Page 110 of Kiss & Collide
“Then you better clear some space for that Constructor’s Championship trophy, because I’m winning it for you.”
Then it was thumbs-up from Leon and he fired the engine.
The smooth roar vibrated through his bloodstream like the beat of his heart. This was the magic the simulator could never capture. Rabia and the engineers would be judging the car based on stats and algorithms, but he always went with his gut. Maybe it wasn’t science, but his gut was telling him this car was a winner.
On his recce laps, the car felt flawless, lithe and sleek through the corners, poised and easy in the braking zones … alive with the sense of barely restrained power. The engineers and aerodynamic specialists liked to tout the fact that Formula One cars generated such downforce at full speed that they could theoretically drive upside down, defying gravity. He’d never felt the truth of that until he’d driven this car. In this car, he felt like he could fly.
He rolled to a stop at his spot on the grid, in front of the lights that would signal the start of the race. They had a break now, and the pit crew surrounded his car like a swarm of insects to make a few last-minute adjustments. Violet sauntered up to him, all long-legged grace and sexy sway.
“The media chatter is that you might be on the podium tonight.”
He hiked one eyebrow. “Did you maybestartthat chatter, Violet?”
She laughed. “Well, itismy job to talk you up, but in this case, I didn’t need to. You’ll get there.”
He looked out across the track, right now just an empty strip of asphalt, soon to be full of engineering masterpieces battling it out at top speed for a spot at the summit. He’d made it there in Miami, and that felt great, but there was thatasterisk. Tonighthe wanted to win it fair and square, up against the best drivers in the world. And tonight, he really felt like he could. “You know what? I think I will.”
Violet touched her bottom lip again. “I’ll be waiting for you on the other side.”
He grinned and touched his own lip. “Guess I better hurry back then.”
“Good thing you drive fast.”
EPILOGUEFour months laterCloveshire Manor, England
“Before this congregation, William and Miranda have given their consent and made their marriage vows to each other. They have declared their marriage by the joining of hands and by the giving and receiving of rings. I therefore proclaim that they are husband and wife.”
By the time the officiant said the words, twilight had deepened into night and fairy lights had twinkled on over the heads of the two hundred guests assembled on the grass for the wedding. Behind Mira and Will, the ivy-covered walls of Cloveshire Manor provided a gorgeous backdrop for their wedding.
Violet stood at the front of the congregation behind Mira, who she thought looked like a proper princess in her lace sheath dress, her blond hair in a riot of curls down her back. Will, looking sharp as anything in a black tux, held her hands and gazed down at her like she was a miracle.
Will leaned in to kiss her and everyone erupted in applause. Violet scanned the crowd, past Mira’s father, Paul Wentworth, and his new wife, Natalia, and past Will’s sour-faced, insufferable parents, the Hawleys, who couldn’t even be bothered to smile at their son’s wedding.
She finally spotted Chase sitting in the row behind Will’s sister, Jemima, and her girlfriend. He looked absolutely edible in a fitted black suit and crisp white dress shirt, open at the neck. She wanted to grab fistfuls of that gorgeous tousled black hair, climb onto his lap, and do unspeakable things to him. She’d start a mental list of them for when they were back in their hotel suite later.
After the ceremony concluded and the guests were streaming across the lawn toward a huge white tent for the reception in, Chase found her.
He reached out and ran a finger over her hip. “Nice dress.”
“Mira said I could wear what I wanted.” She smoothed a hand down the emerald-green silk sheath.
“Lucky me.” His eyes were lit up with hunger as he sidled closer to her and grabbed her hips with both hands.
Laughing, she pushed on his chest with two fingers. “I’ve got a speech to give at the reception, so whatever filthy thing you’re imagining, it’s going to have to wait.”
“Is that my favorite PR person in the whole world??”
Violet heard the words, called out in a broad Texas accent, and turned to see Mira’s mother, the former supermodel Cherie Delain, descending on her with arms spread wide.
“Hi, Cherie.”
Cherie swept her up in a bone-crushing hug. “It’s so good to see you, honey.”
“You, too, Cherie.” Last year back at Lennox, Mira had done her tell-all interview about Brody McKnight, then closed the book on that miserable chapter of her life and moved on. Violet and Cherie, however, had been far from done with him. They’d texted back and forth whenever another shitty thing he’d done came to light, and Violet did what she could to makesure every major media outlet reported about it. It had bonded them for life.
“Who’s this handsome friend of yours?” Cherie asked, all mischievous smiles and twinkling green eyes, just like Mira’s.
“Cherie, this is my boyfriend, Chase Navarro. Chase, this is Mira’s mum, Cherie.”
