Page 17 of Torqued

“No clue.” I half shrug. The thing I don’t tell her is that I would pay good money to find out. I might do that, anyway, considering Crank is somewhere around here. Then again, he’ll tell her, and she’ll blast me.

Margo tilts her head, looking up at me. “What’s with the face?”

“What face? Leave me alone, and go aggravate Crank.”

“You’re kinda grumpy, ole man.” She sticks her tongue out at me.

“You better be careful. Crank sees that, and he’ll take you up on it.” I waggle my brows.

Margo wrinkles her nose. “Eww, no.”

“Well, you can’t go around leaving stuff hanging out. That’s what you tell me all of the time.” I’m busy messing around with Margo and don’t pay any attention to who is in front of me. By the time I realize my mistake, I’m about to walk straight into the person in front of me.

“Whoa!” He puts his hands up, and then one out when I stop short of running him down. “Rush Hatcher?”

“Sorry about that man, I wasn’t watching where I was going.” I take his hand, shaking it. “Yes, I’m Rush.”

“Colton Donavan,” he releases my hand, smiling at a swooning Margo. “You are?”

“Margo Baker, Rush’s crew chief.” She beams, taking his hand.

He nods, smiling. “Do you have some time to talk shop?”

“Yes, of course. My hauler is just to your right.” I step around him, motioning to it. Colton Donavan is a helluva driver, but he’s an Indy Car heavyweight. Wonder what he’s doing here?

Colton follows me over and into the front. He looks around and makes himself at home. I’m trying not to freak out, so I lean against the counter across from him.

“You looked good today, great time.” Colton sits forward, his brows arched. As if I wasn’t nervous before, my heart is hammering against my chest.

“Thank you, I appreciate that coming from you and the times you’ve clocked.”

“So, you know who I am. Any idea why I’m here?” He pulls out his phone and narrows his eyes.

I shove my hands in my pockets, not wanting to lose my cool. “Not really. Care to share?”

“My partner and I are hoping to get a meeting with you, we’d like to talk about sponsorship.” He eyes his phone again. “Excuse me for one minute.”

“No worries.” I stand there, trying to not stare as he types on his phone.

“I need to show my partner, Spencer Woods, where we’re meeting. That’s if you have time to talk right now?” He stands, walking over to the door.

“I have a few minutes I can spare.”

He nods. “Good, I’ll only be a minute.”

I wait until the door closes behind him before freaking the hell out. This is it. I’m going to get my sponsor and into the pros. I want to tell Margo, but I don’t have my phone.

“Maybe she’s watching, and I can let her know these guys are ready to talk.” I mumble as I whip the door open, and my arms are filled with the blonde of my dreams. If I believed in fate, I’d have to think this was it, but now isn’t the time.

“I’m so sorry.” She stumbles back, and I steady us.

“Well, I’d like to say I am, but I don’t lie.”

She raises her brow. “Is that so?”

“It is, and as much as I’d like to see… more of you, now’s not a good time, but if I can get your number, I’ll hit you up later.” I bite my lip, releasing it slowly as she watches me beneath her lashes. Her cheeks flush with rose color, and much like mine, her heart is racing. God knows I’d love to see how much faster I could make it pulse.

She steps away from me, straightening her clothes. “I take it, you do this often.”