Page 58 of Lights Out (Love in the Paddock #1)

The End of August

The Dutch Grand Prix

Zandvoort, Netherlands

The Paddock

“I love Zandvoort,” I say.

Zandvoort, home of the Dutch Grand Prix, is a seaside town known for its beaches.

The circuit is actually built in the sand dunes, which makes it pretty amazing in my book.

Caleb and I have arrived at the paddock together for media day, and lucky Caleb is one of the drivers scheduled to be interviewed today for the press conference—ha ha.

He gives me a side-eye as the stroopwafel vendor hands me a fresh one. “You just want the hot stoopwafels, Owl.”

I take a bite of the hot wafel with caramel syrup filling as we walk toward the Collings motorhome. Cameras are still all around us—including those for the Lights Out show—but in the time since Spielberg, it’s become more normal. We’ve both come to accept it as a part of our lives now.

I reflect on this as I enjoy my Dutch treat.

The media spotlight was intense when we came out as a couple.

Caleb got asked about it all the time, and he always responded the same way.

He’d say to the reporter, “I think the answer is obvious, don’t you?

” We both had to learn to tune out the hurtful comments, and I can’t thank Hadleigh enough for what she has done for me.

She filtered comments, deleting the nasty ones.

She blocked trolls. If there was a comment that needed a response, she’d tell me what it was, I would tell her the answer, and she’d post it on my behalf.

She’s doing so much work. Caleb wants to pay her for it, but she said her job has been really slow this summer, so it actually gives her something to do, and she’s happy to do it.

Although it does make her want to throat punch people some days.

I told her that payment could come in the form of flying her out to Austin or Las Vegas for a race and introducing her to Xavier, who she jokingly calls her future husband, and we get a good giggle out of it.

I actually sent her some Xavier stickers I found on Etsy, and she proudly displays them on her laptop.

We find it very funny, and Caleb just shakes his head at us and calls us weird.

Caleb has changed since that day in Austria, too.

He’s actually doing more things for Collings Motors’ social media, as he realizes this helps people see he’s not an asshole, which is the image some people might have thanks to how he handles press conferences and because he used to refuse to do social media stuff.

But thanks to dating me, he sees the value in sharing some of himself, and he can actually have a little fun when doing it.

Like today? He and Mason are going to make waffles, and that’s something he would have resisted or heavily complained about doing prior to dating me.

Speaking of Mason, he’s still second in the Drivers’ Championship standings, but Caleb is challenging him, racking up a win at the Hungarian Grand Prix before the summer break, and it’s going to be very spicy as we head into the second half of the season.

Xavier is unstoppable at this point, but with that said, Collings Motors is treating Caleb and Mason as two number-one drivers, and so far, they’ve made it work.

But I know that eventually, they will each want to be the true number-one driver—as in the only one.

I think how they end up in the Drivers’ Championship will determine who is the number one for the next season.

Caleb doesn’t want it given to him—he would be furious if he earned it based on his name, I know that with certainty.

Playing on his name is something he refuses to do, and I admire him for it.

Catherine still has a mega crush on Mason.

Once I caught on to it, I can SEE it whenever she’s in the room with him.

It’s the look of longing on her face—even if it’s fleeting—that sometimes appears, or how she lights up when he talks to her.

Mason, on the other hand, is friendly, but I don’t see anything indicating an interest outside of that.

When I brought it up with Caleb, he laughed and said there’s no way Catherine would date Mason—especially after their mum had an affair with a driver.

She would never do anything as messy as dating someone who has the Collings name on their paycheck.

I think he’s wrong. But time will tell.

And then there’s me. I’ve survived a media shitstorm of epic proportions.

It was hard at times. I’ve been called horrible names.

My credibility was attacked. I was told I was ruining things for other women in the sport.

But I blocked out the noise. I kept my chin up and did my job.

My follower counts soared. Outside the Cockpit gets fantastic numbers whenever it airs, and a lot of my social media segments are picked up for the pre-race show.

That tells me my work is good. Nobody would tune in long-term just to hate watch me.

I’m as certain of that as I am of my name being Isla Foley.

I’ve befriended some fellow content creators and journalists covering motorsports, and that’s been good for me.

Not everyone likes me, but that’s life. It makes me even more grateful for the ones who saw past the fact that I was dating a driver and recognize that I can truly do my job.

Jayne Scott is one of them. I was shocked when she asked me to go to lunch with her during a race weekend.

She told me to keep my head up, I’m doing a fantastic job, and people will find reasons to hate you and complain, even when you’re not dating anyone in the sport.

She gave me some tips for my F2 grid walks, and she said I’m the person she would recommend taking over from her when she moves on to commentary, which is her goal.

Because of the way I’ve handled all of it, Caleb has dealt with it better than I thought he would.

He has finally been able to let go of the past and trust that I can handle this situation, and that when I struggle, I’ll be open and come to him about it.

And I have. We’ve talked about everything and taken it on together.

