Page 34 of Lights Out (Love in the Paddock #1)

I couldn’t say YES fast enough. It is a complete win-win for both of us.

Vitesse, a French team, had been at the bottom of the grid for a long time, but since they hired away Hoffman Racing’s chief technical officer a few years ago, their cars have been quickly improving.

And Romeo, a twenty-year-old driver from Italy, got his car into sixth on the grid for today’s race.

For Caleb and Collings Motors, starting sixth would be a terrible weekend.

For Romeo and Vitesse, however, it’s a huge turning point and a massive win.

So I put on another fresh outfit from E.

Hay—a stunning pink off-the-shoulder blouse with a white print, paired with a long navy skirt.

The top is cropped, just revealing a sliver of my midriff, but not too much.

It’s perfect for a warm day in Monaco, and what my followers would expect to see me in.

I was met by Arjun, Vitesse’s social media coordinator, and whisked up to the VIP area—which I made into a story itself.

That’s because the VIP area is not in the back of the garage, like it is in Miami.

In Monaco, the garage space is so small that the VIP area and the pit wall are in a viewing area above the garage.

The famous Monaco swimming pool is visible from here, and if you look directly below, you see the area where Romeo will do his pit stops—the pit box.

I filmed a little segment about it, edited it in their suite, and have already posted it to my social media channels. I’m going to film all afternoon, too, and I’ll do a wrap-up video tonight.

I listen to the radio channel for Romeo and his race engineer, Enzo, through my headphones as the drivers get ready on the grid, hearing him tell Romeo who is on what kind of tires for the start of the race.

I wish I could listen to Caleb and his engineer instead.

I absently chew on my lower lip. Caleb qualified in third position on the grid.

Mason took pole, and Xavier grabbed second.

Monaco is an incredibly difficult track to gain positions—the tight design makes overtakes hard to come by, and you can often finish in the way you qualified at the top unless there’s an accident or bad strategy for pit stops or tires put in place.

Caleb talked about this last night when I met him over at his penthouse again for dinner.

He wanted me to stay long after it was time for me to go, but I refused.

I left early because I knew he needed to get a good night’s rest before the race today, even though I won’t know when I will see him next.

So it was really more like tearing myself—and my lips—away from his and forcing myself to go back to my hotel.

I think about how our schedules are going to be for the next few weeks.

I’ll be headed back to Miami to get ready for my move to London.

Caleb has the Spanish Grand Prix next weekend, which I will miss due to moving.

Then there’s another break in the calendar, and I suspect I won’t be traveling for The Downforce Network until the next round, in Montreal.

But I’m not going to think about that now.

There’s only one thing on my mind at the moment: watching Caleb race in today’s Monaco Grand Prix.

“Fifteen seconds,” Enzo says over the radio, giving Romeo the time until the formation lap can begin and snapping me from my thoughts.

I regain my focus and pay attention to the monitor showing the race on the wall. The green lights are illuminated on the gantry, and Mason moves forward, followed by Xavier, then Caleb.

Anticipation builds in me as they drive around the track, weaving back and forth, warming up the tires and brakes.

Then the cars begin to line up on the grid.

My stomach gets that familiar tingle as I see Caleb’s chrome-and-black car pull up to the third spot.

Once all the cars are in position, I practically hold my breath as the medical car drives up behind them.

We’re ready to go.

A red light illuminates. My pulse quickens as one by one, they turn on, until all five lights are lit up on the gantry. And almost immediately, they all go black, and the cars take off.

Mason gets off to a great start, and the cars fly around the track, with Xavier and Caleb holding their positions as they all crowd together and fight to move up on the narrow streets of Monaco.

Mason is pulling ahead, with Xavier in pursuit.

Caleb is all over the back of Xavier’s car, but he just can’t get into a spot where he can overtake him.

Coming out of the tunnel on lap five, Caleb makes his move, coming down low to try and pass Xavier.

I dig my fingernails into my palm, as neither driver seems willing to move.

GAH they are so close! I worry they might hit each other, but in the blink of an eye, Caleb backs out, avoiding the collision.

I breathe a sigh of relief.

