Page 21 of All That Glitters
I wasn’t shocked. It saddened me, but it didn’t shock me. I don’t think anyone knew, especially Ashton, if or when he’d be ready to get back into a race car. And if Leonardo Glitterati wasn’t sure which car he was going to put Brax in when they could have any available driver on the circuit… I needed to file that bit of information away and think about it later.
“What’s that look? Do you know something? Have you heard something?”
I locked eyes with Brax. “I… Not really.”
It wasn’t a lie, exactly, but I wasn’t going to say anything until I’d had a chance to find out how much truth versus rumor was out there.
“Evasive minx,” he said lightly, smiling.
Brax really was handsome, fun and charismatic. He’d been like a brother to me, sometimes more than Hale had and I adored him.
I missed the simplicity of our foursome friendship before Hale and Ashton got their rides, before Brax became the replacement for anyone who needed a driver, before I… No. I wasn’t going to go there. There was nothing useful on the other side of that thought.
“How are you and Ashton getting along?”
“I’m not his favorite person any more than anyone else is. He thinks we’re all out to step in and replace him. He said I’d be sitting in pit lane, waiting. The back-up again.”
“I’m sorry, Brax.”
I offered a small sympathetic smile and shook my head. The movement made me feel a little light headed and I touched Brax’s sleeve to steady myself.
“Considering he didn’t show yesterday…” He shrugged and lifted his gaze, scanning the room, before looking at me again. “To be honest, I want Ashton’s seat. Not because I want to take it away from him, but because I felt comfortable in the car, with the other drivers on the team, with the crew. I felt relevant as a racer for the first time in a while.”
“You’ve always been relevant as a race car driver.” But I also understood being born into a family where there were preferences.
“Is that the whiskey talking?”
“Not at all.” But the lightheadedness hadn’t dissipated. I wasn’t a heavy or light drinker and given that the hard stuff was my drink of choice over wine, I was more than a little surprised that this one was affecting me so much. Then again, I couldn’t remember eating anything since breakfast and even that hadn’t been much. “I used to race against you, too. You’ve always been good. Better than good. You held your own against Ashton and Hale and —”
“And you held your own against all of us. Man, those were fun days. There wasn’t any of this to worry about.”
He wasn’t wrong. Those were fun days, easier days, too. I knew he had his own demons within the racing world and within the Glitterati family at large, just as I had my own demons within my family.
Hale and Ashton were the ones who had been pit against each other professionally, in both the press and out on the track by commentators and the luck of qualifying. There were always questions and comments about the boyhood friends who were now racing for money and glory.
Until last summer, nothing had changed between them.
“I need some air,” I finally said, my body turning to fire from the inside out. The room began to close in on me and I blinked several times before focusing on Brax again.
“Want me to take you or should I go get Hale?”
Before I could answer, another voice joined the conversation.
“I’ll take her.”
5
Helen
My heart stopped. At least, that’s what it felt like with Ashton’s voice directly behind me and the touch of his hand at my elbow. Even through the fabric of my suit jacket, his fingers were like a brand. When our eyes met, his were devoid of anything resembling emotion. Gone were the things I believed I’d seen when he’d come to see Hale.
I drew myself up. Posture perfect. Aloofness taking up residence in my body. “I’m fine.” I tossed the words over my shoulder. “Thank you. I can take care of myself.”
Neither man looked convinced.
Ashton didn’t let go of my arm. Instead, his fingers tightened. It was a slight pressure, but the insistence was unmistakable.
Brax didn’t make a move to intercede, but there was concern written all over his face. I didn’t know how to reassure him any more than I knew how to reassure myself that I’d be okay alone with Ashton.
