excuse so far. But a part of him couldn’t help but envy the closeness that Kerri seemed to have with everyone. The relationships, the trust … everyone working together as a team toward something that they simply loved to do .
There’s more than one way to define success.
What was he doing, trying to muscle his way in with Kerri? He didn’t belong here. Hadn’t he thought that a million times today already? He might want her more than he’d ever wanted a woman in his life, but she detested him.
Not that he blamed her. Whatever was between them was throwing him off, too. Usually, he wouldn’t give a damn what anyone thought of him. But somehow, with Kerri … things were different.
Bit’s expression sobered, just a bit. “I came over to tell you that we’re gonna start breaking everything down. You need anything else before?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m good. Thanks, Bit. You and the guys—it was great. I’ll see y’all in Kansas City.”
Bit nodded. “Sure thing.” He turned and gave a curt nod to Ranger. “Ranger.” Then he walked off, back to where the rest of the crew was starting to clean and put tools away in their chests.
“Why does he call you Bambi?” Ranger knew it was changing the subject again, deflecting their argument from earlier, but he truly wanted to know.
“Because of my last name. Hart.” She gestured to her head, miming horns. “You know, like a stag? For some reason, I got stuck with the nickname.” She rolled her eyes. “Well, I know the reason. Because I’m a girl. Even though the real—or real cartoon, anyway—Bambi was a boy.”
“Huh. Interesting.” He paused for a beat before adding, “Bambi.”
“Call me that and I’ll bite you the next time you kiss me.”
The thought of her nibbling on his lip, scraping her teeth over his chin made his body react. He sucked in a sharp breath. “Next time? Was that supposed to be a threat?”
The thing about passionate people was that they usually weren’t good at concealing their thoughts. And from the wide-eyed Bambi-in-the-headlights look that Kerri gave him, he could guess that she had suddenly realized the direction she had led him in, even if not on purpose.
“I … it … I mean, yeah. Yes! Hell yes.” But her words lacked the usual fire behind them. In fact, she sort of trailed off, continuing to stare at him with that doe-eyed expression.
He took a step closer, watching her eyes change from greenish gray to a dark, deep brown.
Yes. Hell yes.
Another step forward, and the color deepened, her gaze—
Shuttered.
She turned away, blinking, and fiddled with a wrench on the table nearby. “Look, I’ve taken all the time I can right now. I’ve got to go to the booth for a while and sign photos and stuff.”
Her shoulders were turned in. Avoiding him.
“Which booth?”
“Cran-Tasty.”
He scoffed at that. “Why? I saw the numbers. Cran-Tasty is paying you peanuts. Why are you sitting out there after a race like this for nothing when we could be working a deal with TelTex?”
That got her attention focused back on him, but there was no longer any softness in her gaze. Instead, she leveled an assessing look on him.
“You know, I might not be as big as the Intercomm Cup drivers, but some people do follow me. Some people know me from the Indy circuit and now they come out to these races specifically to watch me . Some people come out because they knew my dad. We’re a small team and we don’t have flashy stuff yet, but I’m not going to forget that there are people out there who have always believed in me.”
“This isn’t about people believing in you. This is about you using your time wisely,” he countered. “The time that you spend pushing Cran-Crappy to the public could be better spent trying to meet with bigger potential sponsors.”
He glared at her. How could she not understand how important this was? Didn’t she want this as badly as he did?
“Money really is all you
There’s more than one way to define success.
What was he doing, trying to muscle his way in with Kerri? He didn’t belong here. Hadn’t he thought that a million times today already? He might want her more than he’d ever wanted a woman in his life, but she detested him.
Not that he blamed her. Whatever was between them was throwing him off, too. Usually, he wouldn’t give a damn what anyone thought of him. But somehow, with Kerri … things were different.
Bit’s expression sobered, just a bit. “I came over to tell you that we’re gonna start breaking everything down. You need anything else before?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m good. Thanks, Bit. You and the guys—it was great. I’ll see y’all in Kansas City.”
Bit nodded. “Sure thing.” He turned and gave a curt nod to Ranger. “Ranger.” Then he walked off, back to where the rest of the crew was starting to clean and put tools away in their chests.
“Why does he call you Bambi?” Ranger knew it was changing the subject again, deflecting their argument from earlier, but he truly wanted to know.
“Because of my last name. Hart.” She gestured to her head, miming horns. “You know, like a stag? For some reason, I got stuck with the nickname.” She rolled her eyes. “Well, I know the reason. Because I’m a girl. Even though the real—or real cartoon, anyway—Bambi was a boy.”
“Huh. Interesting.” He paused for a beat before adding, “Bambi.”
“Call me that and I’ll bite you the next time you kiss me.”
The thought of her nibbling on his lip, scraping her teeth over his chin made his body react. He sucked in a sharp breath. “Next time? Was that supposed to be a threat?”
The thing about passionate people was that they usually weren’t good at concealing their thoughts. And from the wide-eyed Bambi-in-the-headlights look that Kerri gave him, he could guess that she had suddenly realized the direction she had led him in, even if not on purpose.
“I … it … I mean, yeah. Yes! Hell yes.” But her words lacked the usual fire behind them. In fact, she sort of trailed off, continuing to stare at him with that doe-eyed expression.
He took a step closer, watching her eyes change from greenish gray to a dark, deep brown.
Yes. Hell yes.
Another step forward, and the color deepened, her gaze—
Shuttered.
She turned away, blinking, and fiddled with a wrench on the table nearby. “Look, I’ve taken all the time I can right now. I’ve got to go to the booth for a while and sign photos and stuff.”
Her shoulders were turned in. Avoiding him.
“Which booth?”
“Cran-Tasty.”
He scoffed at that. “Why? I saw the numbers. Cran-Tasty is paying you peanuts. Why are you sitting out there after a race like this for nothing when we could be working a deal with TelTex?”
That got her attention focused back on him, but there was no longer any softness in her gaze. Instead, she leveled an assessing look on him.
“You know, I might not be as big as the Intercomm Cup drivers, but some people do follow me. Some people know me from the Indy circuit and now they come out to these races specifically to watch me . Some people come out because they knew my dad. We’re a small team and we don’t have flashy stuff yet, but I’m not going to forget that there are people out there who have always believed in me.”
“This isn’t about people believing in you. This is about you using your time wisely,” he countered. “The time that you spend pushing Cran-Crappy to the public could be better spent trying to meet with bigger potential sponsors.”
He glared at her. How could she not understand how important this was? Didn’t she want this as badly as he did?
“Money really is all you
Similar Books
