“That’s why you didn’t answer,” she said, a wide smile taking over her face. “You were driving.” She turned, unlocked the door, and led Isaac toward the master bedroom and the ensuite’s double shower.
The shower was about getting clean, and they didn’t linger.
After drying off, Anna leaned into Isaac again, kissing him again while his arms wrapped around her. She wanted to touch him everywhere and remind herself that he was real. Despite her urgency to have him inside her, she let him take the lead. His slow, thorough kisses made her toes curl and her insides warm while the electric buzz on her skin everywhere he touched set her heart racing.
When they fell naked and entwined on the bed, she was beyond thought and lived in the moment, enjoying the physical sensations. Isaac took her away from the noise in her head better than anything else. The world fell away when they were together.
“Mi Corazon, I have news,” Isaac said sometime later when they lay in a loose tangle on the rumpled bed while he traced circles on her shoulder. “How would you feel about me retiring next year? I wanted to tell you in person, but I talked to Angel yesterday and made it official.” He stiffened as he spoke. He might be worried about how she’d take the news.
She marveled that her opinion mattered.
“You decided not to take the contract extension,” she said. “That’s brave. If you’re happy with the decision, so am I.” If he retired, they would probably still watch the races, but then she wouldn’t have to fear for Isaac. He had said little before now, but Vince’s accident had left him ashen, and she’d known leaving the sport had been on his mind even before the crash.
“I think racing is too dangerous for me now. When Vince was laying there, not moving, I couldn’t breathe. I can’t stand the idea that one day that could be me, and you’d be the one scared out of your mind. I never want to do that to you.” Isaac’s warm brown eyes were serious. It couldn’t have been easy to reach this decision.
“Will you race the rest of this season?” She couldn’t imagine that he’d throw away his excellent season or break his current commitment.
He stroked her hip. “I’m under contract for this season, but then I’m done.”
“What will you do afterward?” She bit her lip while she waited for his answer. This type of intimacy was unfamiliar territory. They hadn’t talked about their future beyond the racing season.
Isaac cupped her jaw in his hand, making her melt once more as he stared into her with milk-chocolate eyes. “Maybe we can figure some of that out together. I want you to stay with me. I want us to have our own place. My love, my house will not be a home without you inside it. I won’t keep living with Vince. I hadn’t realized how much I love being around your positive energy until you were gone. Vince said I was moping.” He gave a rueful laugh.
“You were busy this week,” she said. “I should have asked you about Vince. How’s his eyesight?”
Isaac chuckled. “Vince is on the mend. He might not be ready for the first race in Finland, but probably the following one inSilverstone the first weekend in August. Yesterday, his doctor cleared him to train.”
He hesitated, his face sobering. “I owe you an apology about the way I let you leave.”
Her breath caught at his unexpected words even if they had already made up. “It was for Vince. He’s your brother. No apology required.”
He shook his head, his eyes serious. “Vince is important, but I can’t let him be first all the time. I slipped into an old habit, and I shouldn’t have let you leave without me.” His voice took on a more distant quality. “I thought I had to put Vince first. It turns out, I was wrong. Sometimes I should come first. I’ve done it for so long, I expected it was my burden.”
“What made you come to your senses?” Her heart fluttered at the way Isaac trusted her with his secrets and his fears. If only she could explain everything on her mind. She shoved the stray thought away—she’d tell him later. She didn’t want anything negative to ruin their holiday.
“Mom set me straight. She reminded me how much I’ve given up for Vince already. I couldn’t risk losing us because I was busy trying to look out for him. He’s a grown-ass adult and doesn’t need me like that. It won’t happen again.” He smiled and pounced on her, pinning her to the bed. “Unlike other things that are going to happen a lot this week.” His kiss knocked everything else from her head.
The rest of their holiday in Portugal flew by in a whirlwind of activity and happiness. They visited Faro, Lagos, and a bird sanctuary. They rented kayaks and paddled them through caverns along the shoreline among the stone outcroppings that littered the turquoise ocean. In the afternoons, they swam, laughed, and sought shade. Isaac cooked delicious food, and they ate out for a few nights, enjoying the atmosphere in the local restaurants.
A few times, Isaac signed autographs for children when he was recognized, but they spent most of their time alone. One night, they made love twice on the patio with the stars above in the inky sky. Anna had never felt closer to anyone than she was to Isaac and couldn’t remember a better vacation.
The second to last night, Isaac offered to fly to Texas with her as support.
“I’d rather that Adam not meet you. But I’d love for you to be there.” She dreaded seeing Adam because it would remind her of the years she’d lost.
“I promise to stay out of the way. This is your battle, and I’m confident you can deal with him.” He bought another plane ticket while upgrading hers at the same time.
“I can fly economy,” she said with a shrug.
“I can’t,” he said with a smile. “We’re flying business class.”
...
Anna and Isaac left the beach house on the morning of July 25th and drove up the rocky coastline to Lisbon, where they caught a flight to Texas. She felt like a world traveler these days, back and forth across the ocean. Not long ago, that would have been unthinkable.
The day after their arrival, they planned to meet with her lawyer, and then the following day, fly to Helsinki to meet the team for the race at the KymiRing.
To Anna’s surprise, when she and Isaac arrived at the airport in Austin, a camera crew waited at Arrivals. They followed her and Isaac while they collected their bags and their rental car—hovering in the background. It seemed strange to receive that much attention. Who had tipped the media off where they would be? Maybe they’d been seen leaving the airport in Lisbon.
