to go, as I remain seated. “I’ll stay here.”

I watch the boys make their way to pit row, heads turned to the right as Colton comes flying out of turn four toward the start-finish line. The rumble of the engine fills my ears and vibrates through body, reverberating in my chest as he whips past us. Once gone, Davis leads them across the track and they disappear as they head to the flag stand. Moments later, Davis climbs into the little white boxed in platform with Zander at his side, and they wait for Colton to come back around the track again. I can hear the pitch of the motor heighten as Colton hits the accelerator down the backstretch. Before I know it, he is completing the two-mile circuit and tearing down the front straight away before me. Zander’s hands are on the flag, and Davis cautiously helps his little arms wave the checkered flag as Colton approaches and quickly zips past. I capture his moment and his smile with the camera before he heads back down the stairs for Aiden to have his turn.

It has been an incredible day. The boys have gotten a once-in-a-lifetime experience, thanks to Colton and his team. We’ve watched him fly around the track, come in for adjustments, and listened to the crew’s banter back and forth for the past several hours. I’ve been interviewed by reporters from the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register in regards to the fundraising collaboration of CD Enterprises on behalf of Corporate Cares. A photographer took pictures of us on and off while watching the test laps. The boys have been filled with sugary treats as well as great food that Colton’s team had brought in for us. We’ve been treated better than I ever could’ve imagined considering this was not a race or official engagement.

I snap a shot of Shane as he waves the flag when Colton passes by, pleased that I perfectly captured the look of joy in his face. When I look up from the digital image on my camera, Tawny is standing in front of me, a cool, calculating look in her frosty blue eyes. I give her a cautious but courteous smile despite her obvious censure of me.

When she just stands there and stares at me, I decide to make the first move. Her attempt at intimidation is ineffective. I just pray that for once in my life, I can have that quick wit I always think about after the fact, because I think I’m going to need it. “Can I help you?”

She crosses her arms across her ample bosom and leans a hip against the railing, her eyes never leaving mine. “You know you’re not his typical type, right?”

Oh, so that’s how this is going to be . I watch Colton come down the straightaway and wait for the deafening sound to pass us before pulling my headphones off. I lean back in my seat and allow the knowing smirk I feel to ghost my lips—the ones that Colton’s lips had been on earlier. “And your point is what? That you are?” I cringe inwardly at my last comment, for I know that she actually does fit the Colton pre-approved mold. So much for being witty .

She laughs snidely at me. “ Oh, doll, your innocent little self has no clue what you’re getting yourself into, do you?”

Condescending bitch! “And what? If I had all of the experience that you do, I would?” My voice drips with sarcasm. “Let’s get something straight, what’s between Colton and I is none of your business. And I’m more than capable of taking care of myself, Tawny. Thanks for your misguided concern, though.”

She stares at me through the slits of her eyelids, her face twisting in wry amusement. “Oh, Rylee, everything Colton does is my business . I make sure of it.”

I stare at her momentarily, stunned by her impudence and wondering if there is any truth behind her words. I try to hide the bewilderment in my voice with cynicism. “I wasn’t aware he needed a keeper. He seems quite capable of making decisions for himself.” I cross my arms over my chest, mirroring her.

“You don’t know anything, do you?” she laughs cattily, her patronizing tone grating on my nerves. “Every man needs a woman whispering in his ear, telling him what’s best for him.” She smirks sardonically at me, “And Rylee, doll , I’m that person to Colton. Have been,” she arches an eyebrow, “and will continue to be.”

I plug my ears as Colton comes back around again, thankful for the brief respite to have a moment to let her comments sink in. After I’ve tracked him past us, I turn back to face her. “I’m pretty sure Colton doesn’t let anyone tell him what to do, Tawny. Nice try, though.”

If she laughs that annoying know-it-all laugh one more time, I’m going to strangle her. “You just keep thinking that, doll.” She taps an acrylic nail to her perfectly white teeth. “And before you know it, you’ll think you’ve reeled him in. And despite his little spiel about not wanting a girlfriend, you’ll think he actually wants more with you. That you can change him and his ways. You’ll think that you’ve tamed that rebellion and topped him and his domineering ways.” She turns to watch him fly down the backstretch of the track before turning back to me and taking a step closer. “And just when that happens, you’ll be over quicker than that lap he just clocked. You don’t have what it takes to keep him. He gets bored quickly.” Her eyebrows rise as she studies me. “Oh, my God!” she gasps, putting a hand over her mouth to hide her smarmy smile. “You’ve already fucked him, haven’t you?”