Chapter Eighteen

It was two weeks before the next race, though practically, with all the travelling, it only meant a week and a bit at home.

Despite the sponsor activities Aiden was earmarked to attend, and the meetings he had scheduled, he still had enough free time to squeeze in Mel’s driving lesson. Lucky her.

‘You know, we really don’t have to do this now,’ Mel protested when he caught up with her in the Delta headquarters reception area. ‘I’m sure you’ve got far more important things to do and so do I, come to think of it.’

The corners of his mouth lifted and he gave her a knowing smile. ‘You wouldn’t be trying to put this off, would you?’

‘No,’ she replied, avoiding his eyes and crossing her fingers. ‘I just don’t want to put you to any trouble. Besides, a Ferrari is hardly a suitable car for a novice to learn in.’

He held the door open for her and she squinted in the afternoon sunshine. Next to her he slipped on a pair of ultra cool sunglasses. ‘I don’t have the Ferrari with me today.’

Sure enough, as they headed to where he usually parked she saw a dark grey saloon car. Not just any saloon, mind you. ‘You really think that an M3, the car of boy racers, is a suitable car?’

He slid her his easy smile. ‘Compared to the Ferrari, sweet Mel, this one is a carthorse. Besides, it’s a sponsor car so if you smash it up, I don’t care.’

Warily she eyed up the dark torture machine. In the back she noticed a little face peeking out from the window, waving at her. ‘I see Tom’s come with you. Any news on where your mother is?’

‘Nope. I only have a home number for her and she’s not picking up. I’ve left loads of messages and so have the school.’ His expression tightened. ‘The housekeeper did finally call me and say she’d been informed my mother was going on holiday for a while. I can only assume she’s dumped Tom into boarding school so she can swan off with her new man.’

‘Ouch.’ Mel stared back at the smiling boy in the car. Despite his mother’s callous actions, Tom seemed to be a lot happier now. ‘Are you sure he needs to watch me? There must be plenty of other things he’d rather be doing.’

Aiden bent his head and surprised her by kissing her on the nose. The sparkle in his grey eyes, combined with a waft of his fresh aftershave, sent her heart spiralling. ‘Tom’s come along because a) he’s finished all the work Helen set him and she’s left for the day, b) he’s got a bee in his bonnet about learning to drive and he figures he might learn something and c) …’ he flashed a grin ‘… well, c) he thought it might be funny.’

‘I didn’t think you’d ever get to c),’ she mumbled, avoiding his eyes and staring instead at the v of smooth, tanned skin revealed by his navy polo shirt.

‘What do you mean?’

‘You say a) and b) a lot, but you don’t usually have a c). I’m kind of wishing you didn’t have one this time, too.’ She hated to admit it, but she was scared. Waking up at dawn in a cold sweat and not being able to go back to sleep again, scared. She feared not being able to do what most adults seemed to manage without even thinking. Most of all, she feared looking ridiculous in front of Aiden.

‘Hey, come on.’ He cupped her face with his long, warm fingers. ‘You’ve got the look of a woman on her way to the gallows. This isn’t meant to be torture.’

‘I think I’d prefer to be whipped.’

His face cracked into a huge grin. ‘Hey, I’m more than happy to tie you up and whip you instead. Of course I’d need you naked first.’ He glanced back at the car. ‘And we’ll probably need to lose the kid.’

A laugh bubbled out of her and she shoved at his chest. ‘Fine. I’ll stick to the stupid driving instead.’

‘Shame.’ For a few moments he simply stood there, gazing at her, his eyes smiling.

Uncomfortable with the way his scrutiny made her feel – warm, needy and wanting – she hastily looked away. Equally fast his hand was back on her chin, forcing her eyes upwards.

‘Are you thinking of your parents?’ he asked softly.

‘No,’ she admitted. ‘Though I’m sure their death has something to do with me feeling nervous in a car.’

‘Well, then, we need to stop you being so tense. The way I see it I’m going to focus on a) getting you to relax, b) lifting your clutch leg smoothly and c) …’ He grinned down at her. ‘Let’s try c) making sure you’re still talking to me at the end of this.’

With a casual authority she could only wonder at, he drove the car to the deserted end of the car park before climbing out and holding the driver’s door open for her. Reluctantly she walked round the bonnet and slipped inside.

‘Are you sure you want to sit in the back there, Tom?’ She turned to face the small figure on the back seat. ‘It might get pretty hairy.’

‘I’m good. Aiden’s already warned me the car will jump when you don’t bring the clutch up properly.’

Beside her Aiden started to laugh, then tried to cover it up with a cough. ‘Sorry. I just figured it was a chance for him to learn—’

‘How not to do it,’ she interrupted. ‘Great. Thanks.’ Gritting her teeth she adjusted the seat for her far shorter legs.

His hand reached across and pressed lightly on her left leg. ‘Comfortable?’

As warmth radiated across her thigh she swallowed, trying to calm her fluttering heart. ‘Yes, thanks. Are you?’

His soft chuckle sent shivers down her spine. ‘Oh yes.’

‘Are you really going to keep your hand there?’

‘Yes. At the moment when you get behind the wheel, you’re too tense to operate the clutch correctly. True?’

She nodded.

‘I’ve been reading up on this and what we need to do is scramble those negative thoughts and get you to associate sitting behind the wheel with something pleasurable.’

‘Like having your hand on my thigh?’ she asked dryly.

She couldn’t see his face, but she knew from his voice that he was smiling. ‘Exactly. I know at least one of us is getting some pleasure out of this.’

