“Can you tell me? I promise not to tell anyone.”
“It’s not really top-secret. It’s stuff like this car. I love restoring old vehicles. Not like the flashier resto-mod garages, but something a bit more elegant. More restoration, less modification. But some modifying forpurpose. Like racing. I know what you need to pass a race Marshall’s inspection. And I know how to make it a comfortable ride. I love shit like that. It’s what I think about eighteen hours a day, when I’m retooling a transmission or whatever. So if I could make it a real career, that would be amazing. But I want to do it right. If I’m going to leave the comfort and security of working on racing teams, then I want to do it properly. That means investors. And I’ll get them.” On his own terms. That was key.
She lifted her face, studying him. “That nest egg you mentioned. You want to be one of the investors?”
He nodded, surprised she’d figured that out, but she did have a business degree, after all. “I want business partners. I don’t want to be beholden to the money folks.”
“I bet you’ll do it. You have something there. Your enthusiasm is special.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “How about you?”
“You know my future path.”
Take over the family business, on a scale most could never imagine. “You don’t sound excited about it.”
“I have to prove myself first. Then I get to be excited. Can’t be too entitled.”
“I recognize that voice, and it’s not yours.”
She laughed. “No, it’s not. But he lives rent-free in my head.”
“What if you were someone else? What would you want?”
“I don’t know. I try not to daydream about lives I’ll never live, when my life is as good as it ever gets.”
“Humour me.” He wanted to know her secrets. He’d hold them sacred for the rest of his life, when their paths had carried them as far apart as two people orbiting each other now could probably ever get. She’d spin into the highest echelons of business, and he’d stay a blue collar grunt forever, even if he started his own company. There was no comparing the scope of their futures.
“My college roommate loved dinner parties. I miss those.” She sounded wistful. “A crowded table full of laughter. Bottles of wine and plates of interesting food.”
He squeezed her close. “Love that. Do you cook?”
“Mm-hmm. You?”
“Hell yeah. Five brothers raising themselves? We all had to take a dinner night. I’m not adventurous or anything, but I know my way around chicken, steak, salad and veg.”
“I learned at school. The Swiss are comprehensive in their curriculum requirements.”
That made him chuckle. “What else did you learn?”
“Uh…sewing, knitting, woodwork. And skiing. I excelled at cooking and woodwork.”
“Not skiing?”
“I’m a SoCal girl through and through. Winter is not my favourite season.”
“How long were you in Switzerland?”
“Three years.”
“Three long winters?”
“They have very good indoor heating. I survived.” She laughed a little. “Do you ski?”
“Snowboard.”
“So much falling down!”
“I don’t fall down that much.”
