Make Me Over_ Getting Real - Leslie Kelly [53]
Nodding thoughtfully, he murmured, “That makes sense.”
She thought they were done torturing each other, that they’d both scored a few hits and would stop this sensual torment. She should have known better.
“So I guess you have to keep it really well lubricated,” he said, his tone light. “To make sure it moves smoothly.”
Tori coughed into her fist as she choked on her own breath. Oh, she was going to get him for this. Definitely get him. Closing her eyes briefly, she managed a nod. “Yes. Right. Absolutely. Lubrication is important.” Then, raising a brow she added, “As, of course, is having an expert in the driver’s seat.”
His jaw clenched. “You saying you’re an expert? That’d take a lot of experience, with a lot of…equipment…wouldn’t it?”
“Not necessarily a lot.”
“How much?”
“Enough.”
“Dozens of sticks?”
Dozens? Criminy, did he think she was some kind of track ho? “No.”
“Tens?”
She shook her head. Finally, showing mercy, she admitted, “Maybe it only takes one or two for someone to find the perfect match.”
He stared into her eyes and she didn’t flinch, letting him see the truth she was trying to convey. No, he hadn’t been her first, but he hadn’t been much beyond that, either.
Finally, a pleased look softened his expression. “That sounds reasonable.”
“Glad you approve. Not that it’s, you know, really up to you.”
“Correct,” he admitted. “As long as you acknowledge that now, having found the perfect ride, it’ll be the only one you ever want to race again.”
W HEN SOMEONE KNOCKED on his bedroom door late Sunday afternoon, Drew’s thoughts immediately turned to Tori. He’d been ready to strangle her, or jump on her, when she’d so playfully taunted him earlier in the sunroom. Even the presence of the cameras might not have been enough to keep him from touching her. But Sukie and Ginny’s arrival had been. He’d barely given Tori his not-so-subtle hint that he might not have been the first man in her life but he was damn well going to be her last, when they’d burst into the room.
Drew had made a quick excuse and left, praying none of the women—or the camera—noticed that his tailored trousers didn’t fit quite so neatly across his crotch as they were supposed to.
Hoping to see Tori’s smiling face, he answered the knock without even asking who was on the other side of his door. So he had to smother his quick sigh of irritation when he opened it to find Niles Monahan instead.
“I’d like to speak with you,” the man said.
Drew crossed his arms and leaned against the doorjamb, not inviting the other man in to sit in the small sitting area adjoining his room.
Something about the director really got on his nerves. He was a sneaky little bastard, you could see it in his nervous eyes and his constantly moving hands. Drew wasn’t risking going off-camera with this guy. He trusted him as far as he could throw him and wanted everything on the record.
“Okay, talk.”
Monahan sniffed. “I thought you should know, there’s been a change in plans for this evening.”
Drew immediately tensed. If Tori had backed out, he’d find a reason to, as well. She was the only reason he wanted to go on this ridiculous country-club field trip. Frankly, he couldn’t care less about what happened on the set of Hey, Make Me Over, and could barely muster any interest in helping to judge the remaining contestants. His life had come into brilliant, startling focus last night, and he had a hard time spotlighting his attention anywhere other than on her. On what had happened between them. What else was going to happen between them.
A lot. Definitely a lot. Maybe a life-altering amount.
After his first botched engagement, Drew had stopped thinking about settling down with a wife, kids and a house. None of that stuff seemed as important as his career and his travels, and he’d never met anyone else who’d made him think that would change.
Now, however, he was beginning to see the possibilities. Because he’d finally found someone he thought