Page 63 of Speeding Hearts

Maybe I should have been upset with them for hiding their problems from me, but then again, maybe being oblivious had been better in the long run. Either way, they’d done it to shield me, and I couldn’t fault them for that.

I pulled the ring out of my pocket now, watching the diamond catch the afternoon sun.

“Am I doing this myself or what?” Will barked.

“Alright, alright,” I said, shoving the ring back in my pocket before he caught me mooning over it.

I’d roped Will into helping me set the proposal up. Mostly because he was the least likely person to help me set up something big and dramatic, ensuring Stella wouldn’t suspect a thing.

The back section of the stands at the Oak Bay Speedway—currently undergoing a major facelift thanks to record-breaking second-quarter profits—wasn’t exactly the safest place to hang out and set up an array of explosives. It wasn’t set up for accommodating people, other than the contractors working on it during the week. There was scaffolding and sheets of plastic wrap everywhere. But there was a good flat spot at the back, and it was the highest point at the Speedway. Plus, I couldn’t exactly set up a bunch of explosives in the middle of the track without the general manager seeing me.

And this needed to be a surprise. The biggest surprise of all, after Stella Archer and I managing to have the happiest, most functional relationship around.

Even Will, the most analytical curmudgeon I’d ever met—after Dad—confessed he’d never seen a pair so easy around each other, so much like friends but so much more, too.

“Who knew Stella could be agreeable,” Will had mused, when we were back home for a visit in Jewel Lakes last fall.

“She’s only disagreeable with you,” I’d said, laughing. “Sounds like ayouproblem.”

“I know that,” Will said, suddenly serious. I opened my mouth to tell him I was joking, but he continued. “Honestly, I never would have thought she’d settle down for anyone.” Then, he’d cracked a beer and said, “But now you can talk shop all day long and never bore another person to death with a detailed conversation about shock absorbers.”

I’d been nervous about Stella’s brothers, but Hank’s partner, Casey, wouldn’t hear a word of ribbing. Will, meanwhile, who Stella had warned was a hard-ass, love-is-a-myth kind of dude, had welcomed me in with minimal big brother threats.

Not that Stella needed the kind of protecting they joked about—and her brothers knew it. Stella took no prisoners, stood up for what she believed in, and could make me sweat whether she was in a mechanic’s suit, business blazer, or nothing at all. She was my ideal woman. A woman beyond my wildest dreams, really. Especially considering I never thought I’d end up with any woman at all.

“You got the zip ties?” Will called now.

“Shh!” I said, throwing a glance to Stella’s office. “This is supposed to be an undercover mission.”

I knew she was in a meeting with a huge potential sponsor and wouldn’t hear us, but I was still wracked with nerves. I wanted this night to go off without a hitch.

“Damn, son,” Will said. “You are high strung.”

I threw the bag of straps at him but grinned all the same.

“What do you need zip ties for?”

I startled at the sound of Stella’s voice.

“Shit!” I said under my breath, whirling. I couldn’t see her—she was on the other side of several sheets of plastic. Maybe there was a chance she wouldn’t see what we were doing.

“Just some loose wires,” I said. Luckily with my previous building experience back in Jewel Lakes, I was overseeing this job, and it wouldn’t be totally out of the ordinary for me to be up here checking things out. Except Stella wasn’t supposed to know I was here at all.

“Maybe stay where you are,” Will called out. “Lot of… dangerous materials up here.”

“Don’t encourage her,” I whispered. “That’s the last one—”

“Got it,” Will said. “We’re all set after this.”

“How’d you find me?” I called out to Stella as I began moving in her direction.

“Freddie told me you and Will were up here,” she said.

Goddammit.

Freddie was one of the only people in the core staff group who didn’t know my plans tonight, mostly because I couldn’t trust him to keep a lid on it, but also because half the time he looked like he wanted to try to knock me out. Try being the operative word—the kid was as spindly as an overgrown ant. It was clear said ant still had a puppy-dog crush on Stella, though he’d toned it down since she’d become his boss—and learned we were together—last year.

When I finally wove through all the scaffolding and plastic, I was rewarded with the sight of Stella’s backside as she leaned on the railing, looking over the track below. She was wearing a tight beige skirt, heels, and a blouse that I knew, having peeled it off her recently, was as soft as her skin under my fingers.

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