Valerie Parv - Kissed By a Stranger

‘This has nothing to do with limelight. I want a place in your life, not on your show.’

She drew a taut breath. ‘My show and my life are pretty much intertwined.’

‘They don’t have to be.’ He took the menu from her hands and set it to one side. ‘You’re more than your work, Sarah. Once, I believed I was nothing unless I was in the cockpit of a Formula One car, beating the field at San Merino. Four years off the circuit, living an ordinary life, has shown me it isn’t true. Your own valuation of yourself is what counts, not world championships or the centre seat on some television show.’

‘Tell that to my parents,’ she said sourly. ‘For the first time in my life they’re actually proud of me, because I’m doing this job.’

He gestured dismissively. ‘Then more fool them. They should have been proud of you the moment they set eyes on you, just for being you.’

She gave a hollow laugh. ‘It’s a nice theory. But when you have sisters like mine you need a lot more to hold your own in the family. My sister, Leanne, is a top model, and Isabel, the oldest, is the new political wunderkind in Canberra.’

He nodded, recognising the names. ‘So you have a super-model and possibly Australia’s first woman prime minister in the family. So what?’

‘So the only way I can keep up is to get this job,’ she said, recognising the note of despair in her voice. ‘Haven’t you ever wanted something so much you could practically taste it?’

A tightness gripped his features. ‘You obviously know little about the Grand Prix circuit or you wouldn’t need to ask. The world championship is a heady prize, no matter how many times you win it. The point is, I went after it for my own reasons, not to prove my worth to anyone. Your worth as a person is a given, Sarah, not something you need to earn.’

She sighed. ‘Intellectually, I know you’re right. The problem is remembering it when I’m around my family.’

In the last few minutes she had told him more about herself than she usually told anyone, she thought with astonishment. It was just as well he spurned the headlines. He could have a field day with her confession if he chose. Instinctively, she knew he wouldn’t, but it didn’t stop her feeling embarrassed as she thought of how much of herself she had revealed to a man she barely knew.

Except that she did know him, she thought in amazement. Maybe there was some truth in the idea that there are no strangers in the world. Kitty believed that it was no accident who sat next to you in a crowd, that you had probably been close to them in an earlier life. Sarah wasn’t sure she agreed, although she was in no position to argue, but there was no denying that being with Luke felt oddly right—as if they did, indeed, have a long history behind them.

At the same time she realised he had revealed almost nothing significant about himself. ‘What do you do now you’re not racing?’ she asked.

He frowned. ‘Do I have to do anything? Of course—your yardstick for acceptability. Very well, I’m a consultant on computerised car design to several international companies.’

His answer felt like a rebuke, as he’d probably intended. She felt renewed stirrings of uncertainty. They saw life very differently. Was the attraction between them, however magnetic, enough of a counterbalance?

‘Yes,’ she said decisively, out loud.

The sea-dark eyes held hers until she had to fight a sensation like drowning. ‘Yes?’ he queried.

‘You asked me a question. The answer is yes.’

He chose to misunderstand. ‘Yes to what?’

Damn him. She felt another blush starting and fought it. ‘Yes, I’d like to repeat the experience,’ she said through clenched teeth. ‘Yes, I want to see you again. Are you satisfied?’

He took his time responding. ‘Not yet, but I’ve no doubt I will be. And so, my dear Sarah, will you. I’ll collect you from the studio after you finish work.’

She should have been annoyed at his assumption that she had no other man waiting for her. Instead she felt a disturbing sense of exhilaration at the thought of walking out of the studio to find him waiting.

Under the table she felt his knee nudge hers. It was a casual, almost accidental touch, but it sent a tremor all the way along her spine. She had a feeling tonight’s show was going to seem endless.

CHAPTER THREE

AFTER lunch Luke insisted on driving Sarah to the studio, although she protested that she could take a taxi. ‘I’ve already taken up enough of your day.’

‘Will you stop organising my time for me?’ he said, a steely undercurrent in his voice. ‘If I want to spend an entire day ferrying you around the Gold Coast, it’s my choice to make.’

His authoritative tone met the tiniest resistance. She didn’t need him taking care of her, but at the same time his willingness to sacrifice his time to her needs brought an unwonted thrill of pleasure. No one had done that before, even men who’d sworn they were madly in love with her. She’d still been expected to fit in with their needs and schedules.

It was almost too good to be true. Was it too good to be true? Her hand froze on the car door and she looked at him. ‘Tell me one thing, Luke.’

‘What is it?’

‘Why aren’t you married?’

A vision of his assistant, Glen, working on this very car, flashed into her mind. Oh, no, surely Luke wasn’t...?

There was an icy pause. ‘Not for the reason you’re evidently thinking, so you can retract that journalistic antenna right now.’

He slid into the driver’s seat and leaned across to open her door. She almost collapsed into the passenger seat. ‘I wasn’t implying . . . ’

‘Yes, you were,’ he snapped. ‘Although you have no basis for it. If you must know, I was engaged to be married but a lot of things went tragically wrong. I decided I was better off alone.’

Was this the trouble which had driven him out of competitive racing? ‘What happened?’ she asked.

He eased the powerful car into the stream of traffic heading north along the highway. Without taking his eyes off the road, he said, ‘It’s a long story and not very pretty. Besides, I could ask you the same question.’

Clearly he wasn’t about to say anything more until he was ready. She wondered if that moment would ever come. Biting back her disappointment, she asked, ‘What question?’

‘Why isn’t there a man in your life?’

‘There was someone until recently,’ she admitted, determined to be more forthcoming with him than he was being with her.

‘What went wrong?’

‘He couldn’t handle the publicity that comes with my job. Being called by my surname was the last straw.’

‘So now you’re wedded to your career?’

His choice of words rankled. ‘Just because you walked out on a successful career it doesn’t mean we all have to.’

A muscle worked along his jaw and his grip on the steering wheel tightened. ‘Thank you for the reminder.’

Desolation assailed her. She was allowing annoyance at being excluded from this part of his life to rule her tongue. It was so unlike her that she blanched and rested a hand on his arm. The muscles rippled under her fingers and she swallowed hard. ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.’

His sigh gusted between them. ‘No, I’m the one who’s overreacting. You’re entitled to your opinion.’

But it was a further reminder that he didn’t share it, she thought uncomfortably. Would he change his mind about seeing her tonight? How would she feel if so?

‘What time shall I pick you up?’ he asked, forestalling her concern.

As she named a time her heart did a curious somersault. It turned into a full-blown circus when he leaned across to open her door from the inside. Then he cupped her face and turned her to align her mouth with his, kissing her gently, but with lingering promise. As he drew his lips away he slid a thumb caressingly down the side of her face. ‘Until tonight.’