Wrong Turn, page 19
Stella’s eyes welled. “I wish.”
Lexie rocked back on her haunches, the book she was about to place in a box forgotten. “What?”
Stella angrily brushed the tears from her face. “I’ve stupidly fallen in love with Marcus. Please don’t tell Kendra, she’d try to get involved and it will only make everything worse.”
“When did this happen? I thought you acted strange at Kendra and Tom’s wedding. You grilled me as to whether I’d ever had a thing with Marcus.”
Stella plonked down on the floor. “I’ve never been a woman who wanted marriage and kids. My father is on wife number five, so what many see as a disposal piece of paper wasn’t important to me. I loved playing the field, and Marcus was one of my friends with benefits. Then Connor came along, and I saw Tom and Kendra with their son, and suddenly, as if a bomb went off, I knew I wanted that too. With Marcus. My clock is ticking.”
The words “bad choice in men” kept echoing in Lexie’s head.
“But you know Marcus. He doesn’t want to be tied down, and he’s shown no desire for kids.”
“So what are you going to do?”
Stella began repacking a box. “Nothing. What can I do? I tried pulling back, and I hoped he’d miss me, but I’m not sure he notices me unless I’m in his face.” She gave Lexie a sad smile. “Do you think you’ll ever get married again?”
Lexie opened her mouth, but no words came out.
“Don’t know, huh?” Stella said for her.
“Don’t know what?” Kendra asked as she came through the door.
“If I’d marry Kade.”
Kendra did a little dance. “So he’s asked you already!”
Lexie jumped to her feet. “Oh, no. No, he hasn’t… but I found the most gorgeous ring in his pocket.”
“Do you want him to ask?” Stella asked, looking up from the floor.
Lexie’s heart pounded in her chest and her mouth went dry. She didn’t know.
Kendra walked forward and hugged her. “I guess not. You’d immediately know if you did. Give it time. You’ll know when it’s right.”
She hugged Kendra back. “I’m so happy just to be moving in with him. I love Kade. And I know we can be happy. I don’t need a ring to tell me that.” She bent and taped up the box she’d just finished packing. “Come on. This is the last of it. The boys will be arriving soon to collect the furniture. I’m donating it to Pastor Sal’s mission.”
Happiness suffused her heart, and even though she wasn’t ready to marry Kade, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t be ready in the future. But for now, she was thrilled about moving in with him. To be starting a new life and journey with a man who loved her.
After one last look at the place where she’d licked her wounds, she shut the door, ending the worst period of her life, and jumped in her Jeep to drive back to the man she loved with every particle of her being, anxious to begin the next chapter of their lives together.
Epilogue
“Do you think she’ll ever marry him?” Lexie heard Zip ask Sully a few months after she’d moved in with Kade.
The gang was enjoying Friday evening together at Sully’s place. Some of his other friends were there, and the two crowds mixed and mingled well since most of them were part of the racing scene.
She and Kade sat at a long picnic table, a huge striped umbrella shading them. They were drying off after swimming and playing in the pool.
“I don’t know, Zip. I wouldn’t rule it out,” Sully said.
Lexie tried to hide a smile as she looked up at Kade. His eyes shone with restrained laughter, showing he was eavesdropping, too.
“I hope so. They’re a great couple. Lexie deserves happiness.”
Kade leaned down and whispered, “I agree.”
Lexie barely held in a laugh.
“That may be, but I hope they don’t rush into it. Lex has been through enough hell. I think Kade’s a good guy, but if he breaks her heart, I’ll punch him in the head.”
Lexie felt Kade tense at Marcus’ remark, and she put a hand on his thigh, holding him in place.
“Since when did you become so protective of her?” Sully asked. “I thought you hated her?”
“Yeah, well, we’ve talked over some stuff, and I think we’ve come to an understanding. Besides, we were both screwed over by Jason Colter,” Marcus replied. “It’s bonded us.”
Lexie muffled a snort, and Kade chuckled quietly.
