Page 68 of The Surrender

“Come on, you can take me for a spin.” He shuts my door and rounds the front, slipping his shades on and getting in the passenger seat. I watch him as he pulls his belt on, wondering how I got so lucky. “What?” he asks, faltering while fastening it.

I lean over and smother him with my mouth, and he lets me at him, his face bunched, his laugh light. “Thank you.”

“Shut up and start the engine.”

A flutter of excitement erupts in my tummy as I press the button to start the engine, the gorgeous thing purring to life.

“It’s an automatic, so you don’t have to worry about—”

“Gears?” I ask.

“I was going to say you don’t have to worry about your hand.”

“Oh. I haven’t driven for over a year.” Scanning the various panels, I familiarise myself with the controls and displays. “Ready?” I ask, slipping it into drive and pulling off, the engine humming beautifully. “Where am I going?”

“I want to take you somewhere. Turn left out of the gates.”

I do as I’m bid and follow Jude’s directions, my smile unstoppable.

“Like riding a bike, huh?” He reaches into my bag. “Where’s your phone? I’ll hook it up to Bluetooth.”

“The inside pocket.” I slow at the barrier before the gates, waiting for Nelson to raise it.

“I’m just going to ignore that text notification from your ex asking why you’ve not called him.”

I feel my cheeks burning with guilt.Fuck.“He was at the restaurant last night,” I blurt, releasing the wheel and throwing my hands up. “When you were in the bathroom cooling off after Charley went at you. I saw him and he came over and I panicked because I didn’t want him finding out about you by actually bumping into you and I was worried because you can’t seem to control your temper when it comes to me and other men, and so I told Nick I’d call him to get rid of him before you came out of the bathroom.” I take a breath. “Obviously I had no intention of calling him, so now he’s asking why I haven’t, and I don’t know what to say.”

“Fucking hell, Amelia, breathe.”

I flop in my seat, exhausted. “Don’t be mad with me.”

“I’m not mad.”

“You’re not?”

“No.” He takes my hands and places them on the wheel. “Drive.” Then he goes to the dashboard and starts navigating the menu. “Wait.”Taking my thumb, he holds it to the pad on my phone to open it. “Now you can drive.”

I stare at him, stunned. That’s it?

Peeking out the corner of his eye at me, he smiles. “Drive, Amelia.”

“Right, yes. Drive.” Getting back to the wheel, I pull through the barrier and do a left at the gates as instructed, accelerating smoothly.

“Done.” Jude slips my phone back into my bag and gets comfortable.

It’s a stunning drive, the narrow country roads winding and dipping. Each time Jude tells me we’re on a straight for a while, I open her up, my smile breaking my face as Jude laughs at my excitement. He looks so casual with his elbow propped by the window, his trouser-clad legs extended. Relaxed. Content. No anger anywhere in sight.

“Slow down,” he says, as I approach a curve in the road. “It’s tight on this corner, and you can’t see any oncoming traffic.”

I ease off the accelerator, braking into the turn, and speed up again when Jude gives me the green light. He knows every bend and turn, how sharp or smooth they are. How many times has he driven this road?

“Left just past there,” he says, pointing to a red pillar post box. “And go slow, it’s a gravel road.” He looks across at me. “We don’t want to chip your new favourite thing.”

“You’re my favourite thing,” I say, turning and wincing the second I hear a stone flick up and hit the paintwork. “Shit.”

“Slow down.” He laughs, placing his hand on my knee.

As a result, I push my back into the leather of my seat, clearing my throat, trying to concentrate. “Thank you for waiting until I’ve slowed down to do that.” I glance at him, smiling out the corner of my mouth.