Page 17

Five months later

Today, I feel…

happy, but also slightly annoyed with myself. My predictions about Mega Racing? The ones Claudia Simon asked me to make in Austria? They were only half-right. I hate not being right. Xander is ending the season on a high note. Five podiums since Silverstone, including a win in Mexico City. P4 in qualifying yesterday. He kept his seat at Mega. I was right about that one. And of course, I’m over the moon for him. Dirk, however, did not re-sign with the team and will be driving for Cyclone Green Dragon alongside Kenji next year. So I was wrong about that. But it’s probably for the best. Dirk and Xander never had the bonding moment I hoped they would.

E xactly like last year, Mia was super bummed the season was ending. But then again, she wasn’t. She needed a break from all these hot weather locales. Abu Dhabi was not a place for feeling cute, and she always wanted to feel that way when she was with Xander. She also, admittedly, did not like being around the other drivers when she didn’t feel confident and her hair was a big frizzy mess. She’d been spending a lot more time with them now that Not So Fast was on another roll. The top podcast in the sport. The whole entire sport.

It was a circular thing—Xander got Mia to take Emilio and him out for barbecue after the race in Austin; the three of them had a fun and slightly drunken evening since both drivers had landed on the podium and were eager to celebrate. It didn’t take much to convince Emilio to do a proper interview for her show, which ended up being an extensive talk about Spanish cuisine. Turned out Emilio was quite the cook.

That episode sent NSF to new heights. The fact that Emilio sealed the Drivers’ Championship by the race in Brazil helped. It also turned out that where Emilio went, the other drivers followed, which meant she’d nabbed real interviews with most of the grid over the final weeks of the season. Kenji Matsumoto. Brett Lockford. Preston Hubbard. Florian Laurent. The few she hadn’t chatted with yet were on the books starting with testing in February. All of them, except Dirk. She was still trying to get him to commit. Even having access to the Mega Racing garage hadn’t helped.

“Can I ask you a favor?” Mia asked Xander as they were on their way through the paddock, walking hand in hand to the garage. The race was still a few hours away—the start wasn’t until 5:00 p.m. at this Grand Prix, mostly to let the sun go down so the heat wouldn’t be quite so punishing for the drivers. Even in November, Abu Dhabi was hot AF.

“Sure. Anything for you.”

“Can you make yourself scarce while I talk to Dirk in the garage? I think he doesn’t want to say yes to me because of you.”

Xander came to a stop. “Fuck Dirk. Maybe he doesn’t get to be on Not So Fast . Did you ever think about it that way? He should be chasing you, not the other way around.”

It was cute that Xander had become so fiercely proud of her podcast. It still didn’t change the fact that she wanted to tie up this one loose string.

“Five minutes. That’s all I ask.”

“Sure. I need to go to the media center and chat with Isabel, anyway.”

Mia popped up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you.” She strolled through the corridor leading into the garage, greeting the mechanics and engineers, whom she all knew by now.

Dirk spotted her as soon as she walked into the central bay where the cars were sitting. “If it isn’t Mia Neal. Where’s your boyfriend?”

“He and Isabel are meeting.”

His eyes narrowed. “Then why are you here alone?”

Mia walked up to him. “I wanted to talk to you about being on my podcast. You’re the only driver who hasn’t said yes.”

“How can I trust you? You’re sleeping with the enemy.”

Apparently, this would be harder than Mia had bargained for. “He’s not your enemy, Dirk. I know Xander told you that you were his favorite driver when he was a kid.”

“That’s real?” Dirk looked down at his feet. “I thought he made that up.”

Mia shook her head. “It’s the truth. I swear.”

“Really?”

“Cross my heart.”

He pursed his lips, seeming to mull it over. “Fine. I will do an interview with you. At the beginning of the season when I’m with my new team.”

“Awesome. I’ll be in touch.” Mia reached out to shake Dirk’s hand just as Xander walked in.

“Did I miss something?” Xander asked.

“Dirk’s going to be a guest on Not So Fast .”

“Fantastic,” Xander said with a note of sarcasm. He was still pissed.

