“Yes. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t. But I’ll be there to cheer you on.” She paused. “Maybe, I shouldn’t admit this but…”
“But what?” he asked, staring down at her due to her serious tone.
“But because we’ve always been honest with each other, I think you should know that I’ve fallen in love with you, Matt.”
A huge smile touched his face. “Thanks for telling me, but I already knew.”
She frowned. “What do you mean you already knew?”
“The other night, when you told me you couldn’t go to the car race with me, you said you couldn’t handle it if another man you love died in a car crash. I figured that meant you loved me.”
“Oops. I hadn’t known I’d let it slip.”
“You were upset and it came out,” he said.
“Yes, I was upset. But now you know.”
“Now it’s time to let you know something as well, Iris. I’ve fallen in love with you, too. I was smitten the moment I saw you at Cheyenne’s birthday party. There was just something about you, and when I spent time with you later, I knew.” He paused before adding, “What I hadn’t counted on was you being involved with someone else.”
“Oh, Matt, but in the end, things did work out for us, didn’t they?”
“Yes, sweetheart, they did.”
“Now I’m with the guy I was meant to be with.”
“I believe that as well, just like I believe you were meant for me.”
Then he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, giving her one hell of a Matt Caulder kiss.
* * *
“You’re okay, Iris?”
She glanced over at Pam, who was seated beside her in the stands. They were at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, and the place was packed for this annual celebrity charity event. For Iris, it really was no surprise that the one person who had always been there with her through some of her most difficult times in life sat beside her now as she fought another challenge—the fear of losing another man she loved in a race car.
She grabbed Pam’s hand, tightened the hold, smiled and said, “Yes, I’m fine. Matt and I talked about my fears again last night and this morning. We truly believe I’ll be okay.”
“I believe that as well. You’ve always been a fighter. Now you have someone by your side to help with those battles.”
“Matt is a special person.”
“He thinks the same about you.” Pam leaned over and whispered, “In fact, I overheard him tell Dillon that very thing this morning at breakfast.”
Iris smiled at that. “We will continue to do as we’re doing now, which is to spend more time together. And when we’re ready for more, we will know it.”
“Smart move.”
She glanced around. “By the way, where’s Dillon?”
Pam grinned. “Blue Ridge Land Management is also sponsoring a car today, and Canyon is the sponsor driver. Dillon is somewhere down below providing his brother with on-track support.”
Iris nodded. Blue Ridge Land Management was the Fortune 500 company the Denver Westmoreland family owned. “It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is,” Pam agreed. They stopped talking when it was announced that the race was about to begin.
* * *
“Congratulations on your third-place win, Matt,” Iris said, when he and Dillon joined her and Pam in the stands a short while later. Together, they would enjoy the rest of the races.
