It was Henri.
“We should talk about this,” he said.His voice was quieter than before.Careful.“About us.”
I kept walking for a few steps then slowed.“I know.”
Henri stopped.I stopped too, turning to face him.We were standing in the middle of the track with nothing but moonlight and empty asphalt in every direction.
“I’ve had since Las Vegas to think about this,” he said.“About what this could be.”He paused, and I could see the war brewing inside of him as he fought to choose his words carefully.“I worry that I can’t give you what you want.The way things are—the teams, the contracts, the press.We’d have to hide.For a long time.Maybe longer than either of us wants.”
The moonlight caught the uneasy mask of his face, the furrow between his brows.Henri was worried.Genuinely worried.Not about being caught or about what the press would say, but about me.About whether this could be enough.
“I want to try,” I said.
Henri blinked.“Lily—”
“I know it’s complicated.I know we’d have to be careful.But I think we owe it to each other to at least try to work it out.Don’t you?”
He didn’t answer right away.He looked at me for a long moment, searchingly, like he was waiting for the qualifier.The “but.”The escape clause.
It didn’t come.
“At the end of the year,” I continued, “I’m going to ask Rennen to renegotiate my contract.With a new manager.”
That landed differently than the rest, surprise breaking through the careful composure.
“A new manager?”
“It’s time.”
“Your mother—”
“Has been my manager since I was fourteen.And she’s good at it.She got me to where I am.But I need someone who sees me as a human first, driver second.”
His eyes softened at the corners, crinkling in that way they did when he really meant something.He reached for my hand, his thumb brushing over my knuckles.“I’m proud of you,” he said simply.His fingers tightened around mine, warm and steady.“Mon cœur,” he whispered, bringing my hand to his chest, where I could feel his heartbeat through his thin shirt.He held it there for a moment, his gaze never leaving mine.“You’ve outgrown her, and it’s okay to accept that you need something different.It’s a big change in your life.It’s okay to be scared, but I know you’re doing the right thing here.”
I stepped closer, closing the gap between us until my forehead rested against his collarbone.His free arm came around me, pulling me in.I stood there, breathing him in, letting myself be held.Henri cupped my face, his thumb catching the single tear that had escaped despite my best efforts.He didn’t say anything.He didn’t need to.He just held my face and looked at me like I was the only thing in this enormous, empty circuit that mattered.
I kissed him first.Rose up on my toes and pressed my mouth to his, and for a second he went completely still—surprised, maybe, or savoring it—before his hand slid from my cheek to the back of my neck and he pulled me in.
The kiss was slow and unhurried.Nothing like the desperate, stolen moments we’d had before.This was two people standing in the open, choosing each other.
When we finally broke apart, his forehead rested against mine.His breath came uneven against my lips.He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering against my cheek.
“We should head back,” he murmured.“Early start tomorrow.Just need to grab something from my room.”
“Yeah, alright.”
He sighed and stepped away, and the night air rushed into the space between us like it had been waiting.We turned and started walking back toward the paddock, shoulders almost touching, not quite holding hands.
As we neared the pit lane, Henri slowed.
We ducked through a side entrance near the Hermes hospitality unit.Henri punched a code into the keypad, and the door opened.The corridor inside was dark, lit only by the green glow of emergency-exit signs.Our footsteps echoed against the polished concrete.
Henri found his driver’s room by memory, guiding me with a hand on the small of my back.The room was small and sparse.A massage table, a mini fridge, a screen mounted to the wall.He closed the door behind us and turned the lock.
“Welcome to my office.”
I leaned against the doorframe and watched him.“What are you looking for?”