Dirk looked back and forth between Xander and Mia, took a beat, then extended his hand. “Good luck in the race, Xander. I’ve enjoyed having you as a teammate.”

“Uh. Yeah. Okay. You, too, Dirk,” Xander said, his voice expressing deep disbelief.

Mia’s work here was done. And she needed to let Xander work on his race preparations. “I’ll get out of your hair for a bit. I want to go upstairs and record a prerace segment.”

“As long as you’ll be back to give me a good-luck kiss before I head out on track.”

“Always.” Mia exited the garage while Isabel was heading inside. “Thank you for everything this season. I realize it’s been a journey since Miami. I hope I haven’t been a complete pain in your ass.”

Isabel clutched her clipboard to her chest. “Honestly? It was kind of fun to have that much going on. Plus, what F1 fan doesn’t want to see another fan fall in love with one of the drivers? It’s like a dream come true.”

Funny, but it had never occurred to Mia that Isabel might see it like that. “Please tell me you get to take a break after this weekend. You’ve got to be exhausted.”

“I’m off through the beginning of January, so that’s nice. Then I’ll be back at headquarters working on the PR plan and the preseason launch. The reveal of next year’s car. All of that. There’s not really a lot of downtime.”

“What are you going to do for the month of December? See family?” Mia asked.

“A bit of that at Christmas. What about you and Xander? What’s next? Are you moving to England?”

That was an entire procession of questions Mia was wholly unprepared to answer. “You know, we haven’t talked about it, but we’ll see. For now, I’m staying in Austin and traveling to races when I can.”

“I’m sure I’ll see you after the race, but if for some reason I don’t, I hope to see you next season.” Isabel held out her arms for a hug.

This was a line she and Mia had not yet crossed, but Mia was happy to participate, giving her a big squeeze. “Yes. Definitely.” Mia watched as Isabel walked away. Damn, it felt good to have made another female friend.

Mia rushed upstairs to find a quiet spot to record in the paddock club, only to run into Claudia Simon coming out of the food service area and devouring an enormous croissant.

“Mia,” she said with a few crumbs tumbling from her lips.

“Claudia, hi.”

“Apologies.” Claudia wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I’m starving.”

“No worries.”

“I was hoping I might run into you. Cloud Sports needs a replacement for me for about a six-week stint in late May/early June next year. Any chance you’d be interested in filling in? Walk the paddock? Talk to the drivers? Sounds like your cup of tea, doesn’t it?”

Claudia had made this offer in theory before, but never had it been anything so concrete. “I’m not sure.” That would mean a lot of extra work on top of what she was already doing. “How many races? And what are the exact dates?”

“Unfortunately, I can’t give you an exact date. The baby will show up when the baby shows up.” Claudia lowered her hand to her belly.

“Oh. Wow. Congratulations.” Claudia’s announcement put an entirely new spin on it. “So this would be for your maternity leave.”

“Yes. And if I have to surrender my microphone for a short time, I’d like to give it to someone who really knows their stuff, and who the drivers are already comfortable with. They all speak highly of you, Mia. Which is a wee bit humorous considering where you started off in this sport.”

Mia laughed quietly. Claudia wasn’t wrong.

“I’d love to do it. I’ll likely be at the races, anyway.”

“I take it things with you and Xander are going well?”

Mia couldn’t contain her smile. “They are.”

“Brilliant. Happy to hear it. I’ll have Cloud Sports be in touch about contracts and paperwork and all that.”

Mia took several deep breaths. She was excited and astounded that although additional responsibility always made her nervous, she didn’t feel completely overwhelmed. “Great.”

Claudia started down the stairs, then turned. “Oh. Mia. By the way, did you hear what happened to your old friend, Reginald?”

“You know he’s not my friend, Claudia.”

“You’re not the only one who doesn’t like him. Someone put dark ink around the viewfinder on his camera. I saw him only in passing. It looked like he had a black eye.”

“Oh, wow. A bit of karma, perhaps?”

“Something like that. I’ll see you soon.”