During the summer break, Caleb’s family took out their yacht—yes, the family yacht —and we sailed off the coast of Sardinia.

It was beautiful, even with the paps getting shots with long lenses.

I met Caleb’s parents, and I like both of them a lot.

You’d never know there was all that drama in their pasts, and they were very welcoming to me.

Then we went to Miami, where Caleb got to meet my parents. He loved Mitch and Autumn, and he practically took Hadleigh on as another sister. Which means he told her—jokingly—he would punch Xavier if he even caught him looking at her. That made her blush, but I found it rather amusing.

I throw the wrapper to my wafel away, and we head up the steps to the motorhome.

“Are you hungry after eating that?” Caleb asks as we step inside. The dining area is full, as everyone is fueling up for the start of the day.

“Of course I am. Have you gone mad?”

He grins. “Dumb question. Come on, Owl, let’s go see what french toast they’ve made you today.”

We reach the buffet, and I grab a plate while Caleb gets his oatmeal. I look at the offerings in the chafing dishes and spot pecan french toast. Perfect. I add some strawberries and turkey bacon to my plate and take a seat next to Caleb.

As soon as I’m seated, a server appears with my usual coffee order and sets it down.

“Thank you,” I say.

“That smells really good,” Caleb says, staring longingly at my french toast.

“Sorry,” I say. “One bite?”

“No. The temptation for one more after that is too much,” he says ruefully.

Catherine is walking across the room, cup of tea in her hand. She greets us as she pulls out her chair, taking the seat across from Caleb. “When you’re finished, we can go over your schedule,” she says.

Caleb grunts. I snicker. “Ignore him, he’s just grumpy he’s scheduled for the press conference today.”

Catherine grins. “Well, I know it’s not because you’re going to make waffles. That’s a highlight of the day.”

“Yes. Because the world needs to see that I have no bloody clue how to make a waffle,” Caleb says.

“You don’t know how to make a waffle?” Mason asks, joining us and pulling out the seat next to Catherine. “Good, I’ll kick your ass at that, too.”

Caleb shoots him a look, and Mason quirks a brow back. Then he turns to Catherine. “Morning.”

“Good morning,” she says, smiling at him. “So do you know how to make waffles?”

He flashes her a grin. “Yes. Take out of bag. Eat. If you’re feeling fancy, microwave it.”

“So I see we have an equal fight on our hands today.” Then she smiles mischievously at Mason. “I can’t wait to see what your mum says about it.”

He groans. “Oh God, she’ll have loads to say. Which I know the social media team loves.”

I grin. Mason’s mum is getting quite the reputation for her social media commentary on his life.

Suddenly, an idea hits me. “Mason! Would your mum do Outside the Cockpit? ” I blurt out.

A horrified expression passes over his face. “Oh no. No, no, no, no, no.”

“Come on! She would be brilliant!” I insist.

“Yes, and that would be a problem,” Mason says, pushing down on his backward Collings Motors baseball hat.

Caleb snickers. “I think we need to get her on.”

“Shut up, Caleb,” Mason says, grinning.

A server appears and places a large mug of coffee in front of Mason, then sets down a pitcher of milk next to it. He proceeds to make his coffee, and I’m thinking of a way I can get him onboard with letting me interview his mum.

“You need to fear that look,” Caleb says knowingly.

Mason furrows his brow. “What look?”

Caleb inclines his head toward me. “She’s totally masterminding how to book your mum on the show. And you’re screwed. ”

Mason groans. Then he stretches back in his chair, and his T-shirt lifts up, revealing some of his chiseled abs. “Mum would be good, I’ll give you that.”

I quickly glance at Catherine, whose eyes are glued on Mason’s abs. I want to poke Caleb in the ribs and yell, “SEE?” but I resist being so obvious. I wouldn’t want to embarrass Catherine, as she’s my friend, after all.

“Come on, Mason, give the people what they want,” she says. “Everyone loves Sarah.”

He sighs in defeat. “Fine.”

“Text me her number when you can,” I say with triumph.

Mason ignores me and pours milk into his coffee. I study him, with his dark brown hair and espresso-colored eyes. There’s no denying he’s attractive. Combined with his personality, I can see why Catherine would like him.

But will it ever amount to anything?

I glance down at the stack of bracelets I have on my wrist, all from Caleb.

I have my owl bracelet, and of course, the “coffee tonight?” one.

He’s added one that says, “I Love You,” and another with racing charms. I treasure all of them, because they were thoughtful gifts from the man sitting next to me.

Being the romantic that I’ve become since I’ve fallen in love with Caleb, all I want is for my friends to have their own love stories, too.

I’m curious to see how—and with whom—they’ll be written.

But for now? I’m happy thinking about my own love story. I smile to myself. I might be biased, but I happen to think Caleb is the best boyfriend ever.

Complete green flags, I think happily as I take another sip of my coffee.

I’m a lucky girl indeed.

THE END