Fast Track (17 page)

“I’ve been
looking for your man. He’s not here yet,” Lauren said, scanning the
crowd.

“Justin is not
my man,” Anna said, looking around to make sure no one overheard
their exchange. The bar was already crowded with friends, family,
strangers, and familiar faces she recognized from magazines and
television but had never met in person.

“Whatever.”
Lauren slipped an arm through Anna’s as she led her to a vacant
table near the dance floor.

Trey Turner was
still considered country music royalty in Nashville, so when he and
his wife hosted an event for their charity, people felt honored to
make the guest list. Especially when the bill included a line up
like Trey Turner, Ty McCall, Nikki Spencer McCall, and Tori
Warner.

“Can you
believe the turnout?” Lauren asked, laughing. “They’re really gonna
rake it in tonight.”

“I hope so,”
Anna said, claiming a seat marked with her name.

Lauren took the
seat next to her. “I arranged for us to sit together,” she said,
squeezing her hand. “Just in case his sisters or mother try to give
you a hard time.”

“That’s the
least you can do,” Anna said, waving and smiling at Brianna and
Ryan. “Since you set this whole thing in motion.”

“You’ll thank
me later.” Lauren ran a hand through her long blond hair. “If you
score points with his family, Justin is bound to see that as a
plus. Besides, meeting them could be good for your career.”

Anna tried to
ignore the nervous flutter in her stomach as she watched the front
door. “I’m not trying to score points with Justin or his family. I
don’t even know why I let you talk me into this. I told you before,
this thing with him is never going to work.”

“What happened
when he dropped you off after your parents’ anniversary party?”

Steven had
complained of an upset stomach, probably because he’d been stuffing
himself with appetizers all night, and Justin graciously agreed to
take her home.

“Nothing. I
invited him in for a drink, but he said he couldn’t.” Anna tried
not to let it bother her, but she couldn’t deny she was
disappointed he hadn’t taken advantage of the opportunity to spend
some time alone with her.

“That’s
strange,” Lauren said, reaching for the pitcher of ice water and
filling her glass. “You didn’t say anything to upset him, did
you?”

“Why do you
assume I did something to turn him off?”

“I know you.
You’re probably working overtime to remind him that he’s not the
right guy for you. That’s gonna get old after a while.”

“I’m just being
honest.”

“Why are you so
afraid of putting yourself out there?” Lauren asked, facing her.
“It’s obvious he’s crazy about you. Would giving him a chance be so
terrible?”

“He may be
crazy about me now, but what about six months or a year from now?”
Her hand trembled as she reached for the water pitcher, but she
hoped her cousin couldn’t tell. “A guy like that isn’t interested
in a long term relationship, and I’m not interested in a temporary
thing. To tell you the truth, I don’t even know why we’re wasting
each other’s time. I told him I’d give him a month, but I’m
beginning to think that was a bad idea.”

Lauren groaned.
“Would you just live a little? What’s the worst thing that could
happen? You have hot sex with a rich man for a few weeks before you
move on to find someone who’s
husband material
?”

Anna’s biggest
fear was that he would be the one who would want to move on when he
tired of her, and she wouldn’t be able to find anyone else who
measured up. “Sssh,” Anna said when she saw Trey and Sierra
approaching the table.

“Hey, y’all,”
Trey said, reaching for their hands to pull them from their seats.
“Get over here and give me a hug. Don’t you ladies look gorgeous
tonight?” He hugged Anna, then Lauren.

“Thanks,” Anna
said, hugging Sierra. “Congrats on the turnout. It looks like it’s
going to be quite a night.”

“I hear we’re
gonna have another celebrity in our midst tonight,” Trey said,
winking at his wife.

“Really? Who’s
that?” Anna asked, hoping Trey was talking about anyone other than
Justin.

“As if you
didn’t know.” He grinned as he slipped his arm around her waist.
“Come on now, you can tell me. What’s the deal with you and that
race car driver?”

Sierra slapped
his arm as she rolled her eyes at Anna. “Don’t pay any attention to
him, honey. He’s getting old, and I think he’s trying to live
vicariously through you kids.”

Trey threw his
head back and laughed. “Baby, I don’t have to live
vicariously.”

