He really should be worried about getting himself into the mental space required to win pole position for tomorrow's race but for some reason, he wasn't. The race was less than twenty-four hours away and he wondered if he had time to make a quick detour on his way to the track.
He probably should be worried about how he felt about Harper as well but so far, he'd refused to think about it – and he was going to continue doing so until after the race.
It was true he was starting to entertain some thoughts about not finishing things with her straight away, but the jury was still out on that one.
And it wasn't just because of the sexual pleasure she brought him – though that was astounding. It was that he liked being with her. He'd even let her convince him to try Filipino dessert yesterday. He smiled at the memory. He hadn't planned on eating much since his team manager would have thrown a fit if he'd deviated from his strict diet this close to a race, but he hadn't needed discipline to tell her he'd pass.
"What are you thinking about?"
He glanced at her sitting beside him in his Range Rover, her long legs curled to the side. The question has become a running joke between them since Monday night.
"That thing with shaved ice, milk, bean, jelly and fruits you forced me to eat yesterday."
"You mean halo-halo."
He shuddered at the memory which made her roll her eyes.
"I didn't force you to eat. There must be something wrong with your tastebuds."
He smiled. "I promise you. There's nothing wrong with my tastebuds, baby." He watched her flush and brought her fingertips to his lips.
The sudden realization that he was relaxed and happy jolted him. Often he had to force those feelings but right now, they were as genuine as she was.
"Any news from Callum?" He knew the man had agreed to part of Harper's business proposal, but the crafty old bastard was holding back on the rest until he found out his own decision about representing Real Sport.
Harper had insisted that he not do it, but he'd turned the matter over to his publicist anyway.
"Not yet. But I'm confident he'll give us the rest of his business in due course."
Matt was too, but talking business reminded him again of one of his own little projects that he'd neglected of late.
Deciding that he had enough time, he turned the car off the next exit ramp.
"Are you sure were going the right way?" Harper said, curiosity lighting her voice.
"I want to show you something first."
He pulled into a large empty car park and cut the engine, "This is a go-carting track."
"Yep. Go wild."
Harper followed him out of the car, her sexy legs encased in denim jeans and black boots.
"Why are we here in the first place?"
"I want to check it out."
"I think it's closed."
"It is," he reached the double glass doors and used a key to open it. "I bought the place two months ago when I was bored convalescing. I've had a lot of work done on it, but I haven't been back for a while."
He walked into a dimly lit cavernous room, the smell of grease, sawdust and petrol making him breathe in deep. A sense of well-being settled over him as he took in the changes since the last time he visited.
Harper walked past him, clearly impressed by the view of a twisting track that took up most of the space.
She wrinkled her nose. "It smells of stale chips."
He didn't notice that.
"I think the kitchen is the next thing to be overhauled. This is the little kids' area," he explained, walking towards one of the barriers. "The bigger kids' track is out back."
"Do we have time to see it?"
"Sure – hey, Andy?"
"Matt. I wasn't expecting you," a tall, lanky man in a plaid shirt that had seen better days and grease-streaked jeans loped towards them.
Matt clasped his friend's hand, "Andy, this is Harper Mitchell. Harper, this is my center manager and fellow visionary, Andy Curtis."
"Why, hello," Andy took Harper's hand and Matt was slightly annoyed with himself for automatically stepping into her personal space when he registered Andy's masculine appraisal of her.
They might be sleeping together right now, but that didn't mean she belonged to him in any way. The words he'd thrown at Frank at the weekend – 'Harper is mine!" – registered in his mind and pulled him up short.
"Matt?"
He blanked his expression and cast off the unsettling notion that he'd well and truly crossed into a no-go zone with Harper. "Sorry, I missed that last bit."
"I said the main track is finished," Andy repeated. "Did you get my text last Wednesday?"
"I did. That's why I thought I'd stop by."
"Come on, I'll show you."
Clamping down on his worrying thoughts, Matt followed Andy towards the rear of the building and out into the bright sunshine, shielding his eyes as he took in the track.
"It's huge," Harper exclaimed behind him. "Like a mini-racetrack."
Matteo smiled. "That's because it is."
"I know that," she scoffed. "I just wasn't expecting it to be that big."
"Want to go out on it?"
"You mean walk around it?"
"Not walking," he returned to Andy. "Any chance you can pull a couple of carts out?"
"Sure," Andy grinned.
Matt enjoyed the look of surprise on Harper's face.
"I've never driven a go-cart before."
There's nothing to it.
Five minutes later, they were both kitted out in helmets and gloves. Once he'd fixed Harper into her cart, he climbed into his own.
"We're not racing each other," she informed him nervously.
Wondering if she would get the bug, he smiled. "Remember it's just like driving a normal car only the gears are on the steering wheel and there's no clutch. Right foot is to accelerate, left is for the brake. Other than that, it's just a piece of cake."
