‘Why don’t you come with me?’
She blinked at him. ‘Go with you to the racetrack?’
He nodded. ‘Why not? Have you ever been before?’
‘No.’
‘Well then, what else have you got going on?’
‘Nothing, I guess. But…don’t we need to talk about this?’
‘I’m not sure if talking about it right now is going to make all that much difference and I need to be there by a certain time. We can continue the conversation later?’
‘I…okay.’
He looked her up and down. ‘Can you change into something a little less…flowy? Maybe jeans? And a jacket?’
Cassian almost smiled. She looked as if she desperately wanted to say no but she knew she couldn’t. Eventually she seemed to huff out a breath and said, ‘I don’t really have a choice, do I?’
‘It’ll be fun, I promise.’
CHAPTER FIVE
WITHIN HALF AN HOUR, Lili had changed into a pair of jeans and a blue shirt, under a light jacket. She’d pulled her hair back into a low ponytail. She was ensonced in the passenger seat of a low-slung silver bullet of a car, going at a fearsome speed around the circuitous bends of the roads bordering the southern end of Lake Como. It was terrifying but it was also thrilling.
‘Okay?’
She glanced at Cassian and nodded. ‘Fine.’
‘If I’m going too fast just tell me.’
She shook her head and looked back to the road. Hewasgoing fast but he wasn’t driving carelessly. She felt safe. He was wearing jeans like her and a long-sleeved top, under a worn leather bomber jacket. He looked sexy and powerful. Her eyes kept going to the way he moved so fluidly, powerful thighs under denim moving as he used the brake and clutch. And his hand on the gear stick. Long fingers. A masculine hand. Not soft. She wondered what it would feel like on her skin and quickly turned her eyes back to the road. She wouldn’t know because the thought of allowing that to happen…brought with it such a sense of overwhelm that she had to breathe deeply.
In a bid to distract herself she asked, ‘It’s okay for you to drive? With your injury?’
Cassian lifted his right hand from the wheel and flexed it, drawing Lili’s attention again to long fingers, blunt nails and very masculine hands.Damn.Bad subject to bring up.
‘It’s fine for what I’m doing today, but with health and safety in the main motor racing industry they won’t permit me to drive again until the requisite time is up. It’s no big deal, I’m quite enjoying the time off.’ He slid her a glance and Lili felt herself blushing. He’d certainly made the most of his time, acquiring a wife.
Before too long they turned off the main road into the town of Monza. Cassian said to her, ‘You’ve heard of Monza?’
Lili nodded. ‘One of my brothers was obsessed with motor racing when he was younger. He would hog the TV for the entire weekend that a race was on.’
She looked at Cassian’s profile. ‘I have to admit it didn’t really interest me all that much, sorry.’
He put a hand to his chest as if wounded and glanced at her. ‘You mean to tell me you’re not one of my biggest fans?’
Lili’s heart thumped unevenly. This man was surprising her on lots of levels and she was very much afraid that it would be all too easy to become a fan. More than a fan. He’d taken what she’d said earlier with equanimity. He hadn’t run screaming from the room at her embarrassing phobia. He’d just suggested taking this day trip.
They were driving through gates now, being waved through by a beaming security guard. ‘Ciao, Signore Corti!’
‘Ciao, Enzo, va bene?’
‘Bene! Grazie.’
They drove through and Lili could make out the racetrack in the distance. Cassian parked outside an administrative building and got out, coming around to open her door. It was hard to get out of the car and he put out a hand. Lili looked at it and at him. He pulled it back. ‘If it’s too much—’
Angry with herself for something so small being such a big deal, Lili said, ‘No, thank you, I’d like a hand.’ She could handle touch like this, she just didn’t like to encourage it.
