Gwh wasn''t really paying attention, but she pretended to care as she dangled


    the keys in her hand. "Alright, I''ll give you a ride."


    Chris red at her, fuming, and muttered under his breath that she was hopelessly na?ve.


    Men-never any good. He was just about to say something when Victoria quickly reached over and mped a hand over her son''s mouth. "Go on, have fun," she said with a sunny smile.


    Chris rolled his eyes so hard they nearly stuck, and Celia huffed in indignation. What was the big deal anyway? It was just a fitted dress-so what if Great- Grandpa hadn''t seen one before? Now the two of them were bought off, utterly shameless.


    Gwh let go of Hawthorne''s hand and said softly, "I''ll go change clothes and bring the car around. Wait here for me."


    Hawthorne''s reply was calm. "Alright."


    He was used to being driven around Greenvale by chauffeurs, but he''d never been in a car with a woman at the wheel-let alone in the passenger seat beside Gwh. Not even Leonie had sat there before.


    He waited on the front steps for a few minutes, then the sound of a sports car engine tore through the evening quiet, drawing nearer.


    Hawthorne nced up, his dark eyes instantly drawn to the woman in the driver''s seat.


    Gwh rested one hand casually on the steering wheel, the other tucking a wind-blown strand of hair behind her ear. The sun caught her bare arm, turning her skin almost luminous. The sunset sshed vibrant red and gold across her, and with her naturally wavy hair and the tiny beauty mark at the corner of her upturned eye, she looked irresistibly wild and alluring.


    Hawthorne''s breath caught. Gwh always seemed more mature andposed than Leonie, even though they were the same age, but he hadn''t expected this daring, untamed side of her.


    He''d watched Victoria race in Form One back in the day, but drivers then were always hidden beneathyers of gear-their faces impossible to see. Gwh,


    on the other hand, was dazzling and untamed, impossible to ignore.


    Gwh took in the sight of the man standing in the lengthening shadows, his white shirt glowing in the sunset, suit jacket slung over one am. His Adam''s apple moved as he swallowed, his features refined yet sharply defined a portrait of cool restraint and authority, with just a hint of


    repressed fire.


    Her car rolled to a stop in front of him, and she tilted her chin, eyes brimming with


    mischief and challenge. "Get in," she said, her voice rich and sultry.


    vel


    Hawthorne slid into the passenger seat, unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt as he settled in revealing a glimpse of his toned chest The breeze tossed his carefully styled hair, making bim look just a little bit rakish, a stark contrast to the earlier buttoned-up,posed image.


    Gwh shot him a sideways nce, surprised-she''d never seen this side of Hawthorne before. Her heart skipped and nearly sent the car veering onto the curb.


    "No daydreaming while you''re driving," Hawthorne said dryly.


    Gwh''s cheeks flushed bright red. She''d only nced at him for a second— hardly daydreaming. This man, honestly, sometimes she wanted nothing more than to shut him up.


    "Thinking about shutting me up?" he asked, a teasing glint in his eye.


    A red light shed ahead. Gwh hit the brakes, stopping the car.


    Fifty-nine seconds felt like an


    eternity. She didn''t respond, but suddenly, she felt a hand at the back of her head, guiding her toward him. Their lips met in a sudden, electric kiss-no warning, no hesitation.


    Gwh froze, her mind going blissfully nk-like she''d forgotten how to breathe.


    It was her first kiss. It was Hawthorne''s, too.


    He''d never felt desire for any woman before, never knew the sweetness those onscreen kisses could hold-until now.


    They lost track of time, lost in each other, until the re of car horns behind them broke the spell. In her ear, Hawthorne''s low, maic voice rumbled.