Page 39 of Game on, Love
She chewed on her lower lip, and a realisation drew over me. There was a flicker in her eyes when I mentioned ‘resources’, and I got the feeling she didn’t like me mentioning that.
“You looked my profile up?”
I faltered.Damn it.I’d been so caught up in my thought chain of analysing her reaction that I didn’t even realise I let that slip.
“I did.”
“That’s it?”
“You fishing for compliments, love?” I grinned.
“I—well, no.”
I shrugged, giving her one anyway. “You are brilliant at what you do.”
A whisper of a smile. “Thank you.”
There was a silent moment, and neither of us was ready to break it. And before either of us could, her timer broke it for us.
“Brownies are done,” She stood up, and I nodded. Giving her space before following her to the kitchen.
Raina couldn’t see us, but we trailed behind her like obedient soldiers. We walked behind her and watched her as she checked the batter and she took the brownies out and set them on the counter top.
“Thought you said forty minutes,” I muttered, confused.
“They need to set before you can eat them,”
“Fair enough.”
Quietly, I watched her plate it up in a dish before following her back up the stairs.
“So, why not go independent?”
“I could, but I wouldn’t be able to do exactly what I’m doing right now, and that’s one of the things I really enjoy. To speak to the drivers right after they come off the track, heated as some might be, the raw reaction to the sessions is something I love. Yeah, sure, sometimes it’s media-trained responses, but you’ve got to find the right ones.” I watched her face, mesmerised by how it lit up. “And, there are still so many opportunities missing for women in sport. I want to make sure I make the most of it, wherever it may be.”
“Even more reasons for me to teach you then. Put that human emotion into it. I can give you a hands-on crash course. All the secrets, the insider tricks, the stats no video will teach you.”
She hesitated.
“What is it?”
When she didn’t reply, I offered. “If you don’t want my help, you can always ask Rihaan. Maybe it can even help you become closer again.”
“Yeah, right.”
I frowned, leaning back in my chair as I watched her. Maybe it wasn’t aboutwhowas helping her, but the fact that she didn’t want anyone tohelpher.
“How about we make a… bet?”
“A what?”
“A bet.”
“Whatever for?”
I shrugged, letting my mouth run because my head sure as hell had no idea what crap I was talking about. “I help you learn everything about Cricket, and you can teach me about… Formula One?”
“Oh, hmm.” She chewed on her bottom lip, thinking it over. “How would we determine the winner, though?”