Page 57 of Break My Heart

Tonight’s different.

I’m in the back of a car the team arranged, but for once my head isn’t tearing itself apart.

Second place. It wasn’t luck. Nor was it someone else’s failure. It was because of her. Us.

“This is the best both drivers have placed in a while,” Dario remarks. He nods in Hogan’s direction, who is wearing an enormous grin. “Hogan’s twentieth is the best he’s ever done. Leo placed higher than he did all last year.”

“The system isn’t fully fixed.” Christin’s no-nonsense tone silences half the garage during our debriefing.

“But it’s better,” Dario counters.

“Yes. Both drivers did well.” There’s no hesitation when she remarks, “The steering response is starting to interpret Leo’s needs.”

“Not fully,” I pipe in.

“No, but enough that you can push without guessing incorrectly.”

“Enough that I can trust it.”

I check the time on my phone—10:12 p.m. Wrapping up interviews took longer than I expected. I know the hotel has had what I planned ready for an hour. For just a moment, I wonder if it’s too late to knock on her door. Too late to pretend this is about anything other than wanting to be with her.

I should leave it alone.

I can’t.

“Thank you. Your services are no longer required this evening,” I tell the driver.

He nods before pulling around to the entrance the hotel designates for celebrities to avoid the press and fans. Once I make it into the lobby, I’m indifferent to the polished marble and soft lighting designed to make everything feel effortless. I head straight for the bank of lifts even while my pulse threatens to burst out from beneath my skin.

I can’t talk myself out of it. I need to see Christin.

Tonight.

By the time I’m outside her door, I know I’m taking a risk far greater than any I took on the track today. I don’t care.

I knock anyway.

She opens the door barefoot in a tank and sleep shorts. Her hair tumbles over her shoulders. I know I’m one of the few who have seen her when she’s stripped of her armor. It’s something I took for granted, even though I never intended to.

Her eyes roam over me as she drawls, “Did you get lost on your way to the party where people are waiting to congratulate you?”

Relief hits when sarcasm is her first volley. I can work with that. Leaning against the doorframe, I inform her, “No, I came to see the only person I want to celebrate with.”

She wraps her arms around herself. “In Bahrain? This late?”

“I had the hotel arrange something.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s time for me to tell you everything I’ve been holding back.”

She pauses before murmuring, “What you were alluding to in the car.”

I implore her, “Yes. Please, Chris.”

“And if I say no?”

“I’ll head back to my room and try again another day.”