“You guys are worse than a bunch of nosey old ladies at bingo,” Kendra remarked, drawing laughs from the men. “Don’t you have better things to do than speculate about other people’s business?”
“Not really,” Marcus replied. “Then again, we could talk about how you’re knocked up again already. Yeah, that’s a great topic.”
“Shut up, Marcus,” Stella said.
Lexie hated seeing the pain in her friend’s eyes… but she would talk to Stella tomorrow. Marcus definitely hadn’t liked it when earlier, one of Sully’s friends took a shine to Stella and was openly flirting with her. Perhaps there was hope.
“Don’t get me wrong; I love being an uncle, but you and Tom are giving bunnies a run for their money.”
“You love spoiling my kids, and it doesn’t look like you’ll have any of your own soon, so stop complaining.”
At Kendra’s taunt, Marcus yelled across the backyard, “Hey, Tom! How about you stay off your wife once in a while, huh? Maybe let her rest a little longer between kids?”
Tom was in the pool playing volleyball with some people. He turned at Marcus’ yell and gave him a toothy grin. “For the record, you got that backwards, bro, but piss off anyway.”
Everyone, including Kade and Lexie, cracked up.
“I hate you guys,” Kendra said and came to sit with Kade and Lexie. “I like the company over here much better.”
“Glad to have you,” Lexie said.
She smiled at them with a speculative gleam in her eyes that matched her brother’s. Kendra had a softer personality than Marcus, but in truth, she was no less nosey.
“So, any babies in your future, guys?”
Kade held his hand over Lexie’s head and pointed down at her. “Ask this one. She’s in charge of that department.”
Lexie gasped and punched his thigh. “We’ve both decided that right now isn’t a good time. You have a new book contract, and have written shit bugger all, and I’m swamped at work. Getting pregnant now isn’t a good idea. Besides, we’re not even married yet.”
Kendra pounced. “Yet? Yet? Does that mean you’re engaged?” She turned to Kade. “Did you ask her again?” Back to Lexie. “Did you say yes?”
Lexie heard a flurry of activity behind her and Kade, and Marcus and company swooped down on them, joining them at the table. All eyes turned on the couple, waiting for their answer.
They looked at each other, and Lexie’s mouth turned down. “Sorry, guys.”
Expressions of disappointment surrounded them, and even Sully looked a little disappointed. Kade and Lexie laughed at their prodding to “do the deed,” as Sully put it. Kendra admonished him, and the siblings started a mouth-battle that ended up in a challenge to a game of volleyball.
Once the furor had died down, Kade put an arm around Lexie. “How do you feel about going home and putting steaks on the grill? Maybe drinking a little wine?”
“I think that’s a fine idea.”
They made the rounds, saying goodbye to their friends, and walked to the Alfa. Kade only drove it on the weekends or for special occasions.
He threw the keys to Lexie. “Your turn.”
Lexie caught them, unlocked the door, and slid behind the wheel. She turned the ignition and smiled at the growl of the engine before it turned into a soft purr. It reminded her of the throaty purr her man made in their bed. Seatbelts on, Lexie headed for home. She loved that word. The house she shared with Kade was a home. A place where they came together and shared their lives.
Opening the glove compartment, Kade took out the blue box containing Lexie’s engagement ring and opened it.
It was on a beautiful gold chain, because a mechanic couldn’t work with a rock that size on her finger. As he slipped the chain over her head, she asked, “When are we going to put them out of their misery?”
A devilish smile curved Kade’s mouth. “When their reaction stops being funny.” He sobered and arched an eyebrow. “Unless you’re saying that you’re ready to let everyone know?”
Lexie watched him straighten the chain, making sure the ring hung straight. It was amusing and touching how fussy he was about it. Her eyes traveled up his chiseled torso, and over his wide shoulders before meeting his gaze. “Not tonight. Tomorrow is soon enough. Let’s go home and celebrate.”
His grin never ceased to make her heart beat a little faster. “Again?”
