Page 27 of Prove Me Wrong
Jade’s bright eyes peer up into mine, and her little hands reach up to grab me. “Daddy, up.” Her soft timbre warms my insides.
“Daddy needs to change first. I am not damaging your nice skin with this gross grease,” I murmur into her ear.
I glance up, eyes connecting with Mia for a second before she blinks away, going back to cutting up vegetables. “Hello, Grey.” I greet her in my usual deep baritone which I try my hardest to keep from shaking.
Her head tilts to glance at me, cheeks blushing a light shade of pink, lips rosy and shiny. “Hi, Noah. It’s almost ready.”
“Great. I’ll be back down in a minute. I just need to wash up.”
Kissing Jade once more, I dash up the stairs to change out of my greasy, sweaty clothes. The overalls luckily stay at the garage, but my T-shirt is soaked through with perspiration, and I need to get out of my jeans that are sticking to my thighs uncomfortably. They’re too hot to wear in the garage, but it’s a must for when I’m working around cars and tools.
Stepping into the shower, I quickly wash my body, even my hair, before dressing in some trackpants and a tee.
Mia is setting down a small plate in front of Jade when I step into the kitchen. Two more sit on the table with metal cutlery and glass set up. All of Jade’s tableware is light pink plastic for safety.
Mia flicks me a quick smile before turning to her chair.
Before she moves, I lunge forward and pull the chair out for her. Mia's eyes widen with surprise, but she just murmurs out a polite thank you and sits down, lowering her face to cover her blushing cheeks, no doubt. I adore looking at them.
Lowering myself down opposite her, I take note of the plate filled with steak drizzled in gravy, salad and brown rice. “Wow. This looks great.”
“It’s easy. My grandpa used to cook this all the time, and he showed me how to make a perfect gravy.”
My eyebrows jump as I cut off a piece of steak, eager to try out her homemade sauce. It oozes with the right amount of salt and sugar, runny but thick at the same time, with no clumps, because clumps make it so much worse. It’s honestly the best gravy I’ve ever had.
“It’s heavenly,” I groan, cutting off another piece.
Mia giggles and bites into her own slice. “Most people use beef stock, but the trick is to use bone broth. It gives it a better consistency and doesn’t make it overly salty.”
“Impressive.” I devour half of my steak in about five seconds.
Mia watches me with amusement, dancing on her lips. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”
“Your grandpa used to always cook me lasagna, which is my favourite. It’s my guilty pleasure food for when I'm not having to be in top shape for racing.”
Her stormy eyes lift to meet mine from across the wooden table, and I choke on a chunk of meat at their intensity. Coughing, I pound on mychest. Jade giggles at me, taking pleasure in my almost dying.Thanks, princess.
“Are you all right?” Mia asks, standing with a frown.
I nod while tapping my chest. “I’m fine,” I croak out before clearing my sticky throat.
Grey gives me a twisted smile before slowly lowering back down into her chair, like she doesn’t entirely believe me. My pulse thrums as she watches me, and I swallow, finally breathing normally again.
How does she have this effect on me?
I keep eating, slower now.
Mia looks up from her plate. “When do you have to race next?”
“When the team needs me. I was a full-time driver before Jade was born. That’s how I met her mum, Em. Now I work full time at the mechanics and then travel when they need me to race if their main driver is sick or injured.”
Her dark eyebrows pinch together, and I see the sea of queries colouring her rounded eyes that I don’t think I’m ready to talk about yet. Bracing myself to talk about her, Mia simply asks, “Isn’t that hard with Jade?”
Blinking at her, it shocks me a little that she didn’t ask anything about Em. Everyone else would have.
Shrugging, I answer her honestly, “A bit. I don’t get a lot of notice. My friend, Tatum, used to watch Jade for me before she left town. And your gran has taken Jade a couple of times, but I don’t like bothering her since her diagnosis. She needs to look after herself, and the last thing I’d want to be responsible for is making her arthritis worse.” I swallow my mouthful before looking at Grey. “Would you be okay with looking after her if I’m called away?”
After a beat, she nods. I can’t help but feel a rush of relief flooding my veins like ice-cold water.