I can only imagine his frustration at not being able to do the overtake.

Caleb tries again as they exit the famous tunnel, but again, he can’t get the position right to do it.

Damn it.

I manage to shift my attention to Romeo, who is still holding on to sixth—but Daan Jessen, the Dutch driver for Hoffman, is closing on him.

I can picture the strategies being sorted out. When will the leaders pit? How will they manage the use of soft tires versus hard tires? Will there be a yellow safety flag?

The race continues on, with one safety car called when a Vipera car ends up in the wall. Luckily, Luke Larson—the Aussie driver—is fine and walks away from it. Then Adrien gets a puncture from debris from that collision, as he was following behind Luke.

The yellow flag allows for Romeo to come in for a pit stop, and Collings Motors gives the first pit stop to Mason, then Caleb comes in next.

Romeo has a brilliantly planned stop, and with an aggressive overtake laps later, he finds himself in fourth place!

It’s a huge win for Vitesse. The pit wall cheers as he makes his move, and the energy in this room is electric right now.

For me? It’s electric because Caleb has held on to third place, with Romeo continuing to close on him.

The drama continues between the top four as the laps continue to fly by. Then Mason brushes against a barrier, and I wonder if he’s caused some damage to that front left tire.

With six laps to go, Xavier has closed on Mason—and now Mason is struggling with his tires. The top four cars are bunched together, racing through the narrow streets of Monaco, fractions of a second apart. The distance from Mason to Romeo is a mere 2.1 seconds.

The tension is incredible now. My eyes are riveted to the screen showing the race.

Mason continues to lose grip. Xavier is all over the back of him.

And Caleb is closing on Xavier.

But putting pressure on Caleb is Romeo, who is ready to challenge for third place. The anxiety I feel right now is unreal.

But if Xavier makes a move on Mason, and if there is any kind of a mistake, Caleb will be there to take advantage of it.

Three laps left. Time is running out for Caleb to challenge Xavier for second place.

Come on, Caleb, I think as I stare at the screen, watching the top four cars go around again.

Caleb continues to push. Somehow, even on tires that are struggling, Mason gets out farther ahead. Xavier continues to chase him, and while Caleb is close to Xavier, he can’t get close enough to attempt an overtake.

Two laps left. The four cars remain in the same position.

I’m back to digging my nails into my palms, trying to manage my anxiety in a way so that nobody will even notice I have a massive case of it right now.

Last lap.

Around they go, and Mason begins to slow a bit.

I hold my breath as Xavier tries to challenge him in one of the few favorable spots on the track for an overtake, but Mason fights him off.

Caleb can’t get into a spot to challenge Xavier, and the cars finish in the order they started on the grid as they pass the checkered flag.

I smile as cheers erupt on the Vitesse pit wall and among the guests in the viewing area. This is Romeo’s highest finish all season, and both Vitesse cars were in the points today. They will definitely be celebrating tonight.

So will Collings Motors, as it is a double podium for them with a first and third place finish. After Caleb asserted himself in Miami, Mason has come right back and made his case to be the number-one driver.

And now it’s up to Caleb to respond to the challenge in Spain next week.

* * *

I walk out of customs in Miami on Monday afternoon, dragging my suitcase behind me, and I’m exhausted.

My travel was split into two days this time—I left Nice at nine on Sunday night, landing in Paris at ten-thirty-five.

Today, I traveled from Paris to Miami, leaving at ten-thirty in the morning and touching down in Miami at two-twenty in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, Caleb stayed behind in Monaco.

I watched him get his trophy on the podium and spray the champagne, and then I made my way back to the hotel so I could get ready for my flight.

Caleb did his media interviews—always joyful for him—and then debriefings.

He didn’t go out to celebrate at the lavish Monaco nightclubs like Mason and Xavier did.

He said he has to prepare for Spain and is already thinking about the next race.

And I’m thinking about my move to London.

I look around the Miami airport for my dad. He left work early today to pick me up. As I think of him, my heart catches a little bit. Yes, I lived away from Mom and Dad when I studied at Georgia, but I was home at regular intervals.

But now? Who knows when I’ll be home again.