Free Hard and Fast by Erin McCarthy Page A

your sponsor might be less than thrilled if you aren’t at Wal-Mart at five P.M. to sign autographs.”
    Pacing back and forth in front of the doorway, Ty said, “Have I ever missed a single appearance?” Those he actually liked doing. He enjoyed talking to the fans and having his picture taken. It was press conferences and cocktail parties he couldn’t always hang with.
    “There was that one time at Talladega.”
    “I had the stomach flu!” And they had had this argument a hundred times. Toni was never going to let him live down a virus he’d had no control over.
    “So?”
    “I was a public health risk.”
    “Wimp.”
    “And you’re a nag. But a gorgeous one.”
    She snorted.
    “Hey, did you order that book on audio that I left on my desk?” Toni was just about the only person who was privy to the fact that Ty was dyslexic, and she frequently ordered books on audio for him, and helped him sort through all his paperwork.
    “Yes. Though I’m not sure why you want to know how to win yourself the heart of a race car driver.”
    “Huh? What do you mean?” Ty frowned.
    “It’s a dating manual on how to win a race car driver in six easy steps. The end goal is marriage.”
    “Are you freaking kidding me?” Ty was shocked. What the hell did that mean? Why would Imogen have a book like that?
    “I am not kidding you. Where did you get it from anyway?”
    “From a friend.”
    “A female friend? Was it Nikki? Because that would not surprise me in the least.”
    “No, not Nikki. We’re done. It was someone else, a sort of new friend.”
    “Well, it looks like your, ahem, friend is on the prowl for a driver. Careful, Ty.”
    “I don’t think she is.” That seemed nothing like Imogen, frankly, and hadn’t they talked about marriage after the disaster with Nikki? Imogen wasn’t the type to try to hook a man based on a dating book. He was sure of that.
    “I’ve been flipping through it. It’s interesting. The first step is all about eating healthy, exercising, and learning about stock car racing. So if you spot her at the gym, look out.”
    There was a startled yelp from across the gym and Ty glanced up, distracted.
    What he saw made his jaw drop. It was Imogen, flying backward off a treadmill and landing on her ass on the gym floor.
    “Oh, now you’ve really got to be freaking kidding me,” he repeated, absolutely appalled. It had to be coincidence. It had to be. Right?
    “No, I’m not kidding you,” Toni said. “Are you sure you want me to buy this thing for you? I can probably still cancel the order before it ships.”
    “Yes.” Ty watched as Evan Monroe helped Imogen up off the floor. “In fact, I might not want to wait until the audio arrives. I might just have you read out loud to me, sweetheart.”
    Normally, he hated to have Toni read things out loud to him, but watching Imogen fuss with her hair and her glasses and move around on the balls of her feet as she chatted to Evan, Ty had a sudden burning desire to know exactly what the hell was in the book he had borrowed from Imogen.
    And why she had it.
    “Oh, goodie. That sounds like fun for both of us,” Toni said, her voice dry.
    Yeah. Fun. That’s exactly what he was having.
    Feeling the undeniable sensation of jealousy crawling up his spine and settling in his gut and temples and fists as he watched Evan lean closer to Imogen, Ty took a deep breath.
    Then got the hell out of there before he did something stupider than what he’d done the night before.
     
     
     
    BY six o’clock Ty had fulfilled all of his business obligations for the day and had forced Toni to read him Chapter One of the book he had borrowed from Imogen. Not only did it have advice to the would-be bride on maintaining a healthy and attractive appearance, what to wear, and how to research stock car racing, it listed the gym he worked out at as a possible place to spot drivers.
    Toni looked up at him, her reading glasses sliding down her nose, her lips in a smirk.