Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77359 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77359 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
She rounded a final curve and brought the car to a smooth stop where the road was bisected by a two-lane country road. “That was fun.” She gave me a smile. Hopefully, she wasn’t just talking about driving.
“Why’d you stop?”
Her cute bottom lip dropped. “Because it’s the end of the road.”
I grinned. This was the point where I’d taken over driving during other lessons, but not today. “You know which way to go.”
“B-But… but there might be other cars on the road.”
“Yep.”
She looked so stunned that I bit back a laugh.
“You can do it, Leila. You’re ready.”
After a long moment, she nodded. The look of determination on her face made me think of Mighty Mouse or some other small creature trying to act fierce. She looked both ways at least a half dozen times and then made a right onto the road.
At first, she drove as slowly as she had on through the forest reserve, but after a mile or two, she picked up speed. She had a death grip on the steering wheel, but other than that, she was doing well.
“What do you think?” I asked.
She paused as two cars came around a bend from the opposite direction. I sensed she was considering hitting the brake, but she didn’t. Finally, when the road ahead of us was clear, she grinned. “I love it.”
“I’m glad. And you’re doing well.”
The tip of her nose turned pink. She probably hadn’t received too many compliments in her lifetime—other than about her looks—for the simple matter that she hadn’t been allowed to do much.
“There’s a speed change ahead.” There was tension but not panic in her voice.
I glanced at the sign alongside a curve ahead and then at her speedometer. “You’re fine, you’re under the limit.” When the road straightened, she even sped up. She was still a little under the speed limit, but I was proud of her for being so brave.
She did slow when we approached the first intersection. I’d talked to her about the rules and right of way, but she hadn’t actually encountered one before. I talked her through it, offering tips—not barking orders like Massimo would have. Leila knew what she had to do, she was just inexperienced.
The same could be said for her kissing skills, but in my opinion, she was a natural at that.
“Should I stay in the right lane?” she asked when the road widened.
“Yep, you’re fine here.”
I let her focus. As the traffic increased, she kept her cool, giving the cars in front of us enough space but not slowing down the people behind her. Then I spotted a potential issue ahead of us. “See how those cars are slowing down up there?”
She squinted off in the distance. “Yes.”
“What do you think that means?”
“That they’re idiots?”
I laughed. “That’s always a safe assumption, but what else could it mean?”
Realization crossed her face, and she took her foot off the gas. “That maybe there’s something in the road.”
“Exactly. Always pay attention to what other drivers are doing ahead of you. When you see a bunch of brake lights, be prepared to hit the brakes yourself.”
It turned out to be a large cardboard box in the lane ahead of us, and I helped her get around it safely without veering into another lane. I let her drive for another ten minutes before I judged it was time to stop. She’d done wonderfully, but she wasn’t ready for the tollway yet.
Leila pulled into the parking lot of a shopping center and seemed excited at the way she centered the car in an actual parking space—something else we hadn’t been able to really practice out in the middle of nowhere. She shut the engine off and let out a big sigh of relief. Her shoulders slumped, not in disappointment, but just from the tension draining out of them. Then she turned and gave me a huge smile. “That was amazing.”
“You’re a good driver.”
“Because I had a good teacher.” She reached over and placed her hand on mine. The size difference of our hands was so pronounced it was like we were different species. “When I first met you, I didn’t know that you could be so patient and gentle.”
“Glad I could surprise you in a good way.”
She giggled. “In fact, that first time you drove me out into the woods like that, I was scared that I was in trouble. That maybe Massimo had ordered you to get rid of me out there, like they do in mafia movies.”
Every muscle in my body froze.
“Instead, it was driving lessons… and kissing lessons… which were so much better.” She smiled up at me, but then she took in my expression. “What’s wrong?”
I didn’t even know where to being. What she’d so casually described as being the stuff of movies and TV wasn’t just fiction in my life. I’d worked for my dad as an enforcer for many years. I was Massimo’s right-hand man now. I’d done many things I wasn’t proud of. Things that had to be done, but things I’d never want an innocent woman like her to know about.