Page 36 of All That Glitters
The old nickname made me smile. Brax had started calling her that when she’d turned sixteen or seventeen. I’d hadn’t seen her that way then, but I could definitely see it now.
If I was smart…
I toyed with the stem of the antique water goblet. My mother had inherited multiple sets from my grandmothers. They meant the world to her. The cut crystal glinted in the light.
I’d never had to work for my ride, for the Glitterati car. I’d never had to fight for it and I always figured it was mine no matter what.
Yeah, we were a team operation, but I was the anchor. I was a Glitterati. I was my father’s son. I wasn’t supposed to be as easily replaceable as my father’s words made it sound.
The only problem was that getting into a race car scared the shit out of me.
Nothing he’d said to my mother had been a lie. And Karl had probably figured it out that I wasn’t ready, that I was scared. Some of the crew likely had, too.
We were so fucking close to the start of the season, and I needed to decide if I was going to do the right thing and back out of the first race, or if I was going to be bullheaded about it and force myself no matter what.
It would be dangerous, but I wasn’t sure I had a choice. I wasn’t a quitter. I wasn’t the guy who walked away from something just because it was hard, or because it scared him.
And driving a race car again freaked me out.
I’d been in crashes before and I’d gotten right back in the seat in another series the next week. Endurance racing allowed for recovery if one didn’t race in open wheel or rally or any other kind of racing, but I usually tried to find something to race in between…
I’d had fractured bones and sometimes raced through them, sometimes not.
But I’d never missed a whole season and I’d never been frightened to get back behind the wheel.
“I have a favor to ask.”
She sighed. “You are jealous.”
“What? No.”
“Then why do you keep talking to me when I —”
“When you clearly don’t want to talk to me? Glutton for punishment, I guess.”
She flushed and I found I liked the heightened color on her cheeks. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Yes, it is.”
“What’s the favor?”
“Not here.” I bit my tongue on purpose. “I can’t… Not here.”
“Then why bring it up?”
“Because when I ask you to come to the garage later tonight, I don’t want you to think it’s for any reason other than me needing a favor.”
“Later tonight?”
“Yes. After everyone has gone home. Including Hale.”
“I came here with Hale.”
“Then go home and come back.”
“Ashton…”
“Please.”
