Pole Position (33 page)

I dozed most of the way in the back of Danny’s Volvo Estate. There was plenty of room for me to sprawl out, even if it did smell a bit of horse. Colette nudged me awake and flashed me a beaming smile. “Wake up,
Dad
, we’re nearly there.”

Shit. Now we were so close, I’d no idea what to say to Anita. And I looked like hell. I glanced at my watch, disoriented and jetlagged. It was nearly ten in the morning, but I wasn’t sure what day it was.

Danny pulled up outside Bryn Dinas, and I gazed fondly at the house. We’d done some fantastic lovemaking here, and also torn each other to pieces. So much had happened here in such a short span of time. I realized I was daydreaming and shook myself awake. I couldn’t see Anita, but Geoff Cartwright was there, unloading some shopping from his car. He came over as soon as he saw Danny, a welcoming smile on his face. This changed abruptly when I climbed stiffly out of the back seat.

“
You
.” He stared at me, going bright red in the face.

“Hello, Mr. Cartwright—”

“What the hell are you doing here? You’ve got a bloody nerve, lad, I tell you. You’re not welcome here anymore.”

Before I knew it, he charged across at me, swung out with a perfect right hook, and punched me hard on the jaw. Surprise, shock and exhaustion all collided and I tumbled onto the floor feeling rather stupid. Geoff towered over me, glaring down and ready to strike again the moment I stood up.

“Geoff, calm down.” Danny held his arm. “He’s here to talk to Anita. He’s only just found out. Give him a chance.”

From my vulnerable position, flat on my back, I squinted up at him. “I’ve no argument with you, Mr. Cartwright. Just please tell me where I can find Anita.”

He grunted. “On the beach. She’s taken Maddie for a walk.”

Danny leaned down and hauled me upright again. “Go on, we’ll stay here. And Jon, good luck, mate.”

Most nights Jon visited me in my dreams, and we’d make love and snuggle together in bed. Most mornings I’d think he was there with me, but as I surfaced and the dream faded, I’d remember and feel painfully alone. Again.

It was bitterly cold on the beach, with what Dad called a lazy wind—it went through you because it couldn’t be bothered to go around you. I huddled on my favorite rocky outcrop close to the water, and tried to make the smallest possible shape with my body. Maddie danced along the water’s edge, barking like a maniac at a seagull.

I shivered and dug my hands deep into the pockets, my fingers brushing against the smooth metal casing of my beloved iPod. I rarely went out without it, even if the wind noise overwhelmed me, and it couldn’t be heard. I listened to it endlessly, mainly the Foos and the Kings of Leon.

I remembered when we spent the night at Red Wharf Bay and I’d mentioned “Revelry”. Jon had been right, it was a truly sad song. And I thought I knew why he’d chosen an inscription from “Aurora”. We’d watched the sunrise together. I stared out to sea. Would I ever stop thinking about him?

Was Kate right? Should I confront my fears and take him while I could? I kept coming back to our conversation in the café, her words never far from my mind.

Maddie’s barking had risen a notch, and I glanced across the sand to see what she was doing. The wind whipped my hair across my face, as I scanned the beach for the crazy dog. Ah, there she was, bouncing at the far end annoying some poor walker. She gave this guy a massive welcome, one she normally reserved for friends and family. I watched with idle curiosity as he bent down to fuss her, and then threw a stick into the shallows. She barked happily and romped after it.

And then I saw who it was.

He wore a brown, waxed riding coat, but it was Jon. My heart raced. For the briefest moment, I looked for an escape route, knowing I wouldn’t take it anyway. I stared at him, frozen, as he approached, Maddie bounding back and forth between the two of us. She barked in a state of total excitement. We were both silent, eyeing each other warily.

In the movies, the lovers run toward each other in slow motion. I just sat, petrified. Emotions swirled and vied for attention. Sheer overwhelming delight was there. Fear jostled alongside. Dread, that he knew my secret, and excitement he’d come to find me. Acceptance rushed through the ranks and surged to the front.

He stopped a few yards away and gazed at me, his face impassive. Maddie had become bored now, slinking off to find another stick.

I understood in a flash. I’d sent him away, and now I had to go to him.

