Page 110 of Close Contact
He laughed. “Romantic.”
“Shut up.”
“I’m just saying, mate… you look ready to snap. Maybe you need to stop hiding it.”
I didn’t respond—he’d just read my mind.
I pulled out my phone and scrolled past our texts from earlier today—her telling me she missed the smell of my skin. Me telling her I wanted her bent over the desk in her media room. Her sending a voice note whispering“Don’t tempt me”in French.And Jesus Christ, when she spoke French to me, I lost it every goddamn time.
My fingers hovered. And this time, I didn’t hesitate.
I’m done hiding.
Next time I see you, I’m kissing you in front of everyone. I don’t care who’s watching.
You’re mine.
Delivered.
Three dots appeared almost instantly. She missed me as much as I missed her.
My breath caught.
The dots disappeared, then came back a few moments later.
Aurélie
Do it.
I dare you.
You won’t.
I grinned. Heart pounding, blood racing the way it always did when it came to her.
This woman. This fucking woman knew exactly what she was doing to me. Challenging me like I wasn’t the most competitive motherfucker on this planet. I was one missed meeting away from marching into the Luminis garage and showing the world what I already knew:
She wasn’t my rival.
She was my reward.
I’d readCallum’stexts a dozen times and still sucked in a breath like he’d touched me through the screen every time I did.
God, I missed him. Not in a fleeting, flirty way. I missed the way his voice dipped when he saidmoncœur. The way he watched me like I was the only thing that existed. The way he let me crumble quietly in his arms, then helped me build myself back up without ever asking for credit.
We made it work despite our differing schedules. I felt like I saw him more before Monaco than I did now. Honestly, I probably did, since our PR teams wanted to “nip this whole thing in the bud” because they didn’t think we should be anything other than a public rivalry.
I didn’t wantscreen time. I wantedskin. I wanted his fingers in my hair and his voice in my ear. I wanted him to kiss me in front of the entire damn paddock and dare them to try and separate us again.
But I couldn’t let myself want that right now.
Not when I was holding onto a secret that made my stomach twist every time I thought about it.
The morning after Monaco, I’d returned to my hotel to pack my things. On my way out, I stumbled upon Morel,Schreiber,Kowlalski, andTakedain a conference room in the hotel I was staying at, which, apparently they were at, too.
They hadn’t seen me, but I had been able to record a large part of their conversation.
“If we can’t figure out how to run her off the road, get Fraser next,”Schreibersaid.
