Page 81 of Growing Into Love

We’re done! Sound comes back to me in a great whoosh, shouts and cheers filling my ears. I feel disoriented, like I’ve just surfaced from being underwater. My eyes search out the time on the board, my pulse pounding.

68.1 seconds.

I’ve done it! I’ve beaten Nigella by almost a full second. My legs wobble as I dismount, and a pair of strong arms catches me before I collapse.

“You did it!” Jaz cries, holding me tight. “Fucking hell, Cass, it was like you two had wings. I’ve never seen Gal run so fast!”

“I did it,” I echo, still not entirely believing it. The next thing I know, my family is streaming into the competitors’ area which is probably not allowed but nobody tells Autumn what to do.

“You won!” she screams as she pushes past a bemused security guard. Gran is crying too hard to speak and there are tears in Gramps’s eyes. Declan grabs me up in a huge hug.

“You were incredible out there,” he says.

“We’re just that proud,” Gramps says.

Jaz is looking at me in a way that makes my heart soar. An unspoken moment passes between us, and he nods. Tears drip down my cheeks and I make no effort to wipe them away. It feels like I really did grow wings on that last run.

I feel light enough to fly.

There’sa little ceremony after the Grand Prix.

“Congratulations,” I say to Nigella as we wait for the show runners to bring out the trophies. “You had a really solid run at the end there.”

Nigella gives me a sulky look. “Whatever,” she says and turns away.

I don’t even care. At the end of the day, this was never about her.

I feel fit to burst with pride as a man in a Windy Acres ballcap hands me a bouquet of flowers and a big gold cup with my name engraved on it. I hold it up and the crowd cheers.

After the ceremony, we have drinks at one of the tents.

“Do you want to fly back with us tomorrow?” Declan asks as a bartender hands me a glass of champagne. “The competition is over, yeah?”

“Oh, um…”

“Actually, Cass and I are going to spend the day in New York City tomorrow,” Jaz says. My head whips around to him so fast I give myself a crick. “We met a girl yesterday who offered us a room at her family’s bed and breakfast on Long Island for the night.”

“Wow, really?” Autumn says, giving me a significant look.

I shake my head at her imperceptibly. I am not about to announce me and Jaz in front of everyone when Jaz and I haven’t talked about what me and Jaz entails exactly. And Autumn never replied to my text about the kissing! I’ll have to sort her out about that.

We head back to have dinner at the hotel—I shower and change into the dress I brought and Jaz’s eyes pop when he sees me even though it’s just simple summer dress, nothing special. But the way he looks at me makes me feel like I’m wearing one of Autumn’s designer gowns.

“How am I meant to keep my hands off you,” he murmurs, tracing his fingertips down the nape of my neck and brushing his lips against mine.

“If you don’t stop that, we’ll never make it down to dinner,” I gasp.

“I’m not hungry for dinner,” Jaz murmurs.

“Do you really want to do this while Declan is right downstairs?”

That stops him short. “Right. Let’s wait until your family is off the property.”

I wonder what he thinks about telling Declan. I’m absolutely certain my brother will throw a fit about this. But I don’t want to worry about that yet.

We meet my family in the lobby.

“Congratulations!” Betty calls to me. “I heard you won the Grand Prix.”

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