Anna blushed,
but Lauren laughed, nudging Sierra in the ribs. “He is pretty hot
for an old guy.”

“Don’t say that
in front of him!” Sierra laughed. “It’ll go to his head.”

“Too late.”
Trey tightened his grip on Anna. “So, tell me about Justin. What’s
the deal with him?”

“We’re just
friends.”

Lauren wrinkled
her nose. “I’ll bet if you asked him, you’d get a very different
answer.”

Anna frowned at
her cousin, hoping she would take the hint and keep her opinions to
herself..
Wishful thinking.

“I’ve had the
chance to talk to him a few times this week,” Trey said. “He’s a
hell of a nice guy, hon. Why don’t you like him?”

“I do like
him,” Anna said, wishing she could slip away to the restroom
without appearing rude. “Uh, why did you have reason to talk to
Justin?”

“Your brother
mentioned he was going to be here. Nick suggested I give him a call
and ask whether he might be interested in donating something for
the silent auction tonight. Turns out he was very generous.”

“That’s nice,”
Anna said. Another point in his favor, not that he needed it. The
man was already too good to be true. “I’m glad he was able to
help.”

“Come on,
Trey,” Sierra said, reaching for his hand. “We should mingle a
little more before things get underway.”

“Sounds good.
You ladies have fun,” Trey said.

“Oh, don’t look
now, but the Hunts just arrived,” Lauren said, turning her back to
the door.

“I’m going to
freshen up before-”

“You’re not
going anywhere,” Lauren said, gripping her hand as she turned to
face their guests.

Justin
surprised Anna with a kiss that made a liar of her. Anyone watching
would know the two were more than just
friends
.

“Hey there,
beautiful.” His eyes grazed her body from head to toe. “Damn, you
look good.”

“Thanks.” She
would be surprised if he couldn’t see her heart pounding through
her shirt. Her body was on high alert, warning her of the danger of
getting too close to a man intent on challenging everything she
thought she wanted.

Clearing her
throat, she smiled at the distinguished looking older couple she
assumed were his parents.

“Mom, Dad,”
Justin said with a smile, “I want you to meet Anna McCall and her
cousin, Lauren. These are my parents, Tanner and Colleen Hunt.”

“It’s a
pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Hunt,” Anna said, stepping
forward to shake their hands.

Like Justin,
Tanner Hunt was a big man with bronze skin and a shock of silver
hair, while his wife was blonde, beautiful, and petite, much like
her two daughters.

“The pleasure
is ours,” Tanner said, enveloping Anna’s hand in both of his. “It’s
been a long time since my son introduced us to a young lady.”

“Thank you so
much for coming tonight,” Anna said to Mr. Hunt. “This event means
a great deal to our family and friends. It was nice of you to make
time to attend.”

Colleen Hunt
surprised Anna with a brief hug. “We’re thrilled to be here, dear.
I’m familiar with the Rainbow Fund. It’s a wonderful cause.”
Holding Anna’s hands, Colleen said, “These are our daughters, Dee
and Faith.”

Anna shook
hands with both women. Their smiles seemed genuine, but she
couldn’t help but wonder whether they were questioning what their
rich, handsome brother saw in her. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too,
Anna,” Dee said. “This is my husband, Rich,” she gestured to the
handsome man standing behind her, “and my brother-in-law,
Tate.”

“Hello,” they
said, taking turns shaking Anna’s hand.

Anna stood back
while Lauren acquainted herself with the group.

Justin slipped
his arm around her waist and whispered in her ear, “I’ve missed
you.”

She couldn’t
help but smile. “It’s only been a few days.”

“It seemed like
a lot longer.”

She looked into
his dark eyes and expected to see a twinkle of amusement. Instead
she saw sincerity, prompting her to say, “For me too. I’m glad
y’all could make it tonight.” And suddenly she was. His family
seemed warm and friendly, and she looked forward to spending more
time with Justin.

“Why don’t we
all have a seat?” Lauren said, gesturing to the empty table. “We’ll
introduce you to some of our family and friends in just a little
bit. We don’t want to overwhelm you by trying to force you to
remember dozens of names all at once.”

Dee laughed as
her husband held her chair. “I’ve seen most of these people on TV
so many times I feel like I know them already.”

