not so fine. Reflexively, her stomach clenched at the thought of someone else driving her car. “I don’t usually let anyone drive it.” Grace prayed inside that he’d let it go.
Quentin dropped his arms and took a step toward her, moving closer into her personal space. “Maybe we can work something out.”
“Like what, me driving us in my car?” Grace’s eyes turned to slits as she glared at him. She knew she was a little irrational and selfish when it came to her car, but she couldn’t help it. With her grandfather’s recent passing, she felt even more possessive of it.
His voice took on a cajoling tone. “You let me drive your car and I’ll let you drive my Jag any time you want.”
She had to give him an A for effort. She’d noticed the late model top-of-the-line Jaguar in the circular driveway when Quentin first arrived. It was a sweet ride.
She folded her arms over her chest, pushing her hip out. “How fast does it go?” Grace asked. One of the things she loved most about her car was its acceleration; she loved how quickly she could zip from zero to sixty.
“It’ll school that Shelby of yours.” His chest puffed out in challenge and she mentally shook her head. Men.
“That sounds like a bet,” Grace said, matching his puffed-out chest with her challenging tone.
“It is.”
Holding her keys tightly in her left hand, she held out her right to shake on it. “Not sure what the winner gets, but you can drive the Shelby tonight and I get to drive the Jag another time.”
He stepped forward, taking her hand firmly in his. “Deal. Loser buys pizza.” Pizza? Well, that was easy, she thought.
Since she was a little girl, she knew what others felt with a simple touch of her hands. She hated it, but times like this, it came in handy. Sensing nothing in his touch but honest-to-goodness excitement in the challenge, she shook back. “Deal.”
Quentin grabbed his jacket from the coat closet and followed Grace out the front door toward her car. The key was still firmly in her grip. With her eyes, she implored him. “Please drive carefully.”
“I promise.”
The two words were spoken with a tenderness that touched the depths of her heart. In his eyes she saw understanding. Her grandfather gave her the car. He knew that.
It had been almost a year since Grace had sat in the passenger seat. The last time was the night before her seventeenth birthday, the night the car became hers. Pain constricted her chest at the memory, making it difficult to breathe. When Quentin got in the driver’s side, she tried to discreetly wipe away an escaped tear.
She wasn’t discreet enough. Quentin still saw it. Gently, Quentin grabbed her hand and held it until she relaxed and gave him a tentative smile. Finally, she was able to meet his eyes. “Thank you. Again.” They sat for a moment, locked in each other’s gaze, quietly drawing strength from the other.
Quentin broke away first to rest his hands on the steering wheel, giving it a loving stroke before looking back at Grace, his eyes bright with anticipation. “Okay, let’s see what this baby can do!”
Grace laughed at his excitement. She knew her Shelby would kick his Jag’s butt.
Cars were parked on both sides of Orchard Street, so Grace didn’t have to mention parking in an area where the Shelby would be less likely to get a scratch. With this many cars, they had no choice but to park a couple of blocks from Latté Da’s. As they got out of the car, their ears were met with rhythmic drumbeats.
“Sounds like we’re late,” Grace said as they hurried down the street.
A few loiterers were gathered around the front door, talking. Grace and Quentin politely pushed their way through. Still a little uncertain, she turned to Quentin, pulling herself up on her toes in order to talk in his ear. “Whenever you’re ready to go, just let me know and we can go.”
He leaned in, shouting loud enough so she could hear. The same smell of water and fresh night air from earlier surrounded her, pulling her toward him. “Don’t worry about me. Just try to have a good time. Alright?” His voice snapped her out of it, and she took a small step back.
Worried he realized what she had done, she jammed her hands into the back pockets of her pants and scanned the dark street. She took a quick peek back at Quentin,