Page 118 of Have To Be Mine

“Barely. What did you have in mind?”

“Well, that’s the thing. It’s pretty involved. Probably better to discuss in person. Can you make some room in your schedule? Maybe later this week?”

“Sure. Just text me some times that work.”

Another sharp turn. I was going to have words with her about this. Many words. Possibly while naked because apparently my brain had decided reckless driving was foreplay.

“Will do.” I let out a very unmanly squeak when she switched lanes and floored it by a truck.

Callum was laughing now. “Okay, I’m going to let you go. Talk later?”

“If I survive, absolutely.” I hung up and turned to Krista. “You’re insane. You know that, right? Completely and utterly insane.”

“I’m a very good driver.”

“That’s not the point. This is a Porsche, not a goddamn tank.”

“Exactly. It’s made for performance. I’m just using it the way it was intended.” She downshifted smoothly, the engine purring as we took another turn. “You should see how I drive a Humvee.”

“I absolutely should not. I’d like to live long enough to see thirty-five.”

She reached over and patted my thigh, her hand lingering just long enough to make my pulse jump. “Relax. I’ve got this. I’ve driven in much worse conditions than Manhattan traffic.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“It should. I’ve never crashed.”

“There’s a first time for everything.”

She shot me a look, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Are you really complaining? You look like you’re about to climb over the console and jump me.”

She wasn’t wrong. I shifted in my seat, trying to adjust myself without being too obvious about it. “That’s a separate issue.”

“Is it?” Her voice dropped lower, her hand inching up my thigh. “Because you’ve got that look. The one you get right before you⁠—”

“Eyes on the road!”

She laughed, but she did focus back on driving. I did not want to show up to family dinner looking traumatized. This was the first real sit-down dinner with my family with Krista as my girlfriend. They all knew her on some level, but this was a whole new context.

We’d only been back in New York for three days, and most of that time had been spent in my apartment, naked, ordering takeout and talking about the house we were going to buy. She’d already started researching neighborhoods, making spreadsheets comparing school districts and commute times. Meanwhile, I’d been sketching out ideas for the creative space I wanted, thinking about how to set up a proper studio.

We were doing this. Actually doing this. Building a life together. She pulled to a stop behind the Range Rover I knew belonged to Adrian. It felt strange to not be moving at breakneck speed.

“See?” she said, turning to me with a smile. “We made it in one piece.”

“Barely.” But I was smiling too. I couldn’t help it. “You’re never driving my car again.”

“You say that now.”

“I mean it.”

“We’ll see.” She leaned over and kissed me, soft and sweet. “I bought this cute little scrap of lace that I was planning to wear later.”

“Oh shit,” I groaned and adjusted myself for the second time. “Just don’t ask me to burn anything down. I won’t have the strength to tell you no.”

She winked. “I know.”

I followed Krista up the steps to my mother’s brownstone, my hand on the small of her back as we reached the door. I could hear Buck’s delighted shrieking from inside.