Harbour of Refuge by Aliyah Burke

like frozen yogurt better than ice cream.”
    He dipped his spoon in and held it out to her. “So you don’t want to try this?”
    She shook her head. “No, thank you, I’m good.”
    “Your loss.” He ate it, ensuring to groan aloud.
    “Tell me, Halyn, how long have you lived here?” Gio asked.
    And just like that, Enzo realised he’d been kicked from the conversation. He was thrilled his brother was making her feel comfortable, however he was also jealous—he wished to be her focus. He didn’t mind so much, he liked watching her talk, she was so expressive in everything she did.
     
    * * * *
     
    Enzo took Halyn home a little later and walked her inside. She toed off her shoes and stared up at him.
    “Do you have time for some coffee or do you have to get back?”
    “I have a little time, but I don’t need any coffee, thank you. Come sit with me.” He took her to the living room and sat on the couch before drawing her down beside him. Tucking her close, he breathed deeply and closed his eyes. “Can you come tomorrow?”
    “I don’t know. It’s a busy day for us. I’ll be watching you, though. I’ll have the television on so I’ll be able to see some.”
    He wished she could be there but he understood. It was her livelihood, and she couldn’t ignore that fact because he wanted her closer to see him.
    “Okay,” he said.
    “Mila will be there.”
    He chuckled. “I think that’s more likely to scare me than anything.”
    The dinner they’d attended at Mila’s house had been almost chaotic, as Halyn had warned him. The second they’d arrived, he’d wanted to back out and just spend time with Halyn. But he hadn’t. He’d grinned, taken pictures and signed autographs.
    “She is a force all her own, that’s for sure.”
    “Does she always flirt like that in front of her boyfriend?”
    “Yes. Don’t ask, I can’t explain it, she’s always been that way. I guess it doesn’t bother Joe.” She shrugged.
    Pushing Mila and her crazy ways from his mind, he readjusted them so Halyn almost lay upon him on the sofa.
    “When do you leave?” she asked, snuggling closer.
    Dragging his hands up and down her back, he thought about his schedule. “We have three days of racing and I’ll leave the day after we finish. So, four more.”
    “Where do you go from here?”
    “We’re going down to California for a demo show, then off to Mexico.”
    “You stay busy. Lots of travelling.”
    “Yes. Is that a problem?”
    Her head popped up and she stared at him. “Why would that be a problem for me?”
    He could hear the confusion in her voice. “I don’t want this to end, Halyn.”
    Her chuckle sounded forced and she pushed off him, sitting cross-legged at the other end of the couch. “What are you saying, Enzo? You want to start dating?”
    He furrowed his brow. “Why is that so hard to believe?”
    She lifted a shoulder a fraction and shook her head slightly. “I guess I don’t see you as the type who would want to settle down. I saw you in Monte Carlo. You love the spotlight and it loves you. The women, the cameras, all of it.”
    “What people see isn’t always necessarily the truth, Halyn.”
    “In your case?”
    “I smile and play to the crowd, doesn’t mean I want to fuck every woman who comes within arm’s reach of me.”
    She observed him for a few moments, not speaking, just watching. “I don’t want to be a story. I don’t need my parents to see my face splashed upon a tabloid with some disgusting headline.”
    He nodded, he could understand that. “I’m not as popular as, say, a quarterback for the NFL, Halyn. I’m not in the news much. Yes, in my sport I’m well known but not so much throughout the rest of this country. Not unless they follow racing.”
    She captured that plump bottom lip of hers and nibbled it as she sat there. He wanted to take it in his mouth and suck on it. Stroke his tongue deep inside, before lowering her back and…
    He cleared his throat and refocused