Mia ducked into the corner and got out the notes she’d written that morning, then pulled out her recorder. “Well, here we are. Abu Dhabi. Emilio Baquero has long since won the Drivers’ Championship and Vermillion has taken the Constructors’. So what intrigue remains for the final race of the season? Kenji is on pole for the first time in his career and Florian has a three-place grid penalty for speeding in the pit lane during qualifying yesterday. And of course, you all know I’m thrilled Xander is starting in P5. I’m not quite sure what will happen. It’s always a bit of a mystery and that’s what makes it exciting, isn’t it? And if you’re like me, you’re going to soak up every last minute of racing, then spend the next few months longing for its return. Let’s get into it. I’m Mia Neal and you’re listening to Not So Fast .”

She clicked off her recorder, marveling at how effortless it had become, when she got a text from Xander.

Can you come down to the garage? I have something I want to ask you.

Mia had been eyeing the croissants after seeing Claudia with hers, but she’d grab one later.

Sure thing. Two secs.

She hurried downstairs and found him waiting outside Mega hospitality.

“I need to ask you something,” he said.

“Yeah. I read your text.”

He took her hands, both of them, and peered down at her. He wasn’t smiling.

“Xander. What in the hell is going on? Don’t you need to be focusing on the race? Your final preparations.”

“This will only take a minute.”

Mia’s breath froze in her chest. It was so unlike him to take his eyes off the prize. The race was always the most important thing.

“I hate that look on your face. When your forehead does that thing with the crinkles. What is it? Is it something serious?”

Somehow, the furrows in his forehead became even deeper. “It is.”

Oh, God. Was he going to propose? Because she was not ready for that. She loved him to the ends of the earth, but marriage? No. She hadn’t sifted through her feelings about the way patriarchy and traditional marriage were so fully intertwined. It was a deeply complicated subject, buried in centuries of misogyny. “Maybe this can wait. Until later.”

“Why are you getting panicky? I don’t like that look on your face, either.”

She couldn’t take the suspense. “Then just come out with it, Xander. Please.”

“I want to know if you want to come for Christmas. To England. Spend it with my family.”

She paused for a moment, then let out a snort of a laugh. “That’s it? Christmas?”

“What do you mean, that’s it? It’s a very big deal to me. And I’m only asking you right this second because Freya will not stop pestering me about it.”

She squeezed his hands. “Well, I don’t know. I’ll have to talk to my mom. And my aunt. They’re finally talking again. We’ve already made plans for the three of us to spend it together.”

“They can come, too.”

“Seriously?”

“You know I don’t offer travel if I don’t mean it, Mia. They can stay with us. There’s plenty of room.”

“We won’t be able to have sex all over the house.”

He reared back his head. “Of course not. It’s Christmas. That’s a time for keeping things contained to the bedroom.”

“Right. How could I suggest something so absurd?”

He laughed. “I need to race, Mia. Are you going to give me an answer so I can get my sister off my back?”

“Will we be having British Christmas cake?”

“Definitely. My mum and Freya made it in September. You age it and regularly soak it with more and more brandy.”

She winced, but was also oddly curious about the tradition. “I’m going to need to hear more about that. You know, I once thought about becoming a pastry chef. I even taught myself how to make puff pastry and profiteroles.”

“Of course you did.” He drew in a deep breath. “Does that mean you’re saying yes?”

“You’re going to need to get me your Christmas list immediately. Like right after this race is over. I take Christmas shopping very seriously.”

“Will do.”

It was now Mia’s chance to ask a question. “Did you tamper with Reginald Huff’s camera kit?”

A distinctly sheepish smile crossed Xander’s face. “Absolutely not. Why? Did someone put a substance on the viewfinder and give him a black eye?”

“So it was you…” She was pretty proud of him for getting even in a relatively harmless way.

“I never said that.”

“But you’re smiling.”

“I’m happy.”

“Any particular reason?”

“I have everything I want.”

He looked at her with his unforgettable eyes. They always made her feel so seen. So understood.

He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. “This sport gave me so much, but the best thing it gave me is you.”

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