Page 30 of Wrecking Boundaries (SteelTrack Racing #2)

Rivers Motorsports Headquarters, North Carolina

“Last chance to replace Jake the Snake,” Boone says after exiting the media room.

I roll my eyes over the insult. “It’s not a big deal. This is a charity event; it’s meant to be fun and lighthearted. Let it be.” I’m begging, especially since we’re going public tonight.

It will work out. I’ve repeated the phrase for the past two days as if the thought alone could make everything work.

Never stop dreaming, kids.

“I don’t have fun, Sarah, never experienced it once in my life,” Boone says. “Don’t even recognize the word.”

“Idiot, the woman you’re engaged to is standing beside me.”

“She doesn’t count, and don’t call me that.”

“Dork.”

“Freak,” Boone says.

And he claims we never have fun? This is a blast. “Loser.”

His smile drops. “I never lose. That word is forbidden in this place.”

“I don’t care about your stupid rivalry. It’s stupid.” I spell the word.

Boone pulls himself up to his full height. “I’m kicking you out of your office.”

“I’ll move into your house. ”

“You already did that,” he spits out.

It’s true. I’m either with Jake or spending the night with Maddie. “I’ll move into your bedroom.”

Boone steps back. “Okay, now you’re being weird.”

Dang it to heck, I lost this one.

Maddie steps between us. “Can you check to see if there is anything to do in the garage before we leave?” she asks Boone.

I stick my tongue out at him over the dismissal, and he gives me the finger.

“Antagonizing him on the day you’re breaking the news is maybe not the best idea,” Maddie says once we’re alone.

“Yes, but it brings me great joy,” Maddie mumbles something about siblings. “I’ll try to do better,” I say, meaning it.

“No, neither of you is capable. It’s in your DNA, an irrefutable fact of life.”

“He asked me to marry him,” I blurt out. We’re alone, and it’s past time I share the news with someone. “Soon. He wants to do it soon.”

Maddie’s lips twist. Thought bubbles, like the kind you see in comic strips, are nearly visible above her head. “Wait. Hold up. Are you engaged? Oh, my gosh, we’re engaged. Together. Like at the same time.”

She pulls me tight, and I hug her back. Maddie is a great friend and the perfect partner for Boone. He sometimes comments that bringing her on was an excellent gift for him. It’s true because I’m brilliant, but maybe I needed a friend, too, someone on my side.

“I suppose so. It wasn’t intentional to take the spotlight from you.” We don’t plan a large ceremony, but it still deflates their moment .

“You aren’t taking anything. Our wedding is later this year; you won’t take anything from that. Your wedding is for you,” she reassures.

Maddie decided on a private resort wedding in early December. It’s between seasons and in a tropical climate. As a bonus for both of them, the resort limits attendance to thirty people.

“We probably won’t have one,” I say. “We’re only doing it because I lost a bet.” That must sound strange to someone else.

“Um.” Maddie’s eyes bulge with alarm as she taps on the door frame. “I don’t have a response.”

My comment doesn’t sound very good, and it’s entirely true. How do you explain your relationship dynamics to someone who isn’t part of the relationship? It’s not an inside joke or a silly shared memory. People recognize those as part of a committed relationship. Our bets are the same thing, whether or not they appear that way to others.

“It’s not like it sounds. We’ve known we’re going to. It’s how we decide. You had to be there.”

“No, it’s best that I wasn’t,” she says. I don’t blame her.

“We also don’t want a wedding.”

Maddie huffs, and her expression changes. Boone always says she goes into schoolmarm mode, and it’s now all focused on me. She’s short, barely five feet, and I’m the small one.

“Sarah, it’s not my position to force you.”

“You’re not.”

“As your best friend, it’s my responsibility to ask if this is a smart decision. The days of shotgun weddings are long past.”

Jake would find a shotgun wedding hilarious, and if the idea occurred to him, he’d do it, too.

I take her hand. “Do you remember that life plan I made?” She nods. “Do you know I wrote a list of potential family vacations and retirement destinations? I even checked this year’s popular baby names, so I didn’t use one in the top ten. Plus, jobs, thoughts on house sizes, and layouts. I doodled and planned my ideal life. You know what isn’t on it? A wedding. It wasn’t that I forgot; it’s only that I didn’t care enough to include it.”

“It’s your wedding. Your big day. Be sure it’s what you want,” she says, not giving up easily. “If it’s how you feel, then I support it, but not bothering to place it on your lifetime goals list isn’t enough reason.”