She hiccupped out a laugh. He was flirting with her, but she knew it was at least partly his way of trying to distract her. And it was working.

Aiden turned round to Tom. ‘Have you buckled up? We’re in for a bumpy ride.’

Tom giggled, and despite her mind being over stuffed with nerves Mel noticed the camaraderie between the brothers. The bonding that had begun in Spain seemed to have deepened.

Aiden gently squeezed her thigh, making her jump. ‘You know the basics of how to drive. All I want you to do now is turn on the engine, put her into first and move us to the other side of the parking lot.’

‘Is that all?’ Her fingers trembled as she turned on the engine. When it all but growled back at her she clutched at the steering wheel as if it was a life raft.

His big warm hand moved from her thigh to cover her hands. ‘I’m here. Nothing bad is going to happen. Relax.’

Nodding she shoved her left foot down on the clutch and pushed the gear into first.

‘Now gently press your other foot on the accelerator.’

The engine roared into life and Aiden let out a noise that sounded very much like a muffled laugh. ‘I think you missed the part where I said gently.’

‘That was flipping gentle.’

On the back seat, Tom sniggered.

‘If you say so, but I want you to ease the throttle back a little.’ When Aiden heard the revs go down, he nodded. ‘Good. Now listen to the engine noise as you carefully raise your left foot. When it gets to the bite, you’ll ease forward.’

The car jumped and stalled.

Tom snorted with laughter. ‘There goes the kangaroo!’

Feeling stupid and incapable she huffed out a breath. ‘Millions, no, probably billions of people in the world can drive. Why can’t I?’

‘You can,’ Aiden replied firmly. ‘It’s only your head that’s stopping you. Now we’re going to do it again only this time I’m going to keep my hand on your leg as you push down the clutch.’

As his warm hand wrapped deliciously around her thigh she stifled a groan. At this rate she was going to have trouble remembering her name, never mind what she was meant to be doing with the pedals.

Aiden felt the heat of Mel’s thigh burning his hand. He could feel the tension there, too but he could also feel the smoothness of her skin; the soft curve of her leg. He shifted in his seat, trying to get his libido in check.

She looked at him questioningly and he shrugged, his eyes facing forward. ‘Come on then, Miss Kangaroo,’ he drawled, trying to get back to the friends only platform she was so damn obsessed about. ‘Let’s see if you can make it round the car park without jumping.’

Gently he kneaded the muscles beneath his fingers, trying to relax her leg. To relax her.

‘Maybe I should just forget this and try an automatic,’ she grumbled when once again the car shuddered to a halt.

‘Give in?’ He looked at her in mock horror. ‘Please don’t swear in front of young Tom.’

Tom laughed. ‘Yeah, you can’t give in, Mel. If my brother can drive, anyone can.’

Slowly the tension eased from her face and she smiled over her shoulder at Tom. ‘You know what, you’re right.’ Gripping the wheel she took in a deep breath. ‘Come on you bugger. I can do this.’

Her pretty, sexy face looked so determined it was all he could do to stop laughing. ‘I hope the bugger refers to the car and not to me.’

She shot him a look that suggested the term encompassed both. Then she turned on the engine and tried again.

It wasn’t the smoothest of starts but the smile on her face when she made it all the way round without stalling shot straight to his heart.

He persuaded her to do it again, and then again, moving up the gears until they were up to the dizzy heights of third. When she finally pulled to a stop, grinning widely, her eyes sparkling with delight, he felt a crazy sense of pride.

‘I did it.’

‘You certainly did.’ He moved his hand from her thigh to her face, wanting to kiss her, to wrap his arms around her, but they weren’t alone. And she wasn’t interested.

Biting back his frustration, he dropped his hand back to his lap.

‘Can I have a go now?’ Tom asked.

Aiden turned to find a pair of serious grey eyes staring at him. Eyes, he suspected, that were remarkably similar to his own. ‘Has Mum ever taken you karting?’ And why wasn’t he surprised when Tom gave a slight shake of the head? ‘We’ll have to fix that. It’s how most drivers start racing.’

‘Is that how you did?’

The can of worms he’d part opened started to wriggle. ‘Yes.’

‘Did Mum take you?’

Aiden watched as Mel’s eyes swung between the pair of them. She hadn’t missed the wistful note in Tom’s voice any more than he had.

‘No. She didn’t take me, either.’

‘Did your dad?’

He tried to relax his hands, unclenching the fingers one by one. ‘No, my father never took me karting.’

Surprised flickered across Tom’s face. ‘He was a famous racing driver, wasn’t he? Why didn’t he take you karting?’

Leave it to a kid to ask the obvious. Silence hung in the air as both Mel and Tom watched him, waiting for his answer. ‘Because he died when I was young.’ Tom wouldn’t know that ten was pretty ancient in the karting world.

‘That sucks. Still, at least you had a dad for a bit. I don’t have one.’

The worms were now wriggling out of the damn can. ‘Dad’s aren’t always as great as they’re cracked up to be. Sometimes not having one is better than having one who takes no notice of you.’

He was aware of Mel turning her head sharply to look at him but he ignored her, keeping his attention on his brother. The same brother who was clearly about to open his big mouth and ask another dynamite question. ‘So, why don’t we see if we can sort you out some karting lessons?’ he said quickly, cutting him off. ‘It won’t be today but we can book some in, eh?’

Tom beamed and Aiden breathed a sigh of relief before firmly putting the lid back on the worm can.