Love's Second Chance (Second Chances #1)(10)
“So what are you going to do now that you’re back at home?” he asked, breaking me away from my dangerous thoughts.
“I haven’t really thought about it,” I confessed truthfully.
“If you want, you could always come to the firm and I could show you around. I think you would like it. Maybe it would inspire you if you saw some of the things I was working on.”
“If I didn’t know any better, I would say that you’re trying to persuade me to get my mojo back and go work for you.”
He smirked, “Maybe … is it working?”
“All right you two, you’re up!” We both turned to see the guy from the front counter waving at us and pointing to the cars. It was our time to race. When I climbed into the car, I had no clue how to strap myself in.
“How do all of these straps work?” I asked Galen. He rolled his eyes playfully at me and helped me fasten my harness.
“Our conversation isn’t over, Korinne. You may have dodged me now, but I’m not going to give up on you. You have a talent and I’m going to make sure you find it again,” he promised before leaving me to settle in the car beside me. His words sent chills down my body. If he could help me find what I’d lost that would be wonderful, but at what cost? My heart would surely be in jeopardy.
Glancing over at me, Galen smiled before he lowered the tinted visor on his helmet. Thinking of work would come at another time, right now I had to focus on one thing, and that was trying my best not to look like a moron by driving off the track. Lowering my visor, I gripped the steering wheel with all my might. Blisters were going to be all over my hands and fingers once we were done. When the green light appeared, we were off. I was shaky at first, and definitely took the turns with ease, but the adrenaline of the race had me pumped and squealing with delight. I never expected to feel that. Each second I got closer to Galen, he would go faster and take off without me. He kept taunting me by slowing down and letting me catch up, only to speed away and leave me in the dust. He was going to pay for that next time when I’d had a little more practice to get better.
With my arms crossed at the chest, I eyed him with a determined stare. “I will beat you the next time we go back,” I warned him.
Galen laughed. “I promise to take you back to give you another chance. You didn’t do too bad your first time. With more practice I think you could beat me.”
“I know I can beat you.”
We both laughed, but when we pulled up to my condo, the excitement I was feeling turned into full-out nervousness. I had never thought about what would happen at the end of our night, which was when normal couples usually kissed before ending a date. We weren’t a couple, but we used to be, which made it more complicated. My heart fluttered a million miles a minute when he turned the engine off. Clearing my throat, I intentionally avoided his gaze.
“If you don’t mind, I’ll walk you to your door,” he insisted.
Turning to him quickly, I said, “Oh no, you don’t have to do that. I’m sure I can manage by myself.” I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks. Is it hot in the car, or is it just me? I wondered. Breathing became harder when I realized what the problem was. I was afraid. Afraid of what this relationship would mean if I gave into it.
“I know you can manage by yourself, but I want to. I always walked you to your door before.” He gave me his enchanting smile, and like the idiot I was it lured me in.
“Yeah, but we were in college and it was never safe for the females to walk alone at night on campus,” I said, trying to open the door. Big Blue was always a pain to get out of. Exiting the car, he swiftly came over to my side to open the door. “Thank you. I don’t think Big Blue wanted to let me out.” I laughed.
“He never did,” he admitted softly. I could feel the hidden meaning behind those words, but I didn’t address it. We walked side by side up the steps to my third floor condo, and the whole way up I gripped the keys tightly in my hand to keep them from shaking. When we reached the door I made no attempt to unlock it for fear that if he came inside there would be a chance he wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon.
“What are you doing next weekend?” Galen asked. He leaned up against the door casually and crossed his arms. My eyes drifted to those muscular biceps and I remembered all too well how they felt when he was holding me close. His arms were one of my favorite parts of his body. Galen wasn’t a stocky man, but his arms were nothing except muscle. His T-shirt fit snugly around his biceps, and in that moment I craved to have those arms around me.
“Are you asking me out again so soon?” I teased.
His shoulders shook with silent laughter, and again he gave me that dashing smile. “Yes, I am. I had more fun with you tonight than I’ve had in a really long time, and I know you had fun, too. Your smile said it all.” Moving closer, he engulfed me in the pure, masculine scent of him that was all male. His voice dipped lower when he revealed his next thought, “And I’ve missed you. I’ve thought about you every day since you left.”
I didn’t know how to respond to his last comment so I tried to play it off. It was too soon to speak the words that were really on my mind. I couldn’t tell him that I wondered about him, too. “Are you going to be taking up all my weekends? Because I have to tell you, I might be busy on some of them,” I joked teasingly.