Page 63 of Out of Control

“I don’t know, Blair. It’s . . .”

“It’s what?”

“It feels different with her.”

“Oh.” The sound she makes is mirrored by the sudden tensing of her body. “That’s . . . well, that’s unexpected,” she says gently and knowingly and neither make me feel like the ass I expected to feel like.

“You’re telling me.” I match her tone, my eyes fixed on the Gravitas garage and Cruz’s car in the stall next to mine.

We sit in silence for a bit, both digesting this most unexpected revelation. “Then what’s stopping you from . . . whatever it is you’re stopping doing?”

“It’s complicated.”

“No shit.” She chuckles. “Who is it?”

“Don’t ask.”

I can see her expression in my periphery—the purse of her lips, the narrowing of her eyes, the subtle nod of her head—and I know the minute she thinks she has it narrowed down.

“It might piss a lot of drivers off if you were to say, date their sister, but I have a feeling there’s one in particular that might cause you the most problems.”

“Perhaps.” It’s all I’m going to give her. I trust Blair. That’s not the issue. But I’ve never been one to blab about my affairs, and I sure as shit aren’t going to start now.

“Fight harder.”

I snort. “Yeah. Sure. Okay.” I roll my eyes but keep looking at Cruz’s car.

“I’m serious. She likes you for whatever reason she likes you—”

“The good sex,” I tease, needing to add levity to the conversation.

“You can’t be too lovesick if you’re still saying shit like that. Good to know you haven’t changed much.” She knocks her shoulder against mine. “But I’m serious. If this really is different like you say it is . . . then you need to let it grow like it is. You’ve planted the seed—no pun intended—and now you need to sit back and do something I know is impossible for you.”

“What’s that?”

“Be patient.” She waits until I meet her eyes. “Sprinkle some water on it, let it get used to that so it can bloom. If you flood it with water, it’s going to drown.”

“You’re talking in gardening terms about my sex life.”

“Love life,” she corrects, which has my hands tightening on my mug. I hear her but I don’t respond at all.

“My life.”

“Noted.” She takes another sip. “From what I’ve learned, that family is a complicated one. Very. I mean this with all due respect, you’re not Spanish, you don’t come from a well-known family, and you’re known for being slightly . . . unethical and brash. None of those traits would seem to be who they’d pick for their prized daughter and granddaughter.”

“Way to boost a man’s ego.”

“For a man who has no problem telling me like it is, you sure don’t want to hear it.”

“I like her, Blair. Like . . . I like her in ways that make me understand you and Lach and how last year happened.”

“So then don’t screw this up.”

“I love how you stroke my ego,” I joke.

“We’re way past that part of the friendship.” She rises from her seat and dusts off her ass before she picks up her mug of coffee. “From what I know of her, she’s a good match. I don’t know. You’re finding your footing on this new team and she’s finding her footing in her world. Maybe the timing is right. Maybe it’s not. Either way time is what you need. To bide. To sit back and let her take the lead. To just let it breathe.”

I draw in a deep breath and sigh. “Thanks.”