Almost Famous by Gina Wilkins

Author:Gina Wilkins
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: NASCAR (Association), Man-Woman Relationships, Contemporary, General, Romance, Automobiles, Automobile Racing Drivers, Automobile Racing, Fiction, Racing, Love Stories
ISBN: 9780373217762
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2006-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

THE CABIN WAS very still after Nick and Andrew left. Even Oscar was quiet for once, sitting on the floor and looking from Stacy to Jake as if he somehow sensed that something had changed between them.

Stacy tried to think of something to say to break the silence, but it seemed that all she could do was stare at Jake. Her mind filled with the memory of the way he had looked in that television commercial. The face that had become so familiar to her had been framed on-screen, the mouth she had kissed hours earlier smiling at the camera and smoothly promoting some tool company.

His hair had been shorter on-screen, more stylish. He’d worn a bright purple garment cover with sponsor patches rather than the jeans and Ts she’d become accustomed to seeing on him. He had looked polished and professional and completely at ease on camera—but there had been no mistaking that it was the same man who was even now looking back at her with a somber expression.

He finally spoke, and when he did, he used the same words he’d used earlier. “I told you I was a driver.”

She planted her hands on her hips, her annoyance with him returning. “You knew very well I thought you meant you drove a truck.”

“Well, yeah,” he admitted. “I tried to tell you the truth a couple of times, but we were interrupted and…”

His voice trailed off, as if he knew exactly how weak that excuse sounded to her.

“You could have told me at any time.”

He sighed. “I know. I’m sorry.”

She’d held things back from him, too, she realized with a slight wince. But she had told him, eventually. “So your last name is Hinson. You never even told me that.”

“I wasn’t keeping it a secret. I guess I just didn’t realize that I hadn’t given you my full name.”

“I probably wouldn’t have recognized it anyway,” she admitted, hearing the stilted tone of her own voice. “Since I don’t follow racing, I don’t know anything about you.”

“You know a great deal about me,” he corrected her, frowning. “Everything I told you was true. I just didn’t elaborate about my job.”

“A fairly important omission.”

“I know,” he said again. “I just…”

Again, his voice faded.

He just—what? Hadn’t trusted her? Had he thought she was the kind of woman who would pursue a famous man for the money and attention? Had he been concerned that she would notify the press or beg for free tickets and/or merchandise for family or friends? If any of that was true, he hadn’t gotten to know her at all during the past week.

“It was nice being just Jake for a few days,” he said after a pause. “It’s been a while since I’ve had that freedom.”

She thought of the time they had spent in town, surrounded by other people. “I’m surprised no one else recognized you.”

“As you pointed out, several people said I looked familiar. And the boy at the drive-in theater concession stand knew me immediately. That’s why I was gone for so long—he wanted to talk.

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