Driven by Love by Marian Tee Page A

to him – make her believe that he was going to give her the ring only to do something else.
    It was only when she heard the sound of the whistle – of the flag-waver shouting the countdown and the cheers of the crowd – that she realized he had done something worse because Bobby had not expected it at all.
    He had simply left her standing there.
    The roar of motorcycle engines coming to life drowned the sound of the dying beat of her heart, and the wet trail of the tears on her cheeks disappeared in the ephemeral fog of engine smoke as the bikers raced away.
    He couldn’t have said it better.  
    He was done with her, and he couldn’t get away from her fast enough.  

Chapter Fourteen
     
    As Leandro raced to the front, easily beating the competition, he couldn’t help glancing at his bike’s mirror to see what Bobby was doing.  
    What he saw almost caused him to lose control, his heart squeezing at the sight of Bobby still standing there when all the other token girls had left. She was alone, and she was showing no signs of leaving.
    He forced himself to look back at the course, telling himself his life would be less of a mess with Bobby gone from his life. It wouldn’t exactly be happy, wouldn’t exactly be exciting, but at least it wouldn’t be filled with goddamn hurt, no more nights when he couldn’t sleep because his mind was filled with thoughts of Bobby, wondering if his greatest fear would happen.
    That Bobby would stop loving him for good.
    He tightened his hold on the grips of his bike, telling himself that although he was making his worst fear come true, it was meant to be.
    Leandro made a sharp turn to the left, staying at the innermost track. His bike leaned dangerously close to the ground, but he held his balance easily. When the curve ended, he slowly inched his bike back to an upright position.
    Leandro was already halfway done with the course when he found the time to look back.
    She was still there.
    With a curse, Leandro made a swift 180 degree turn so he could race back to the starting line. The closer he got to Bobby, the louder and faster his heartbeat became, and by the time he parked the bike a few feet away from Bobby, his heartbeat was so loud it had completely drowned out the sound of his motorcycle’s engine.
    The crunch of footsteps heading towards her took some time to penetrate the cloud of misery that had enveloped Bobby. Someone was going to ask her to walk away , Bobby thought, and her grand gesture of true and undying love would be lost.
    A shadow fell over her.
    “Bobby.”
    Her head shot up.  
    “L-Leandro?” Was it really him?
    Slowly, he removed his helmet and it was indeed Leandro’s gorgeous face staring back at her. He loomed over her, so tall and powerful that she had to crane her neck to meet his eyes. “Where’s the ring, mégaira? ”
    She began to cry. Dear God, today proved to be the most embarrassing day of her life. She must have cried an ocean of tears already, she – Bobby Granger, who had always prided herself for being a tough chick.
    Bobby raised her hand and showed Leandro his ring.
    “Were you waiting for me all this time, mégaira?”
    “Yes.”
    “Why?”
    “Because I love you.” She lifted her tear-stained gaze to his. “And because you love me.”
    Slowly, he took the ring from her hand. “You believe I love you then?”
    “So much,” she told him shakily. “I believe you love me so much that I can take another risk.”  
    And before he knew what she was doing, she had gone down on both knees.
    Leandro swore. “Bobby—”
    “Will you marry me, Leandro Christopoulos?”
    Ah, dammit.  
    His Bobby was just like no other. When she had wanted to prove to him she loved him, she had gone to his room naked even though she was a virgin. And now, to prove that she indeed trusted him and his love, she was now publicly proposing marriage to him.
    He bent down, slid the ring on her finger, and swooped her in his arms. “Yes, mégaira. I