“You too.” I smile.

“Right, now that’s out of the way, we can let poor Quinn breathe,” Regina says and we all laugh.

The ice is broken. Thank God.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

“So you’re a mechanic,” Josh asks, digging into his seafood soup.

I nod, poking my fork into my pasta. “Yes.”

“That’s impressive. How long have you been working on cars?”

“All my life, basically,” I answer.

“Nice.” Josh nods his approval.

“She’s fucking good at it, too,” Tazen sings my praises. “I gave her a hard time at first, but it turns out she’s got more skill than half of my seasoned mechanics.”

My heart swells at his compliment and I smile at him. He winks at me.

“That’s hot,” Kell says. “I wish I could find a girl that wasn’t a ditzy Barbie doll.”

“Then maybe you should stop shopping for them in dollhouses, son.” Josh laughs.

Kell grunts. “Probably right.”

“I’m totally in awe,” Retro says. “I wish I was that bad ass.”

I look at her. “Pretty sure you are.”

She grins. “Yeah, that’s totally true.”

“Love yourself much,” Tazen says, grinning at her.

“Bite me, Taz. You’re no better.”

He smiles knowingly at his sister.

I laugh at their banter.

“So,” Regina says, looking at me. “Do you have siblings, Quinn?”

I shake my head. “No.”

“And your parents?”

Tazen reaches over, squeezing my hand, but I don’t mind answering. I can’t hide from my past any longer, and I’m not going to be ashamed of it. I did nothing to be ashamed of.

“My mom died of cancer when I was younger. It was hard on my dad and he became an alcoholic. He’s getting the help he needs now, though. So we’re getting there.”

I hate the pity in their faces, but I push past it.

“That’s a shame, love. I’m sorry,” Regina says.

“This girl,” Tazen says, pulling me close and pressing a kiss to my temple. “Is tougher than anyone I’ve ever met.”

I turn and smile up at him. He leans down, brushing his lips across mine. When we turn back to everyone, Regina is watching us with a twinkle in her eye. She’s happy her son is happy. My heart swells at that.

“And how’s the garage going, Taz?” Josh asks.

They get into a conversation about the garage and I spend that time getting to know Regina and Retro. When we’re all finished and the night has progressed, they announce they’re leaving. We all stand and say our good-byes, my heart warm that I got to meet Tazen’s family and they’re so amazing. I hug them all and then Tazen and I head back out to the street.

“You tired, baby?” he asks, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

I shake my head. “Nope, why?”

He grins. “Good, I have something you’re going to love.”

*   *   *

Tazen and I stand in his garage that sits right outside L.A. in Glendale. It’s impressive. You can tell it’s been looked after and expanded. It’s massive, eight bays, with cars from one end to the other. The parts room is extensive and they even have a paint bay. Wow, if this is what he plans on doing to the garage back home, I might just admit it was the best thing for it.

“Taz,” I breathe, shocked that I’m even calling him that. “This is amazing.”

“It’s pretty incredible, right,” he says, proudly.

“It truly is.”

He leads me towards a sleek, blue car. “We’re taking this baby out tonight.”

I stare at him. “We are? Isn’t it someone else’s?”

He shakes his head. “No, this one will just go up at an auction. We make good money that way, too. So for now, it’s still mine. I have just the place to take it. You ready?”

I nod and excitement bubbles in my chest as he opens the door for me and I slip into the car. It’s only a two-seater, with bucket seats and black leather interior. It’s beautiful. Tazen gets in the driver’s side and flashes me a shit-eating grin. “We’re going to make the streets of L.A. scream tonight.”

Oh boy.

“And baby,” he says, as he cranks the engine and it roars to life. “We’re going to make sure your panties are soaking fucking wet because of it.”

I flush and cross my legs, already feeling warmth building there. “I look forward to it,” I say in a husky tone.

He grins and pulls a remote from his pocket. He presses a button and the garage door begins to slide open.

“You ready?”

I nod. “Oh, I was ready yesterday.”

He backs the car out, and she’s literally shaking with the power that’s stacked under the hood. When we’re out onto the street, Tazen lays his foot down and we fly forward. I scream happily and press my hands to my knees as we zip past the cars driving at a normal pace. Tazen takes us out of the city and down a long highway. The car shows its true speed when we’re on the open road, she grumbles and soars, like every good car should.

Like at home, Tazen starts leading me to the back streets. I realize he’s taking me to a racetrack when he pulls into a large space loaded with people. This must be where he used to race. It’s heaps bigger than the one at home, and it’s impressive. Lights, people, cars and all the good things a decent racetrack should have. Obviously this isn’t legal racing, but I don’t care. I don’t live here and I’m up for an adventure.

Tazen takes the car down a side road and we pass a few other cars that are lining up to go in. We reach the gates and a man comes out, walking towards us. Tazen lowers the window and the moment the man sees him, a smile lights his face. “Tazen fucking Watts. No way!”

“What’s up, Doug,” Tazen says, putting his hand out and shaking Doug’s hand.

“Fuck all, bro. What brings you back to this side of the world?”

“Visiting my garage. You gonna let me race tonight?”

My heart rate accelerates. Race? Tazen’s going to race? Oh god.

“Yeah, fuck yeah. Always got a spot for you. Line up, fourth bay.”

Tazen nods and shakes his hand again, then we drive down to where all the cars are lining up. I turn to him when we stop. “You’re going to race!”

He grins. “No, baby. You’re going to race.”

I stare with wide eyes. “P-p-p-pardon?”

“You heard me. You said you’ve always wanted to get behind a wheel of one of these, now is your chance.”

“No,” I say quickly. “I’m not driving this. I don’t know how to drive this. I’ll crash it and … no.”

Tazen reaches over, curling his fingers around the back of my neck. “You won’t crash it and you’re going to do some warm-up laps. You can’t go wrong with this, angel. You lose, it doesn’t matter. You win, great.”

“I’m not driving this car.”

His grin turns wicked. “Oh yeah, you are.”

“I can’t.”

“You can.”

He gets out and walks around to my side. “Slide over, we’re taking her for a few rounds.”

“Tazen, no,” I stammer.

He reaches in, lifts me and throws me across the seat. “You’ll never get another chance like this, Quinn. You’ve got it in you, you’ve been around cars all your life. You know how to handle them. Now, start it up.”

He slides into the passenger side and tosses me the keys. I catch them but I can barely breathe through the nerves. “I don’t know…”

“No more hesitation. Start her up.”

I turn and slide the key in, then I kick off my heels and start her up. The engine rumbles to life and my nerves hum in excitement. Oh God, he’s really letting me do this. He’s letting me race his car. Suddenly, I’m a bundle of excited energy. I listen as Tazen goes through everything about the car. I nod and then turn to face the front.

“It’s your time to shine. Away you go.”

He sits back in the chair and I edge the car forward. I can feel the power beneath me, and my heart starts fluttering harder. I slowly pick up speed as I pull onto the racetrack. There are only two other cars doing warm-up laps, so it’s basically all mine. I hit the first two corners quite slowly, scared to let it go and give this car what I know it wants.