Page 43 of One Night to Remember
Because what he was thinking was that the next time he was on this track, he’d be alone in this carriage… and after that, he’d never lay eyes on her again. They had less than forty-eight hours. He couldn’t risk anything happening to her.
“It’s just a test ride,” she wheedled, batting her eyelashes with alarming velocity.
“Apprentices don’t bat their eyelashes,” he hissed.
“Don’t they?” Her eyes widened. “Perhaps you don’t know as many as you think you do.”
“You’re not driving,” he said firmly. “I need this curricle to win a race. I’ll buy you some other carriage and you can test ride in that. A nice, solid, coach-and-four. I’ll have it here by tomorrow.”
“I don’t want somethingboring,” she said in exasperation. “I want excitement. I could build my own chariot, just as fast and light on her wheels as Baby, if I wanted to.”
“Go do it then,” he suggested with amusement. “I’ll wait here.”
“I just want ten minutes,” she begged. “I want to know what it feels like to be fast and free and…happy. Not on my countless midnight rides alone. I want to feel that way withyou.”
How was he supposed to say no to that?
He handed over the reins. “One minute. A single second more, and I’ll snatch those reins from your greedy hands.”
“Pocket watches don’t track seconds,” she reminded him, and then they were off.
The expression of unadulterated joy on her face brought an equally irrepressible grin to his own. His heart gave a little dance.
Flying down this track made him feel indescribably alive. Truly present in the curricle, in the race, in the universe. It was power and powerlessness, freedom and holding on tight. No other feeling could ever compare.
He’d never had someone he could share that magic with before. Someone who would understand. Someone who felt it, too.
Felicity was every inch as much a daredevil as he was. She was confident and unexcitable, fearless and strong.
And she was right. There was no one else he wished to have beside him.
He was supposed to be the best in the game, but all he could think about was changing his sole proprietorship to a partnership. He and Felicity would make an unstoppable team. Privately and publicly.
Only when they reached the opposite end of the track did she hand back the reins. Her eyes were shining, her breath was shaky, her face was flushed—she was feelingenergized. Exactly like Giles felt after every big race.
And every time he kissed Felicity.
“Come on,” he said. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”
In minutes, they were back at the smithy.
Felicity laughed. “I met your mother yesterday, so you must mean…”
“The best father in all the world?” Giles asked. “The rumors are true. Walter Langford sets the standard.”
Felicity raised a playful finger. “Don’t you find it a teeny bit selfish to have the best mother in the worldandthe best father?”
I’ll share them with you,Giles wanted to say, but didn’t.
First, they needed to meet.
And then they needed to choose each other.
Felicity paused by the folding screen as they crossed through the smithy to the rear door.
“Just a moment,” she said. “Let me change into a dress first.”
He shook his head.
