PJ turned. “Asa, this is Carmella Rossi. She’s Craig’s cousin.”

He nodded at Craig and then looked at the redhead. “Oh hey! I know you.” Asa turned back to PJ. “She’s Duke’s neighbor.” And back to Carmella. “You have that awesome little dog right? Like a miniature Doberman?”

Carmella nodded, smiling. “Yes. Also, my uncle is Craig’s dad. I do the books at his shop so I talk to Lottie in your office at least once a month.”

They made a little small talk for a while longer. Asa’d been hoping Carmella was Craig’s date but clearly not. Asa put his arm around PJ’s shoulders and she turned her head to look at him.

“First heat starts in ten. I need to head back over to the track. Want to come with me so we can get you a good place to watch?”

“Yes, please!”

He kept her to himself for a few minutes more as he took her behind the tents lining the track. It was marginally quieter and far less crowded.

“We’re right up here.” He pointed. Duke stood with Mick and another one of the guys from their team.

Asa didn’t miss the once-over Mick gave PJ. Or the downturn of his mouth when he finished.

“Hey, PJ.” Duke, grinning, danced her away from Asa, hugging her.

PJ laughed and turned back to Asa where he was standing with Mick. She gave him one of her prettiest smiles. Warm, totally genuine.

Mick eyed her carefully.

“PJ Colman, this is Mick Roberts. Mick, this is PJ.”

She held a hand out and Mick gave it a halfhearted shake. By that point Asa was pissed.

He stepped between Mick and PJ, trying to be nonchalant, as he spoke to Duke about the first heat.

They’d decided the day before that Asa would drive the muscle car heats and Duke would do the stock. Asa was up first in the Fastback, adrenaline already coursing through his system.

Asa grabbed a pair of noise-dampening headsets for PJ, but she held up her own pair with a smile before she put them on. Sometimes it was easy to forget how steeped she truly was in car culture. He needed to remember that.

Still, when she wasn’t paying attention, he looked closely to be sure her protective gear was appropriate, given that wreck of a helmet she’d had before.

He guided her off to a space they’d cleared for a few people to stand and watch away from the action, and she gave him a thumbs-up. He kissed her hard and she gave him two thumbs up.

Asa tossed a glare Mick’s way as the men headed toward the car.

“We’ll talk about how you acted later. But for now, you stay the fuck away from her if you have a problem. You got me? Any problem here is between you and me. PJ isn’t part of it. I won’t allow it.”

Mick shook his head. “Just looking out for you.”

“Again, let me underline for you that this is an Asa-Mick issue. This has nothing to do with PJ. Am I clear?” He’d beat the shit out of a friend for being a dick any day of the week. They’d hash it out one way or the other, but that had nothing to do with PJ, and Asa wasn’t going to let anyone make her feel uncomfortable.

Duke slapped the back of Mick’s head. “He understands.”

Duke liked PJ, so Asa knew his friend would keep an eye on her.

PJ watched, heart in her throat, as Asa busted his ass in that Fastback. He was so damned good. Intense. His concentration was fantastic, but it was his reflexes that made him so very masterful.

Fearless, he dominated the track like he dominated her in the bedroom.

She paused, smiling at that silly bit of internal narration, but it was true. Asa was totally in charge, and it was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen.

He came in second in the first heat and first in the second. They brought the Fastback in, switching out with Duke and his stock car.

Asa worked the team for Duke, like Duke had for him, but every once in a while he looked back over his shoulder at her, and it sent all sorts of pulses of goodness through her.

Not that it kept her from noting how much his army friend Mick didn’t like her. He was not having any PJ in his life. Not one bit.

Which was too bad, because she was there. Period. But she hated it when people didn’t like her for secret reasons! She hadn’t done anything to him at all, so what was up his butt?

She’d just have to give it time and space. Maybe he was jealous at how much time Asa spent with her or some other stupid guy thing. Maybe he didn’t like blondes. Or he thought she was too young or too whatever. Maybe she’d find out just what his deal was.

For the time being, though, there were fast cars racing, which was sort of like her birthday or something. The smell of fuel and burning rubber, the chitchat, the overwhelming noise levels as machines hummed, roared, idled, and everything in between all around.

A lot of her time as a child had been spent on a track, off to the side watching or in the bleachers if it was a big track. It was like homecoming to be there.

Chapter Thirteen

Twisted Steel was second overall, with Asa ranked highest by one and a half points.

Grinning, he strolled over and kissed her after he’d come off the track.

“Congratulations.”

He kissed her again. “Thank you. I’m just going to wash up and change my shirt. I’ll meet you in the main tents with the food.”

She’d seen Audra head that way just a few minutes before. “All right. I’ll see you in a bit.”

She put a little extra sway in her walk as she headed out.

The crowd in the main tent was energetic. Lots of gearheads. Mechanical geniuses. These men and women loved car culture. They loved racing and celebrating the old things as well as the new.