He watched as she revved the engine, unexpectedly distracted when her face glowed. "One more thing," he called above the throaty whine of the carts, "These engines are more powerful than usual carts, so go easy on the first few laps. I'll go first so you can follow my line as you learn the track."
"Ha! You're going first because you can't stand being second."
Matteo smiled. She got that right.
He gunned his engine and put the car into gear. The carts were fixed with a side mirror so he kept his eye on her as they did a couple of laps.
Both he and Andy had designed the carts, and he was impressed at how well they handled.
After five laps, he pulled his cart to a stop near the starting line and waited for Harper to pull up beside him.
"How was it?"
Her face was flushed from the light wind and her eyes were glowing with excitement.
"I think you could turn me into a speed demon," she grinned. "This is amazing. Although they seem a bit powerful for kids."
Matteo found himself once again captivated by her smile. Those eyes that shifted from aquamarine to indigo when she was aroused. "They're for big kids. Teenagers, adults. This is a specialized track."
"Great to hire out corporations for bonding sessions."
"Maybe," he hadn't thought that far ahead yet.
"I have an idea."
She leaned towards him conspiratorially and his eyes instantly fell to the deep V the movement made in her black shirt.
"What is it?"
"I'll race you!"
It took him a second to get his mind of her cleavage and by that time, she was already two cart lengths ahead of him. Matteo felt his competitor's spirit champing at the bit.
Little minx. She had deliberately distracted him.
As he followed her, the feeling that he was very much in trouble with this new, more relaxed Harper returned. In fact, possibly he'd been in trouble all along.
He'd sensed this latent fire in her nature many times over the weekend at Callum's, and after listening to her story about her childhood, he could see how she had locked herself down to a certain extent to achieve her goals which he greatly admired. It took a lot of fortitude to achieve what she had done, and even though he felt that her reason had been a little skewed by her mother's fears, he couldn't fault her execution. She'd devised a plan for herself and she'd worked diligently to achieve it. A bit like himself.
Matt kept pace with her, challenging her lead on one of the easier corners but never taking over. For once, he was happy to take the back seat in the competition.
He came up beside her and signaled one more lap. He saw determination set in her face and had to smile. If she but knew it, he could take her in a heartbeat.
He upped the pressure as they headed towards the home straight and his heart nearly exploded in his chest as her cart veered to the side and headed full speed towards a railing that had yet to be lined with safety material.
"The brake! Dammit, Harper, hit the brake!"
He knew she couldn't hear him, and he was powerless to do anything but watch. It was like seeing his father head towards that concrete barrier all over again. The feelings of pain and loss were so powerful, so ferocious that he tasted bile in his mouth.
By some dumb stroke of luck, her car pulled up an inch before the railing. Matt vaulted out of his cart and wrenched her helmet off before he'd taken his next breath.
"What the fuck were you thinking?" he all but bellowed as he took in her wild eyes and laughing face.
"Oh my God. I nearly hit the rail!" Her voice was vibrating with both adrenalin and mild shock.
"That was a bloody stupid thing to do."
"I didn't mean to," she said indignantly. "My heel got caught under the break pedal.
Her heel? Matt glanced down at her feet and noted the delicate heels on boots. Damn, he hadn't even considered her footwear when he'd made the impromptu decision to take her out on the track.
He swore under his breath. Ironically, he'd never felt more scared than anything in his life than seeing Harper hurtle towards the railing.
"Hey, relax," she was still smiling as she pulled herself out of the cart. "It was just a bit of – oh!" she threw her hand out and gripped his forearm as her legs buckled beneath her weight. "My legs are Jell-O," she laughed and locked her knees. "I think that was better than sex."
Matt shook his head, his sense of humor gone. "Those carts top out at sixty kilometers an hour. You could have been seriously hurt. Or die."
"I'm sorry if I made you worried," she tightened her grip, suddenly being aware of his overreaction at the same time as he did.
"Of course I was worried. I don't think we have insurance on this place yet."
"I don't know what to say," she looked stricken. "Are you okay?"
Matt collected the helmets. "Fine."
He clamped down on his emotions with vicious intent, doing his best to stanch the fierce animal rage that flooded him. The desire to grab her, crush her up against the nearest wall and pump himself inside her was like a savage beast riding him hard.
Instead, he shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts and stalked off towards the equipment room. He could see Andy striding across the track, deliberately headed in the other direction.
He needed to do something. In fact, hit something.
"Matteo!" Harper called after him, and he could hear her clipped footsteps on the concrete behind him. He lengthened his strides. "Matt?"
Dimly, he registered that she had stopped walking, and he pivoted around and stared at her. Her beautiful face was pale, full of concern. She approached him with the caution of a lion tamer without a whip and a chair.
"Don't walk away. Please."
Her quiet voice set off a riot of emotions and right up there wanting to physically take her – to physically brand her – was the urge to hold her and keep her safe. Forever. And that was the moment he realized he was shaking.
With the kind of lethal precision that was used to construct one of his beloved racing cars, Matt shut down everything inside him.
"I have to get to the track. I've wasted enough time here."