She leaned over and pressed a kiss to his mouth. “And again, and again,” she whispered against his lips.
Kade tried to claim her lips, but she laughed and moved out of reach. “Safety first, I’m driving.”
“Tease,” he accused.
She winked at him. “Just a little preview of what comes after dinner.”
Kade groaned. “After dinner? You’re killing me here, and you know it.”
“Patience is a virtue, Kade.”
“Screw patience.”
They hit the freeway, and Lexie downshifted. “You’re right. Patience is overrated.” She pressed down on the accelerator, shifted and sent them flying along the road.
Kade whooped, and she joined him as they sped toward the darkening horizon. The motor roared, and she thrilled to the sound, her heart hammering almost as hard as it did when she made love with Kade.
Looking across the car at the man who seemed to have endless patience, Lexie’s heart flooded with emotion as he grinned back at her. Every day she woke up, she fell a little more in love with him. How could she keep refusing his daily proposals when he’d repeatedly proven himself to her?
She’d accepted his proposal the weekend she’d taken him to the cabin and shared her memories of her mother with him. He’d gotten down on one knee at the lake front where she’d sprinkled her mother’s ashes, and promised they’d make memories at the cabin of their own, and they had.
The ring around her neck clunked against the locket she held so dear. Her mother was always with her, and it was as if her mother was saying, “Well done, my girl. Be happy.” And she was.
The happiness they now shared had been a long time coming, but their slow ride had been just what she’d needed. It amazed her how understanding Kade had been about it, how wonderfully he treated her.
She turned back to the road and felt his hand slide under the back of her hair. He gave her neck a little squeeze, and that little gesture was so filled with love that it almost brought tears to her eyes.
“Step on it, babe. I’m hungry.”
Glancing at him, she knew by his expression that he wasn’t talking about food. Her appetite had suddenly taken the same direction, and she decided that steak would have to wait. “Tighten your seat belt, sexy.”
With practiced ease, Lexie sent the car sailing and weaved between the cars ahead. Just like they were flying along now, she didn’t need a slow ride anymore. She was ready to leave all the heartache and sorrow behind and race into an incredible future, with the man she loved by her side.
The END
Excerpt from Slow Ride:Bad Boy Autos - Drive Me Wild book #3
From USA Today Bestselling Author, Bronwen Evans, comes her latest sexy contemporary romance! A friends-with-benefits romance with her best friend’s elder brother, set in Bad Boy Autos.
* * *
Marcus Black, the ex-Formula One world champion, battles daily with the pain from the injuries he received in his career ending crash. The only way he copes is with a regular diet of booze, bills and women. Rich, charismatic, and hot as sin, to others his life looks perfect. But one woman knows better. His Stella. His sexy as hell, long-term friend with benefits. Only one problem… She’s put an end to their arrangement just when he needs her the most.
* * *
Stella Perry has it all. A trust fund large enough to last several lifetimes and men who flock to her at the bat of her eyelashes. With parent’s who have married multiple times, marriage has never been on her radar—until now. But she’s made a huge mistake. She’s fallen for Marcus, her friend with benefits, a man who thinks LOVE is a dirty word. Her sole option is to walk away. Only now he needs her help to beat his opiate addiction. She’ll help, but then it really is over. Although his sexy smile and sinful body make keeping her vow to walk away virtually impossible…
SLOW RIDE
Prologue
Los Angeles, Cedars-Sinai hospital 3 years ago
The first thing Marcus noticed when he came out of his medically induced, drugged haze, was the smell. He’d always hated the cloying stench of hospitals. It went back many years; he’d spent most of his teens visiting his sister, Kendra, when leukemia saw her spend days and weeks in the antiseptic smelling, bleak environment of a sterile hospital ward.
I’m still in hospital. No surprise given three weeks ago he’d broken just about every bone in his body, including his back, in a car going over 150mph.