“Excuse me. Sarah,” says Lily, standing in the hallway. Her quiet voice was almost missed. “Sorry to bother you.”

My open door meant anyone could have overheard our conversation, including Lily. Maddie and I share a glance, acknowledging that fact.

“It’s no problem. What’s up?”

“Those pictures and clippings you wanted.” She hands over a stack before placing it on my desk. “What else is next?”

First impressions can be accurate, but they can also be wrong. I initially found Lily odd, and now I consider her a sweet girl who happens to be socially awkward. She’s usually uncomfortable in my presence, a fact I want to change someday. “Nothing else for today. We leave for kart racing in less than twenty minutes. Do you want to come with me?”

“I’m going with Julian,” she says. “We have plans afterward.”

“What are you doing with him?” Maddie asks. It’s an uncharacteristically blunt question from her.

Lily glances between us. “We’re just friends. We aren’t doing anything.” She’s stammering by the end.

He better not be. “It’s fine. He’s a great guy,” I say. Hopefully, it reassures her. “You’re lucky to be driving with him. We won last year, he’s good.”

Lily rushes from the room.

“I messed that up,” Maddie says once we’re alone again.

“No, I would have been worse. You don’t think he’s doing anything he shouldn’t?”

“I think she’s going to have a crush soon; that’s what I think,” Maddie says before following Lily.

Alone, I pull up Jake’s post-race interview one more time.

He needs another investor, which I’ve been looking for since he first shared his business idea. The interview made it obvious I was looking in all the wrong places.

∞∞∞

“You look sexy,” Jake says.

“I’m wearing a stupid bike helmet.”

“A sexy bike helmet,” he corrects. “Keep it on later tonight.”

This guy, I swear. “I’ll let you wear it.”

Jake’s cocky smile appears, and his tongue slips out. “You know I’ll do it.”

New topic. “You ready for this?”

“To win? I’m always ready.”

A charity racing event designed around professional race car drivers is a bad idea. It’s meant to be a friendly go-kart race, 200 laps at a safe speed, with a driver/spotter combo. Somehow, it’s now become an opportunity to prove oneself the best when it is supposed to fund children’s cancer research.

Several drivers and extended pit crews take part every year. It’s a fun event that attracts many big names and NASCAR fans .

“Prepare to lose,” Boone says as he approaches Maddie, who winces at his statement. “You two have never even worked together.” Maddie’s eyes grow big. “It’s not too late to bow out. We can get Pete to sub in for you.”

Our team number is already pinned to our clothes. Even if I wanted to, it’s not a possibility. “The silly competition between you two has nothing to do with me.”

Did I mention I’m a big fat liar?

“He only drew your name from the hat because he knew it would annoy me,” Boone says.

“That implies it was random,” Jake shoots back. “I did it on purpose.”

“We’re going to win today,” Boone says.

“I beat you just a few days ago,” Jake says.

Boone’s trademark dimple disappears as his jaw tightens. “What’s your spotter up to? Have you spoken to him lately?”

Jake’s body tenses. If this doesn’t stop, we’ll have a brawl at a charity event. I tap his ankle with my own, and he relaxes. “You know what? This event is meant to be fun. Let’s save it for the next race, shall we?”

Maddie pulls at Boone’s hand. “Will you get me something to drink? I feel lightheaded.”

Boone practically sprints off. If we were in the desert, there would be dust clouds behind him.

I stare at Jake, who takes the hint. “First, we didn’t fight, which is amazing progress. Second, I’m not wanted here, so I’ll give you two a minute.”

“The money raised has nothing to do with our performance today, correct?” Maddie asks as soon as we’re alone.

“We already raised it; this is just the performance that justifies it. Why? ”

“If you still intend to break the news later tonight, it makes sense to diffuse anything that might develop between them,” she explains.

“They don’t like each other, do they?” The question hurts because I already know the answer.

“They will. It’ll happen, even if it isn’t a straightforward path to get there. Two competitive men who keep choosing to escalate for silly reasons,” she says.

“Then let’s make this a different sort of competition since we’re the ones driving, and I do not care about winning at all, not even a little.”

“Which one of us do you think is worse?” she asks.

“Let’s find out,” I say. “My ability to slam into walls and mix up the pedals is legendary.”

“I only learned how to drive a year ago. We’ll be lucky if I manage a turn.”

They’ll be livid when they realize, but it’s better that it’s aimed at us than at each other.

I offer my hand and say, “May the worst driver lose.”

“It will be an epic race to the bottom. We’ll cover ourselves in shame together.”

We shake on it.