“It’s me,” Lucia’s voice filtered through the door, soft and hesitant.
My hand moved on instinct, pulling the door open. She stood there, slightly out of breath, her cheeks flushed from what I assumed was chasing after Gianna or running an errand. Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, and she held her purse against her chest.
“Hey,” she said, her voice quiet but filled with an edge of urgency.
“Hi.” My tone softened, her presence somehow settling the turmoil in my chest.
“I know you’re getting ready,” she started, eyes dropping to her hands, which she was twisting nervously. “I just…I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
I tried for my usual dismissive response, the one that kept my nerves hidden. “Yeah, of course.”
Her gaze lifted, cutting straight through me. Lucia always had this way of seeing the parts of me I tried to bury. I felt naked under her scrutiny, and it was clear she wasn’t buying my brush-off. We had run into each other in the hallway of the hotel on our private floor at an ungodly hour. Gianna had kept Lucia up all night, and despite the lack of sleep, she had still noticed or caught on to me being off this morning.
“Okay,” I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. “I’m a little stressed. Today’s points are huge. I need to win.”
“You will,” she said with a quiet conviction that knocked the air out of me. She spoke it as if it were a fact, not a possibility.
Before I could respond, she reached into her purse and pulled out a small bundle of notecards bound together with a thin ribbon. “This might be silly, but Gianna and I do affirmations every morning. They help us on hard days, and…well, I made some for you.”
For a moment, I was speechless, staring at the cards she held out to me. The thoughtfulness of it, the effort she had put into this, hit me like a freight train. My throat tightened.
“Luce…” I murmured, taking the cards gingerly, as if they might break under my touch. “This is so nice.”
Her lips quirked up in a small, self-conscious smile. “I know you’re in prep mode, but maybe read them. It might help.”
Before I could thank her properly, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around my middle, surprising me. Her hug was firm, grounding, and it left me reeling. My arms found their way around her, pulling her closer. The fire in my veins, the one that usually came from adrenaline, shifted into something else entirely. Something more electric.
She pulled back after a moment, her cheeks pink. “Good luck, Alex,” she said softly before disappearing down the hall, leaving me clutching the cards and feeling more alive than I had all morning.
By the time I lowered myself into the cockpit of my car, the affirmations were etched into my mind. Each one played in my head like a mantra, weaving through the noise of the crowd and the mechanics’ chatter.
Radio checks crackled through my earpiece. “You good to go, Wright?” my race engineer asked.
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, my pulse steady now, thinking of those affirmation cards from Lucia.
I am stronger than I know
I am as calm as the sea
I am prepared and aware
“Let’s do this.”
As the engines roared to life and the grid cleared, I couldn’t see them, but I knew Lucia and Gianna were watching from the Belen garage today. Lucia had taken to switching between the Moretti garage to support her brother, and Belen’s. Sure, it was to keep up the ruse, but it was also nice to have someone here for me, someone I knew in the crowd cheering me on.
My thoughts cleared as I watched the red lights go out.
And away we go.
25
LUCIA
The Belen Racing garage was alive with energy as the final lap of the race unfolded. Engineers and crew members leaned toward their screens, gripping headsets, their voices rising with excitement as Alexander maintained his lead. The roar of the crowd outside echoed into the space, a pulsating wave of sound that matched the pounding in my chest.
Gianna sat on my hip, her small hands clutching the team hat Alexander had given her that morning. Her tiny face was lit up with excitement, eyes glued to the screens as the cars sped through the last corner.
“Go, Alex!” she squealed, bouncing slightly in my arms.
