Page 23 of Close Contact
My chest felt hollow, the confession leaving me raw.
I think maybe they’d resent me for it. Just like my parents always said—a female driver can never outshine her team,Aurélie. No one will want you if you make them feel small.Their voices haunted me even now. “So I’ve carried that guilt ever since. I told myself I did it for me, but it feels like I betrayed him.”
“Aurélie,”Callumsaid, his voice soft but firm. “You didn’t betray anyone. You fought for your dream, even when the world made it impossible. That doesn’t make you selfish. It makes you brave and a goddamn inspiration.”
I looked at him then, his face open and earnest, and something inside me shifted. I felt so… seen—not as a driver, not as a competitor, but as me.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
He didn’t look away. Just tightened his fingers around mine. Then, quieter than I’d ever heard him, he said, “You saved me too, you know.”
I blinked.
“Maybe not from something you could see,” he continued. “But from the way things were starting to feel… flat. Like nothing mattered the way it used to. I’d stopped chasing anything that wasn’t a podium. Then you showed up. On the track. In my head. In my goddamn heart.”
He exhaled slowly, like he wasn’t sure he should keep going.
“And suddenly, everything mattered again. You reminded me what it felt like towantsomething—more than a win. More than a title. Just…” His thumb brushed mine. “You.”
His words didn’t feel like platitudes. They felt real, solid, like the city lights stretching endlessly before us. Finally, I wasn’t bracing for the sting of a backhanded compliment. I wasn’t waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was just… here.
I wasn’t as alone as I’d always believed. I had him now, and that was all that mattered.
Aurélie’ssoft “Thank you”still echoed in my ears as I guided her into the guest room. She walked ahead of me, her steps hesitant, as if she wasn’t sure she belonged in this space. The idea was laughable. Auréliebelonged anywhere she chose to be. Especially here.
“This is… nice,” she said, stopping in the center of the room. It was decorated in shades of light blue and cream, with a large bed along the back wall. Her voice carried the same unease I saw in her eyes earlier, but there was something else there too. Exhaustion, maybe, or the aftermath of laying herself bare.
“It’s not much,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck, feeling absurdly nervous. “But it’s quiet, and you’ll have privacy.” The guest room suddenly felt too small, her presence filling every corner, her scent lingering in the air. Lavender and lightly citrusy—it was vibrant, fresh, and so uniquelyAurélie.
She turned, offering me a small smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “D’accord. Sounds good.”
“I’ll, uh, grab you a toothbrush and a few other things,” I said, retreating toward the door. “There’s bottled water in the refrigerator if you need it. Or tea, if you’re into that.”
Her lips twitched, almost amused. “Tea, huh? I didn’t take you for the herbal type.”
I shrugged, leaning against thedoorframe. “I have layers,Dubois.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“I’ll be right back,” I told her, my voice softer than I intended.
“Wait.” Her voice stopped me. “I’d like to shower before bed, if you’ve got…” She looked embarrassed, and I decided not to let her sit in that. Not after the day she’d had.
“Yeah. Don’t go anywhere.”
As I moved down the hall to my room, her words replayed in my head. Everything she’d told me about her ex, her parents, the guilt she carried—it made my blood boil. She deserved so much more than that bastard who pretended to protect her while tearing her down behind the scenes.
When I reached my en-suite, I gripped the edge of the sink and tried to steady my pulse. I didn’t even know the guy, but I hated him with every fiber of my being. Part of me wanted to pull out my phone, search her team history, and find out what he looked like. I wanted to know exactly who he was so I could make damn sure she never had to face him again, but I didn’t. This wasn’t about my need to fix things for her. It was about her. If she wanted me to know more, she’d tell me. For now, I had to focus on being here for her, on proving that not everyone in her life was out to take advantage of her.
I grabbed a toothbrush, toothpaste, shower supplies, and one of my T-shirts. It was a seemingly small act that I hoped would help her relax for the night.Halfway down the hall andstill trying to will my brain into a different gear, I realized I’d forgotten the extra towel set. I doubled back, snagging one from the hall closet and heading toward the guest room. I knocked softly.
“Aurélie?” No answer. I opened the door a crack and paused. The bathroom light was on, a soft golden glow filtering through the slightly ajar door. Steam curled into the bedroom like a beckoning finger, hot and slow and so fucking inviting.
I swallowed hard. She was in the shower. If I were a bigger man, I would’ve left the towel and toiletries on the edge of the bed and walked away. I would’ve put an ocean between us for both oursakes. But I didn’t, because I had very little self-control remaining.
I crossed to the bathroom and cleared my throat uselessly. “I brought you some things.” No response, just the rush of the water. The fogged glass glowed, obscuring her body but not the color of her skin.
Then the sliding glass door opened enough for her to poke her head out. Her soaked hair clung to her cheeks, rivulets running down her neck and collarbone. “Sorry. Needed to wash the day away,” she said, voice sleepy and low. Her cheeks were pink from the heat, her lashes wet and clumped, skin bare and flushed. “Couldn’t sleep with it still on.”
