“I might have noticed.”
Reese’s grin widened, and this time, Sloane didn’t hesitate. She reached up, grabbed the collar of Reese’s race suit and kissed her. Right there in the middle of everything and absolutely everyone. The cameras erupted instantly, flashes firing like a lightning storm around them as photographers scrambled to capture the moment.
Someone whooped.
Someone else yelled something that sounded suspiciously like, “About time!”
But Sloane barely registered any of it. Because Reese was kissing her back, laughing into the moment as one hand slid to the back of Sloane’s neck, warm and solid and very much real.
When they finally pulled apart, Reese rested her forehead against hers.
“You liked the race then?” Reese asked.
Sloane didn’t hesitate. “Baby. I loved it. That drive was incredible.”
Reese’s eyebrows lifted slightly, and her cheeks dusted with a proud blush.
“You started sixteenth and carved your way into the points like it was nothing,” Sloane continued, her voice warm with pride. “You were patient when it mattered, aggressive when it counted, and that move into Turn 1 was beautiful.”
Behind them, the Laurens crew erupted again, several mechanics clapping Reese on the back as someone waved a timing sheet over their heads like a victory flag.
“Sixteenth to points!” one of them shouted.
Reese finally turned toward them, still smiling, raising both hands in mock surrender as they crowded around her again.
Sloane stepped back a pace, watching the scene unfold.
The car still ticked quietly with heat behind them. Engineers leaned over laptops. Someone popped open a bottle of something that absolutely wasn’t on the official hospitality menu. And Reese stood in the middle of it all, glowing and laughing with her team.
For the first time since she’d fallen in love with a driver, Sloane didn’t feel the old knot of fear tightening in her chest. She just felt proud.
Veronica appeared beside her again, folding her arms as she surveyed the celebration.
“Well,” she said with an appreciative grin. “That was subtle.”
Sloane didn’t even try to hide her smile.
“She deserved it. She drove a hell of a race.”
Veronica nodded once toward the garage floor, where Reese was still being congratulated by half the team.
“I can’t argue with that,” she said.
Sloane watched Reese for another moment before Reese glanced up again, catching her eye through the crowd. And even from across the garage, Sloane could see the promise in her smile.
The race was over.
But somehow it felt like everything else was just getting started.
By the time they reached the hotel, the adrenaline of the night still hummed through Reese’s veins. The elevator ride up had been quiet but charged, Sloane’s hand resting lightly at the small of her back as if neither of them quite trusted the moment to be real yet. The hallway smelled faintly of carpet cleaner, and the space was completely still, a sharp contrast to the noise and warmth of the celebration they’d just left behind.
Reese unlocked the door and pushed it open, flicking on the lamp near the bed.
“Your brother was adorable,” Sloane said as they stepped inside.
Reese glanced back at her, smiling as she noticed the hotel had already honored their request. Sloane’s suitcase sat neatly beside the dresser where the bell staff had delivered it earlier.
“He was starstruck,” Reese said, toeing off her shoes. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him at a loss for words. Enjoy it. It was probably the last time.”
