Page 32 of Over the Limit

“Perfect. Normal is boring.” The grin he flashes is all-consuming.

“Can I help you? Did you need anything from me?” I ask.

His chuckle is low and rumbles over my skin. The quick shake of his head says he’s not going to voice the innuendo his laugh might infer. The same inference that I hate that I like hearing. “Nope. I don’t need anything. Just a simple thank-you for the reminder earlier that I have an awesome job.”

“I didn’t do anything.” I hold my hands up. “See you at the next race then?”

His expression falls. “You’re not going to Sterling Ridge?” he asks about Apex’s private track where they test and tweak the cars.

I’m confused and I think my expression reflects just that. “Why would I be going to Sterling?”

“Oh. I’m sorry. I just assumed that you were—”

“Assumed?”

“That you’d be going with Rossi.”

I hold both of my hands up. “Lachlan. What are you talking about?”

“The Apex team bonding planned for next week,” he says as I stare at him with wide eyes. “The owner thought we needed a reset so we’re all going there for the week. It’ll give us time at the track. Time with our teams. And more importantly, he wanted our families there so we can have them around us. Just a breather to try and right this ship before it sinks.” He glances over his shoulder and then back to me with a furrowed brow. “Should I assume by the look on your face that I just fucked up and that Rossi didn’t tell you about any of this?”

“He probably just forgot to tell me in the chaos of race day.” Much like he forgot to celebrate my promotion with me. The thought still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

“Sure,” he says, “but we were told about it on Monday. Not today.”

Monday? What the hell? So this was pre-promotion, pre-bad race finish, pre . . . everything of the week. And yet Rossi still didn’t tell me.

Is it wrong to assume he hadn’t planned to spend next week with me by choice? That he agreed to hanging out in that half-listened way men do but never really want to? What else am I left to assume because it’s clear that it didn’t even ping on his radar that his trip to Sterling would mean we wouldn’t have time together.

What the hell is going on, because I feel like I’m two steps behind?

“Got it.” My smile is strained.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause any problems between the two of you. I figured you knew.”

“You didn’t. It’s fine.” I wave a hand. “I have so much work to do, it’s probably a blessing.”

He angles his head to the side and studies me in a way that says he sees right through my bluff. It’s in the way his eyes hold mine and the softening of his expression. “You sure?”

“Positive.”

“Okay.” He nods and hooks a thumb over his shoulder. “I need to get to our debrief.”

“I’m sure that will be a fun one,” I say sarcastically to add some levity.

“Ha. A real party. No doubt I’ll be wishing I had become a vet in about thirty minutes.” He takes a few steps backward and rocks on his heels. “I’ll see you around then.”

“Next race.”

“Next race,” he says with another nod before turning to walk the other way.

There’s an ease to him that makes me want to keep talking with him. “Lachlan?”

“Yeah?” A crooked smile crawls across his lips as he looks over his shoulder.

“Who are you taking to Sterling with you?”

Our eyes meet for a beat before he answers solemnly. “No one.”