Page 192 of Twisted Trails
My heart stutters as I whip around to the guys standing behind me, both of them grinning like idiots.
Luc chuckles. “Told my team manager I won’t be renewing my contract next year.”
Mason shrugs. “Didn’t have any contract to step back from, but I’m looking forward to being part of your team. You’re an amazing manager, Greer.”
Myteam.
I turn back to Alaina, stunned. “How?”
“We’re still our dad’s guilt projects,” she says wryly. “So, full funding for the first season. After that, maybe we’ll hook enough sponsors, thanks to those two big names with big egos.” She nudges her chin toward Luc, which makes Mason huff a laugh. “You and Dane would manage the team. Piper’s handling physio. Jim’s the mechanic.”
I stare at her, and I swear I must be dreaming.
“This is way more than I asked for.”
“I know.” She nods. “You didn’t plan for those idiots and all.” Her eyes flick to the guys again before landing back on me. “But you’re getting your junior team. Just bigger. I hope it’s still what you want.”
My chest hollows, then fills so fast it almost hurts. “What about you?”
Her smile softens. “They won’t let me race anymore, but they can’t stop me from working behind the tape. I thought about helping Jim. Second mechanic. Or maybe working with the juniors, doing line scouting pre-rides. If you’ll have me?”
I take a slow step forward, my hands following muscle memory to find her waist. “You’d be the heart of it,” I whisper. “Whether you’re racing or not, that team would be yours.”
She swallows hard, lashes lowering for a beat before she looks back up at me. “It’s gonna be ours.All of ours,and we’re gonna do it the way we want to do it, all of us together.”
Is this what it feels like when dreams come true?
A team and a future with her in it?
“I—” My voice breaks, and I shake my head. “I have to call Kevin. And Rachel. They’re gonna lose their minds.”
I’m already digging for my phone, but she plucks it from my hand and sets it down on the counter. “You can call them after.”
I stare at her, caught on the soft drag of her voice. “After what?”
Alaina lifts my helmet in both hands, eyes locked on mine as she slides it slowly over her head. The moment the goggles click into place, she reaches for the knot at her waist, unties it with a flick, and lets the robe fall to the floor.
And she’s naked.
Completely bare.
Holy. Shit.
I curse under my breath, Mason does the same, and Luc just lets out a series of strangled noises that might’ve been French at some point.
“We’re still sweaty from qualifying, Bambi.” Mason is the first to find words.
Alaina tilts her head beneath the helmet. “Oh, you don’t get to play,” she purrs. “You only get to watch the way you madehimwatch. But bring the helmets.”
She reaches out and laces her fingers through mine, tugging gently as she leads me toward the bedroom. I follow without question, and then glance over my shoulder, my grin smug as hell.
Lucky motherfucker doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Luc snorts like he’s seen the thought written across myface, but Mason just mutters something that sounds a lot like“fuck’s sake.”
When we reach the bed, Alaina lets go of my hand. She puts one knee on the bed and then the other, kneeling on top of it, the helmet still in place, her spine straight, her skin flushed with something that looks a lot like the want I’m feeling.
The guys stop at the foot of the bed next to me, both still in jerseys and riding pants, dirt streaked across their arms and sweat clinging to their collars.