Justin beckoned
to the waiter and placed a drink order for the table. He held
Anna’s chair and waited for her to be seated before he claimed the
spot next to her.

“Trey told us
you were kind enough to make a donation, Justin,” Lauren said,
crossing her legs as she reached for her water glass. “That was
sweet of you.”

Seemingly
embarrassed by the praise, Justin shrugged. “I’m happy to
help.”

“Justin tells
me you’re a writer and illustrator, Anna,” Colleen said.

“Actually, I’m
a teacher. The books are just a hobby.”

“A teacher?”
Colleen shook a finger at her son, smiling. “You didn’t tell me
that.” Her green eyes twinkled when she said, “You and I do have a
lot in common, aside from our love of books.”

“We do?” Anna
asked, glancing at Justin for a hint.

“I was a
teacher before I married Tanner.”

“Really?” Anna
asked, leaning forward. “What grade did you teach?”

“Third.” She
reached for her husband’s hand. “I loved it, but when we decided to
have our own family, I wanted to stay at home with my kids.” She
smiled. “So many people we knew relied on nannies to care for their
children. I’m not one to judge, but I just knew I wanted to be the
one they went to when they had a stomach ache or a skinned
knee.”

“Oh God,”
Justin muttered, shifting in his seat. “Do we really have to go
there?”

Justin’s sister
Dee grabbed his wrist. “You’ll understand what she means when you
have your own children. Everything changes.”

He laughed.
“Good thing I don’t plan on having kids anytime soon then. I like
my life just the way it is.”

Anna tried to
hide her disappointment behind a polite smile. She shouldn’t be
surprised that she and Justin were traveling different paths, but
hearing him confirm it made her question why she was risking her
heart with a man who could never give her what she needed.

***

Justin sensed a
shift in Anna’s mood. It was subtle, and he knew she was trying
hard to maintain the façade for his family’s sake, but he knew she
didn’t want to spend one more minute at his side, and he had to
find out why.

“Would you care
to dance?” he asked when Ty began singing one of his hit
ballads.

“Um, sure,” she
said after a pause, no doubt to consider whether it would be rude
to refuse his request in front of his family. “Excuse us.”

As soon as he
drew her close, he felt the tension in her rigid stance. She didn’t
want to be there, at least not with him. “You want to tell me
what’s bothering you?”

“Nothing.”

Justin closed
his eyes and prayed for patience. Sometimes he wanted to shake some
sense into her. Why was she fighting so hard when they were
obviously perfect for one another? “You wanna try again?”

“I’m just
tired, Justin.”

“Tired of
me?”

“This isn’t the
time or place to have this conversation.”

“When would be
the right time to tell you I’m falling in love with you?” His heart
pounded as he thought about the implications of what he’d said. It
was true, but he, like most people, harbored a fear of
rejection.

Anna looked up
at him, shock obviously paralyzing her. “What did you say?”

“I’m falling in
love with you,” he whispered. “There’s no other way to explain what
I’m feeling. I think about you all the time. When I’m not with you,
I want to be. I want to talk to you when I wake up in the morning,
before I go to bed at night. I want you on my arm at parties and
there to cheer me on at races. I want you. It’s as simple as that.”
Except nothing about it was simple.

“You can’t mean
that,” she said, shaking her head in denial. “It’s the thrill of
the chase that’s fooling you into believing you feel something you
don’t.”

He held her
hand against his heart. “Trust me, I know what I feel.”

“You said you
wouldn’t pressure me. You said if we wanted to go our separate ways
at the end of this month-”

“I know what I
said.” He was falling deeper into a pit of uncertainty, but he
couldn’t turn back. His entire life was about taking risks, yet
navigating a track seemed like child’s play compared to the
challenge of winning Anna’s heart. “Listen, you don’t have to say
anything right now. I just want you to think about what I said and
know that I mean it. I’ve only said that to one other woman in my
life and-”

“What happened
to her?”

“We were young.
She wanted to settle down, and I didn’t.” He smiled. “Last I heard,
she was married to a lawyer and the president of her P.T.A.” He
grinned, hoping to lighten the mood. “Things worked out the way
they were supposed to.”