Page 92 of Worth Every Game

His expression melts for a second, exposing a touch of amusement, but then he catches himself, forcing the anger to hold. “You’re being very immature.”

I laugh, one shrill burst that sounds unhinged. “Immature? I’m not the one who’s too scared to tell his mummy how he feels.”

He drags a hand through his hair, shifting it off his forehead. “Fuck’s sake.” It’s a low curse, more exhalation than speech. “It’s none of her business how I feel about you.”

How does he feel about me?I keep gripping the steering wheel and refuse to look at him. I’m angry…I am.But coming here, trying to buy the car… itisimmature. But I want his attention more than anything else. I want him to care…

The words spill from my mouth, almost without permission. “So you don’t care what your mum thinks of me? About the stuff she said?”

Damn it.I was doing so well at playing the role of the scorned woman who doesn’t give a rat’s arse about all that nonsense, and now I’ve given it all away.

He puts a hand on the car door and leans towards me. “Am I going to have to get this tattooed on my forehead? No, I don’t give a shit what my mother thinks, and I should never have let her speak to you that way. I’m deeply sorry about that. I swearI’ll never let anyone say a bad thing about you, ever again. Now, get out of the car.”

The words are what I wanted to hear, but the tone is wrong. Harsh. Exasperated.

“Nope.”

“Nope?” He holds my gaze for a few seconds, like he’s waiting for me to say more, but when I don’t, he huffs. “You locked me out my fucking house. And now this?” He gestures to the showroom, the car.

“I was annoyed.”

“Well, so am I.” He storms towards the desk. He’s probably going to get me kicked out. Maybe even arrested. I sit back, cross my arms over my chest, watching him, waiting for someone to come and drag me out of here by the hair.

I don’t know how long I wait… long enough to get so bored that I end up scrolling on my phone. I only look up when I sense Jack coming back. He doesn’t look angry anymore. He looks pleased with himself. As he gets closer, he throws something at me.

I drop my phone to my lap and catch the missile.

Keys.

I’m speechless. For a moment I stare at them, then up at him, but he’s not where he was a second ago. He’s opening the passenger door and getting in beside me.

“You do have a license, right?” he asks as he slams the door. “I hope you’re a good driver because driving a car with an engine like this is not the same as a regular vehicle. It’ll shoot off like a rocket. You’ll probably need lessons to learn how to handle it properly.”

My jaw hangs slack. “What?”

Jack sits back, that devilish smile back on his face. “She’s yours.” He tips his chin to indicate the car.

My stomach sinks to my tailbone.What the actual fuck?I rotate in my seat, so I’m facing him. “You bought it?”

He smirks. “You looked so good in it.”

My heart begins to thump a panicked beat, and the sensation swells until it feels like my heart is the only organ in my body.No way.“You bought the car becauseI look good in it?”

“Yup.”

I sit back, hands raised, but not touching the wheel. “No. Oh, no,” I bleat.

Jack scratches the scruff on his jaw.So casual.“You’d filled in most of the paperwork anyway. If you’d told me before, we could have planned this. Customised it. Personalised this beast.” He taps the dashboard. “We could have put one on order.” He flashes me that cheeky smirk again, but I’m so stunned, that it doesn’t affect me as it normally would. “Very amateur to buy whatever’s on the shop floor.”

Amateur.

“You’re kidding me.” My fingers are tingling. “You bought this?”

“You wanted it, didn't you?”

My brain is misfiring, and everything I thought I wanted crumbles. I didn’t really want this car at all. I wanted to piss Jack off. I wanted him to say he loved me. How I could have wanted both those things, and expected one stupid action to achieve them simultaneously, I have no idea. I wasn’t thinking straight. But one thing is clear: I never expected him toactuallybuy the fucking car.

I feel faint. “Oh, no. No way. You have to return it. Take it back.”