The second thing he noticed—couldn’t escape more like—was the pain. Yip, it fuckin’ hurt. There wasn’t one part of his body that didn’t seem to feel like it was being accelerated over, again and again. His heart started racing as his throbbing head took mere moments to replay the crash in exquisite detail.
Flashes of frightening images filled his mind; metal flying apart and flames bursting from the engine with searing heat. And again, the presence of pain. His stomach clenched as he fought down the nausea.
“He’s progressing better than we expected. The head injury was not as bad as we thought, and his cognitive functions are good. His ribs and broken arm will take a few weeks to heal, as will his broken femur, but it’s his back we’re concerned with.”
“The surgeon in Monaco told us he might be paralyzed?”
Stinky fear filled his nostrils at his father’s words. He licked his lips, wishing his mouth wasn’t so dry. Too scared to try moving his toes in case it was true, he tried to form words, but his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. Suddenly beeps sounded like a shrill whistle in the room. Yes, I’m awake, he wanted to yell at them. Stop talking about me as if I’m not here.
“We don’t believe so. If we prick his feet he reacts. However, he’s not completely out of the woods. The disc damage in his back is significant and could create ongoing problems, if not now, perhaps later.”
All Marcus heard was not paralyzed, and as he wiggled a toe, the beeps still piercing the air slowed to a steady blip.
“He’ll need extensive physical therapy once his broken bones heal. He is extremely lucky and the surgeon in Monaco did an excellent job.”
“My son is a fighter. He’ll bounce back. He’ll be back racing in Formula One again before you know it.”
“I very much doubt that, Mr. Black. Your son’s back required fusing and he won’t have the strength needed to sit in a small sports car for long periods without being in agonizing pain.”
The beeping sound raced once more. His career. His Formula One racing career he’d worked so hard for was over? Not if he had anything to say about it. He was the current world champion, and he had every intention of winning again this year.
“Besides, he has months of recuperation to get through. This season is over for him.”
The doctor spelled out the end of his career as if he were discussing a day at the beach.
“Ah, you’re joining us once again, Mr. Black. I was just explaining to your father you’re making a splendid recovery.”
“Water,” his voiced scratched out.
Suddenly a glass with a straw was placed to his lips. He followed the hairy arm up to see his best friend, and head mechanic, Thomas Lorde, was his water boy.
Tom smiled. “You’ll do anything to gain the ladies' attention.”
With his thirst momentarily quenched, he couldn’t hold his head up any longer. “Care to swap places.”
Tom’s smile died, and he couldn’t look Marcus in the eyes.
“Any news on what caused the crash?”
“They are still reviewing the footage and cars. I’m sure we’ll know soon enough.” Was his father’s reply. Was that why Tom couldn’t look at him?
“There was nothing wrong with the car, Tom. It was bloody Colter.” Marcus closed his eyes against the pain, not even enough strength to curse out Jason Colter, his rival and the man who’d sent his car into the wall.
“Don’t worry about that now. Just concentrate on getting better. I’m sick of keeping your girls’ at bay.”
He really wanted to smile at Tom’s words, but the pain was building. Suddenly a nurse appeared and pushed the button on the drip, and thank God for small mercies the pain subsided—slowly. He really tried to keep his eyes open but…
The room was quiet when he next woke, just the soft sound of his blipping heart monitor filled the room. He was thirsty again. Before he could raise his head off the pillow a straw was before his mouth. But the arm holding the cup was slim, toned, tanned and smooth.
“Boys and their toys. What was I always telling you?”
Stella. He smiled through the pain as he took in the fair-haired beauty holding the glass. “Speed kills. But honey, I ain’t dead.” Nope, one part of him was very much alive. It twitched even though his body ached with pain. Stella could always get his motor running.
“Kendra’s getting me a proper coffee. We are here to ensure you do as the doctor orders.” She paused and the ‘old lady’ scowl disappeared, replaced by the sexy smile he loved. “And to keep that tribe of groupies away from your door. I’m pretty sure you’re in no condition to be entertaining.”
“You’d be surprised.” But she was right. He was in no condition.