Slowly, stiffly, I uncoiled myself from the rocks where I’d perched, and covered the distance between us. We stared at each other. I was struck by how tired he looked. He seemed to have aged ten years since I last saw him, just a few weeks ago. He probably thought the same about me.

I saw a glimmer of a smile. He held out a hand to me. “Shall we go for a walk?”

I shivered so much, I felt sick with anxiety, and my teeth chattered. I pulled one hand out of my pocket and slipped it into his, our fingers immediately tangling together. It felt right.

His face looked suddenly anxious. “Christ, your hand’s cold. Give me the other one.” I mutely held out my other hand, trembling now from head to toe. “You’re fucking freezing. Come here.”

Before I could say anything he opened up the coat, pulled me to his warm body and wrapped his arms, and the coat, around me. My hands hovered inside the coat in the region of his stomach. I took the opportunity to slide them into the back pockets of his jeans.

I sniffed, curious. The coat smelled strongly of horse, and looked familiar. “Is this Danny’s coat?”

Jon grinned. “I flew thousands of miles and managed to come here without a coat. Yes, I borrowed this from Danny.”

My brow wrinkled. None of this made any sense. As his body warmth spread through me and the shivers receded, I could speak more clearly. “How was Houston?”

There was a pause. “Lousy,” he replied evenly. “I shouldn’t have gone.”

“Why not?” I pressed my face into the side of his neck. My words came out muffled, but I could feel his skin against mine. I heard his breathing, felt his heart beating. I never wanted to move again.

“I should have stayed here with you.” He pulled me closer, twisting so he could see my face. His eyes searched mine. “I missed you so much. Everything else is meaningless without you.”

I faltered now. I’d wanted to him to come back for me, even as I knew I had to stay alone. And now he was here. But for how long?

“Things are different now.”

I spoke softly. I raised a hand to touch his stubble. It looked as though he hadn’t shaved for days. He groaned at my touch, took my hand and pressed it against his scratchy cheek. I frowned again, was that a fresh bruise on his face? He wore Danny’s coat and sported a recent bruise.

“Jon, please don’t say you’ve been fighting Danny again?”

He fingered his jaw line. “This was, ah, a gift from your father.”

I was astounded. “Dad?” I shook my head; the world had gone mad. I remembered something and dug deep in my fleece pocket to retrieve the precious iPod. “I wanted to thank you for this. I listen to it all the time.”

Jon smiled fully at me, pushing the iPod back into my pocket, his hand wrapped around mine. “I’ve brought you something else, I hope you like it as much.” He released my hand and went rummaging in another pocket, then produced a small box. The wind gusted round us, and he frowned. Next thing he gave me a wicked grin, grabbed my hand and ran up the beach toward the cliff, dragging me behind him. It was our crazy run on the beach at Red Wharf Bay all over again.

Just like last time I bumped into him when he stopped dead, and I giggled. This time though, he pulled me down onto the dry sand, sat there and eased me onto his lap, wrapping his coat around us both. We were out of the wind here. I stared at him, and marveled at how tanned he was, yet how tired-looking.

He produced the little box again. Inside laid the most beautiful silver ring. Not an engagement ring, nor an eternity ring. It was narrow with flowers etched in a spiral design along the outside, and tiny diamonds gleaming in the flower heads.

“It’s so beautiful.” I knew what I hoped it meant. “I don’t have anything for you.”

“Oh, I think you do.” His voice sounded cheerful. Looking me in the eyes, he took one of my hands in his own and moved it down to rest on my still flat stomach. “I know.” His voice was soft, his eyes tender. “I still want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

My bottom lip wobbled. “How did you find out?”

He smiled tenderly, brushed my wobbling lips with a soft kiss. “That’s not important. But I want you to know, I was on my way back to you anyway, when I found out. This is a bonus.”

He kissed me again. “My divorce is through, and I’m officially single. Please Anita, marry me and make me the happiest man alive.” Before I could say anything, he plunged on. “Being with you is the single most important thing in my life. I will do whatever it takes to make you happy. I’ll give up racing and work for my dad, just tell me what you want. And please say yes.” His eyes beseeched me.

I hugged him close, whispered “
yes
,” in his ear, and felt his sigh of relief.

