Page 56 of Faster
Liam looked to where Micaela was lowering the balaclava over her face and putting her hand out for her helmet.
Soon, everyone would have to leave the grid for the formation lap.
She would get in the car, and he would have to put his professional face on and forget she owned his heart and probably always would.
He was struck by how ridiculous this was.
She should be with him. She belonged with him.
It didn’t matter that he was her boss, and there were a million conflicts of interest. But he believed the team needed her energy.
The team needed her almost as much as Liam needed her.
Pushing her away had put everything he’d worked his entire life for at risk.
She wouldn’t hear what he was about to say on the broadcast, and she might not want him anymore. She would see this after the race, and then she would decide. But he needed her to know that he loved her and needed her, regardless of the result.
“Actually, I think there’s a really good chance of her staying with the team, considering the fact that I’m in love with her, and I plan to marry her.”
The team took the tire blankets off and vacated the track in something that resembled a choreographed dance.
There was nothing but the first turn in front of her and the other drivers behind her.
She started the formation lap and did final checks with Frankie.
The car roared underneath her as she made her way around.
She took in the fact that she was racing down the Vegas Strip now, starting right in front of the Venetian, so the excitement of that wouldn’t interfere with her race.
By the time the lights went out, her car leaped forward under her, and she cut in front of Luca behind her before the first turn, the only thought in her mind was winning.
Everything hooked up, and she took a twenty-second lead before pitting.
She came out behind Luca and Ethan, but neither of them had stopped yet and she was on the faster tire.
Her engineer told her the Scuderia Lupo drivers had made a miscalculation and waited for a safety car that didn’t come, so they had to double-stack in the pits, which meant they came back on the track behind her.
Taking care of her tires, she still managed to extend her lead before the second pit stop, so she came out in clean air, with the Scuderia Lupo drivers well behind her.
The race’s perfection ensured that it wasn’t the most exciting for the viewers, but it was the most exciting result of her career.
Of course, she’d always imagined herself as a champion, even as a rookie.
She wouldn’t be a racing driver if she didn’t dream of dominating every single moment on the track, but this was sweet.
She levered herself out of the car, and one of the stewards grabbed her before she could jump into the arms of her waiting team to be weighed. The crowd around the parc fermé and the podium roared as she stood and raised both arms in victory.
When she turned to see who was there from the Panther team, she was shocked to see Liam there, looking at her, smiling. He opened his arms, and she didn’t think about the implications before taking a running leap at him.
He caught her and lifted her up. She almost thought this must be a dream. It couldn’t be real, because this was better than any make-believe she’d ever played.
Of course, it wasn’t going to last forever. Nothing this beautiful ever could.
When he pulled back and put her on her feet, she saw her dad. He didn’t look happy, which somehow didn’t surprise her. Still, he hugged and kissed her for the sake of the cameras.
With that duty complete, she gathered hugs and high fives from Frankie and the pit crew before she was led back into the cooldown room.
There was a screen that showed clips from the race along with water, towels, chairs, and the tire company hats they wore with their finishing positions in the race.
She sat down and cracked open a bottle of water—Las Vegas was chilly in November, but the car was still hot—and didn’t realize what she was looking at until they played it again.
It wasn’t a clip from the race, it was a clip of Liam telling a broadcaster, “I love her, and I’m going to marry her.”
Her heart sank, and she thought for a second he fell in love with someone else and was going to marry this person until they played the clip from the beginning again. Then, she saw he said this in response to a question about Micaela remaining with the team.
Her mouth fell open, and she stared at the screen until they started playing clips from a close call at the race start between two of the backmarker teams. She noticed Ethan and Luca both looking at her speculatively at that point.
“And here I was thinking our declaration of undying love for Cece was dramatic.” They looked at each other and laughed.
Then they hugged, and Micaela looked away once Luca started whispering something in Ethan’s ear.
It seemed like a private moment, and she needed a second or a million to gather her thoughts.
Her skin flushed when she realized cameras were watching her react to this moment. Part of her wished Liam had said this to her privately, but a bigger part of her was glad he’d said it at all.
She didn’t really register what was happening until there was a microphone in her face and someone was asking about her thoughts on the race.
Given what Liam had said just before the formation lap, she had to commend the journalist on his professionalism.
She would not have been able to resist making some sort of comment.
The podium itself was a blur, and she was probably in a bit of a fog until Liam grabbed her and pulled her aside before she could walk into the press conference.
She wasn’t ready to talk to him yet. She wasn’t sure what she should say. The way he’d done this was bizarre. But, at the same time, being in his arms again was everything she wanted.
“I’m sorry,” he said, before she could respond. “I shouldn’t have said that the way that I did, but your dad said something about you having the opportunity to move to another team, and I couldn’t stand the thought of it.”
He looked desperate and wild eyed, and she decided to have pity on him. “I wish you would have told me in private. I wish you would have told me months ago.”
“I know. I know. I fucked up, and I’ll do anything if you’ll forgive me.”
“Anything?” An idea formed in her mind, a surefire way Liam wouldn’t get cold feet before she made him follow through on his very public commitment.
He pulled her close to him and laid kisses all over her sweaty hair and flushed face. “Anything.”
And that’s how Liam Sullivan and Micaela Cartwright ended up getting married by an Elvis at six o’clock on a Sunday morning in November.