Page 14 of Overdrive (Speed Demons #1)

The paddock had shifted into celebration mode, drivers filtering out to wherever their teams had set up post-race festivities. Shanghai was next, and soon enough, everyone would be hopping on flights to different corners of the world, milking the one weekend off before the next race.

I should have been in a good mood. I won. My season had started exactly the way it needed to—dominant.

And yet, she wasn't here. I wasn't looking for her. Not really. I was just… aware that she wasn't around.

My fingers twitched restlessly around my whiskey glass as I leaned back against the bar at the private event Red Bull had set up for their usual post-race celebrations. Yet the buzz I typically chased was nowhere to be found.

Marco was beside me, going on about some commentator's shit take on strategy calls, but my focus wasn't there.

“Fraser, you good?” Marco's voice broke into my thoughts.

I exhaled through my nose. “Fine.”

Kimiwalked up, fresh beer in hand. He nodded at both of us. “Hell of a race.”

Marco clinked bottles with him. “Not bad for a midfield car, huh?”

Kimismirked. “Not bad at all.”

The music pulsed through the suite, low and bass-heavy, the kind of beat that usually helped me shut my brain off. Theafter-partywas in full swing, packed with team members, drivers, VIPs, a handful ofF1-adjacentsocialites, and some pit chasers.

But none of it worked, because she wasn't here.

I didn't know why the fuck that mattered. It shouldn't matter. And yet, I’d started looking the second I stepped into the room.

“What's with the face?” Marco asked, giving me a once-over as I slumped against the counter.

“I don't have a face,” I muttered, flagging the bartender down.

“You definitely have a face,”Kimicut in, smirking behind the rim of his glass. “One that looks like it's missing someone.”

I narrowed my eyes. “The fuck does that mean?”

Kimionly shrugged, tipping his drink toward me. “If you're looking forAurélie, you won't find her here.”

I stilled. It wasn't what he said. It was how he said it. Casual. Easy. Like he already knew I'd been looking for her.

I should've denied it. Should've shrugged it off like it didn't matter. But instead?—

“Where is she?” I asked before I could stop myself.

Kimicleared his throat to hide a snicker, clearly enjoying himself. “Flew home. I figured you knew.”

“Why would I know?”

Then he gave me a look, one that sent my stomach straight into my fucking feet.

Marco snorted. “Because you've been acting like she lives rent-free in your head since the fucking podium.”

Fuck you , I wanted to snap, but he wasn't wrong.

I turned back toKimi, something strange growing and unfurling in my chest. “She just left?”

“She didn't want to deal with all this,”Kimisaid, motioning vaguely at the crowd. “Said she wanted some quiet. The vineyard's good for that.”

I nodded like it made sense, like it didn't bother me way more than it should.

The vineyard her family owned. Her brother, étienne, talked about it all the time. Right. That's where she was headed now. Far from this. Far from me.

I took a long sip of my drink, the burn of the whiskey barely registering as my grip flexed tighter around the glass.

I needed to get my fucking head on straight before Shanghai.

And the fact thatKimiclocked me looking for her? That was a fucking problem, because if she was already in my head this obviously after one weekend?

Then I was utterly, completely fucked.