Page 165 of Juliet & Her Romeos

Ambrose strokes his hand down the line of a white racing car with fins, rents, and a huge rear wing that makes it look like a swan.

He’s dressed in a one-piece golden race suit with a purple rose emblem sewn onto it, as well as gloves and boots. His helmet rests on the bonnet of the car.

“I’m smiling because this beast is my baby, a Porsche 911 GT3 RS. I haven’t been able to drive her in years.” Ambrose doesn’t look away from the car.

So, we have two babies in the family, a Harley and a Porsche.

I wrinkle my nose against the stink of engine oil.

I didn’t expect to be spending the first day of the new year standing with Vito at the side of an empty racing track.

The sky is blue and cloudless. Sunshine glints over the low body of the car.

The banked circuit meanders in a snaking oval with curves, chicanes, and changes in heights to challenge drivers.

Can Ambrose truly handle a car on a track like this? It’s not the same as in a computer game.

Ambrose isn’t a real racing champion.

He does realize that, right?

“When did you last drive her?” My lips thin. “You can’t drive her with a controller. Why did you agree to this bet? How about we simply convince Silas that I want to be bonded to you?”

“Do you think that he’d believe us?”

I shake my head.

Then I shudder, as dread runs through me.

What if Silvanus wins?

Once, I’d have given anything for the Cinders to have worked out a way to take me back from the Romeos.

Does Silvanus believe that he’s the hero here, rescuing me?

But now, it would feel like being repeatedly stabbed through my Soul Mark.

What happens to an Omega who has been separated from their fated bonds?

Do they die?

I shudder again.

I’m only wearing a long-sleeved, wool lavender dress that matches my eyes. I wish that I’d taken the coat, which Swan pulled out of the closet for me to wear, but the sun looked bright this morning.

I wish more that I’d taken Swan with me. It feels strange that he’s not here.

But Swan and I need to learn independence from each other. We’ve spent years being together, and now, we must find a way to exist apart as well.

Ambrose insisted that the Cinders could be scheming against us, possibly in an attempt to ensure that we don’t win the contest. He didn’t want to risk taking out both principals together to this race.

Swan was a mess, when he knew that Silvanus was trying to part us. He especially didn’t cope that he wasn’t able to be the one to protect me today.

Ambrose placed his hand on Swan’s neck and simply said, “Trust me to protect our Juliet, as I will be trusting you to remain at home and protect our Benedict.”

“Ambrose didn’t have a choice.” Vito shrugs off his leather jacket and slips it over my shoulders. I snuggle into the jacket’s warmth, loving its scent of leather and vanilla. “If the Cinders make a public scandal out of this, it’d ruin the Romeos’ reputation, draw the attention of Olivia and bring her storming back home, and mean that both Ambrose and I would be sent to the Alpha Center.”

My eyes widen.

---