“By the way, your dad doesn’t have a shotgun does he?”

“Not to my knowledge, why?”

“Oh, I just want to be sure I’m safe when we go back to your house. He was fierce when he saw me earlier. Perhaps I should hide behind you?”

We slowly started talking again. Smatterings of things, snippets of catching up. Lots of kissing, wrapped round each other, and a few tears. Maddie pestered for her stick to be thrown, and Jon obliged, while still keeping me wrapped up inside his borrowed coat.

I knew I wouldn’t ask him to stop racing. I’d have to be strong and watch from the sidelines, but the fact he’d offered meant the world to me.

“We’ll have to go back soon, there are a few people that need to hear our news.” He hauled me upright and snuggled me inside his coat again. “And you know, we’re going to need somewhere to live. There’s a nice place just up the road. And it’s got its own stabling….”

~*~

Although Pole Position is a standalone novel, if you enjoyed meeting Jon and Anita, you can also find them in the dark paranormal
Talisman
series.

It starts with
Obsession
. The perfect husband becomes the perfect nightmare.

~

They also appear as cameos in an upcoming series from Sofia Grey. Look out for the
Event Horizon
books, coming late 2016.

~*~

To keep up to date on new releases and other news from Sofia Grey,
click here
to subscribe to her newsletter.

Please help this author’s career by posting an honest review wherever you purchased this book.

Music is interwoven so tightly into my writing that I can’t untangle the two. Either I’m listening to a playlist on my iPod, have music seeping from my laptop speakers, or there’s a song playing in my head – sometimes on auto-repeat.

If
Pole Position
had a soundtrack, this would be the playlist:

Foo Fighters: Aurora

Kings of Leon: Revelry

Foo Fighters: Stranger Things Have Happened

Filter: Where Do We Go From Here

Kings of Leon: Trunk

Natalie Imbruglia: Torn

Kings of Leon: On Call

Foo Fighters: Headwires

Pearl Jam: Yellow Ledbetter

Maroon 5: She Will Be Loved

The Cranberries: Linger

All Saints: Pure Shores

KT Tunstall: Other Side Of The World

Villainy: Ammunition

Puddle of Mudd: Blurry

Manchester Orchestra: Shake It Out

Listen along to these—and more—with my Spotify playlist:
Spotify

****

Check out the images that inspired
Pole Position:
Pinterest

****

For advance copies, exclusive previews, and a lively group to hang out with, join Sofia’s Fan Group on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/225805550957721/

If you enjoyed
Pole Position
by Sofia Grey, why not try some of her other books, including:

Obsession (Talisman #1)

Josh Delaney is the ideal honey trap. His charm and model good looks would be enough for most women, but coupled with his psychic ability to read their thoughts, he’s impossible to resist. Suspicious husbands employ him to test their wives, to see if they can be tempted to stray.

High profile couple Suki and Gabe Bridgewater have the perfect marriage, or at least, that’s the image they portray to the world. Behind closed doors, Gabe’s dominance in the marriage is unravelling and he decides to test Suki, using Josh as bait.

For Josh it should be just another easy job, but two things go horribly wrong.

One, Josh falls in love with Suki.

And two, Gabe refuses to let her go.

Seeing the Love

Lucas Wade is losing his sight. As the darkness threatens to swamp him, the one bright spot in his day comes in the form of Natalie Fontaine. She works in the sales office, hundreds of miles away, and she alone treats him like a regular guy. She has no idea about his disability, and he doesn’t plan on telling her about it.

But if Lucas can’t be honest with her, Natalie may never see the love he has to offer.

His Temporary Fix (a Love at the Beach novella)

One night is all it takes...

Holly Jacobs loses her heart a little too easily. Never again. But when she meets the sexy soldier on the beach, Holly knows she’s in big trouble. Zack Winter is gorgeous and in pain, and when he kisses Holly, all of her resolve melts away...

Zack is on short-term leave to attend a funeral, and he’s walking a fine line. The loss is unbearable...and he’ll do whatever it takes to distract himself from it. Especially if it means a night of searingly-hot sex with Holly Jacobs. Only his brilliant idea isn’t exactly going according to plan.

One night isn’t nearly enough. But if it goes much longer it might end in broken hearts…