Page 92 of Men or Paws

“Good.”

I pulled out my phone and pretended to tap a button. “Note to self: Buy a case of leather-scented cologne and bathe in it daily.” I laughed.

“You’re incorrigible.” Beth shook her head with amusement.

She backed the car out of the garage and drove down the driveway, stopping at the bottom as she waited for the security gate to open. She was quiet, getting a feel for the car as she cruised down my street, but then sped up once we hit the main country road between Rancho Santa Fe and Encinitas.

Beth’s confidence was showing again, the joy on her face, the sparkle in her eyes.

“Well?” I said, wanting to get her thoughts, her feelings about driving my car.

“Amazing.” She nodded, smiling. “I’m just living in the moment, enjoying the experience. It’s such a lovely, peaceful day.”

“Watch out!” I yelled, as we went around the curve.

Beth slammed on the brakes, causing the backend of the car to slide to the right and off the road. I held my breath as the car slid in the dirt toward one of the largest, most majestic eucalyptus trees in all of Rancho Santa Fe.

Shit. We’re going to hit the tree.

Instinctively, I reached my arm out in front of Beth, knowing if the airbag deployed after contact with the tree, it could possibly break her nose.

Every muscle in my body tensed as I braced for impact.

This was not going to feel good.

ChapterNineteen

Beth

My heart momentarily stopped in my chest after the Maserati came to a complete stop, just inches from the eucalyptus tree. Dust hovered in the air, one giant cloud around the car, as if we were caught in the middle of a sand storm. I’d had my fair share of experience driving fast cars and usually could handle them well, but missing that tree was nothing short of a miracle.

Taking in a couple of deep breaths to get my bearings, I replayed what just happened in my head, glad that we were alive. My mind was going in a thousand different directions, but not enough to block out the weird sensation in my chest.

It was a constant pressure, almost like the seatbelt was too tight.

Perplexed, I glanced down, shocked at what I saw. “Uh, Rocco . . .” I glanced over at him, waiting for a response.

His mouth was hanging open and he had a blank look on his face, his focus on the eucalyptus tree. “Yeah . . .”

“Why is your hand on my breast?” I asked.

“Huh?” Rocco looked over, then down at my breasts before pulling his hand away. “Sorry. I, uh, thought the airbag was going to deploy and I heard the force can break your nose or jaw. I didn’t want that to happen to you, obviously, so I tried to block the airbag from hitting your face.”

I thought about it. “Okay . . .” I pointed to my face. “But my nose and my jaw are located up here, just a tiny bit higher than my breasts.”

“I wasn’t trying to cop a feel before I thought we were going to die, I promise. I don’t know what happened, actually. I just reached over to try to protect you, but then we were getting close to the tree and the car hit that little bump that made my body shift in my seat. My eyes were on the tree the entire time.”

I reached out and squeezed his hand. “It’s okay, I believe you, but why did you scare the crap out of me like that? Exactly what was I supposed to watch out for? I didn’t see anything.”

“There was a rabbit in the road,” Rocco said.

I blinked a couple of times. “A rabbit . . .”

“Yes, a rabbit.”

“I didn’t see a rabbit.”

“I know you didn’t, hence my yelling to get your attention.”